Laudable, culpable and non-culpable decisions Essay

Laudable, culpable and non-culpable decisions - Essay Example This research aims to evaluate and present laudable, culpable and non-culpable decisions. Laudable decision: BAES made an initiative to hire Lood Woolf to have an independent and irreproachable investigation into its ethical practices as a business and to identify areas of improvement where its dealings as a business entity can be improved. Despite of all the unscrupulous dealings of BAES, its decision to have an independent panel of investigators to be headed by Lord Woolf that would inquire into BAES ethical standards was laudable. This initiative yielded positive results in identifying which ethical practices needs improvement and produced a recommendation on how to improve it. Lord Woolf himself practiced ethical propriety in setting the parameters of his investigation. Agreeing to investigate cases which are also conducted by SFO would be tantamount into meddling in the investigation by the authorities and thus, would be ethically inappropriate. Non-culpable decision: In January , 1997, the chief executive officer (CEO) of British Aerospace (BAe), backed Tony Blair to become Prime Minister of the UK. Many business leaders did the same. Although it is not illegal for a business entity to support a politician vying for office, it is deemed inappropriate to back somebody with the expectation of business gains in the future. Though it was not tacitly expressed in the case that BAES solicited for business favours when Tony Blair became the Prime Minister of UK, it was implied that he was returning favours to BAES when acted like a salesman for BAES in trying to persuade the Czech Republic Gripen fighter jets, worth $1bn. No immediately harm was done with BAES’s political support to the candidacy of Tony Blair, but the political gratuity extended by Tony Blair leading to BAES unethical and controversial business practices tainted UK’s defence industry. Culpable decisions Blameworthy Context In 2001, Tanzania paid to BAES $21 million for a military a ir traffic control (ATC) system that came from debt that was supposed to be spent on Tanzanian education. This decision of Tanzanian President Benjamin Mpaka to purchase an overpriced (at least four times more expensive than civilian radar) air traffic control (ATC) system which was disbursed from a fund that was supposed to be spent on Tanzanian education was most blameworthy. BAES used Shailesh Vithlani, a â€Å"marketing adviser† to secure a a ?28m Air Traffic Control radar which was four times more expensive than a civilian radar). Payments to Vithlani were routed through Red Diamong Trading (RDT), a shell company based offshore in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). It would be naive not to have the â€Å"obvious inference† that some of the money Vithlani got was used to bribe Tanzanian officials. 2. Outlining standard ways to place blame and respond to it, interpret any defensive utterances by the culprits (and their supporters); and interpret their critics’ (and victims’) utterances Outcome related disappointments/blame-ORD Person/relationship-related disappointment – PRD ORD + PRD (any utterances expressing both) Utterance: Mr Turner said: â€Å"we are fully complying with all the SFO’s requests. We are acting in a responsible and dignified way and we are very proud of this company. We think it is unfair and unjust that our reputation is being affected.† Interpretation: BAES is bluffing that they are an ethical company and is offended with the decision of SFO to investigate their company. Utterance: Mike Turner said: â€Å"we want to be in a position to provide customers, investors, employees and communities [with] further assurance that our policies, ethics and business conduct are subject to continuous improvement and set the pace for the international defence industry.† Interpretation: It is just a PR utterance that BAES does not really mean to say considering their actual

Judicial activism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Judicial activism - Essay Example In Roper v. Simmons, a seventeen year old by the name of Simmons confessed that he plotted the murder and burglary of an older woman. This case placed the question before the Courts as to whether or not a person younger than eighteen years old should be punished with the death penalty when convicted of crimes that would typically mandated capital punishment. The seventeen year old was originally sentenced to death for his crimes. This decision was later overturned by the Missouri Supreme Court and the defendant's sentence was converted to life imprisonment. The Missouri Supreme Court stated that although there were cases that illustrated that there was a precedent set that allowed for capital punishment for those persons under the age of eighteen, that a 'national consensus has developed against the execution of juvenile offenders'(2005). This case has since been heard by the United States Supreme Courts. Judicial activism and restraint are concepts that can be readily viewed in the Roper v. Simmons case when it was decided by the Supreme Court in March 2005. The majority opinion addressed both the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments when considering the affirmation of the Missouri Supreme Court decision. ... Per the court's opinion, neither the Eighth nor the Fourteenth Amendment disallows the use of the death penalty for either persons that are under the age of eighteen or that are deemed mentally retarded. The Court's majority states that twenty-two of thirty-seven death penalty states permit the death penalty for the offenders that are sixteen years old. The same thirty-seven states permitted the death penalty for those offenders that were seventeen years old. The Court went further to state that such figures are not indicative of a nation that is moving towards a consensus against capital punishment for those offenders that are less than eighteen years of age. Two court cases were consistently referenced in the opinion: Stanford v. Kentucky 492 U.S. 361 (1989) and Atkins v. Virginia 536 U.S. 304(2002). Stanford and Atkins speak to both issues of capital punishment for juvenile offenders and the mentally retarded. These two cases decided that it was not inappropriate to utilize the de ath penalty for those younger than age eighteen or mentally retarded, respectively. Typically, judicial restraint would have allowed the Supreme Court to overturn the Missouri Courts ruling based on precedents and existing laws. However, the majority opinion took its review of the existing laws by interpreting the intention of the laws and how they related to the intention of the Constitutional Amendments. The majority opinion stated that although the death penalty for youths and the mentally retarded were not prohibited, they were rarely used as methods of punishment. In many cases, the Court notes that allowances were made for juveniles that had committed heinous crimes because it was and is recognized that these persons have