As manager of Family Health Care group, I have to consider internal as well as external factors of social responsibility and ethical issues. In reality, the situation of the healthcare organization is much more complex even when the international element is removed, since a business is by nature made up of many different individuals. Moral and economic values differ from person to person within a corporation. A business is a large organizational structure, and within this structure, there may be individuals who are inspired to behave unethically for any number of reasons.
Many of these reasons have to do with the goals of the individual. “We cannot, pace Milton Friedman, leave the governance of the organization to the forces of the market… it cannot guarantee that organizational performance will be ethically and socially sensitive” (Newton and Ford, 2002, p. 30). The purpose of the professional code of ethics is generally to protect organizations against abuses by individuals who want to maximize their own benefit at the expense of others’ safety or security.
The code of ethics sets forth a standard of behavior that is expected to be followed within the organization. Of course, this is very complex because some individuals may even work for businesses that are unethical themselves. “Epstein (1979) describes corporate social responsibility as having both product and process aspects, that is, people may focus on output factors or on the way that decisions are made. Thus, for Epstein, corporate culture plays a substantial role in shaping firm performance” (Brenner, 1992).
This culture, of course, differs from organization to organization, and among different corporate settings. In healthcare, the bottom line is quality of care to the client.
REFERENCE
Brenner, S (1992). Ethics programs and their dimensions. Journal of Business Ethics. Newton, Lisa H. , and Maureen M. Ford (2002). Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Business and Society. New York: McGraw-Hill.