Humanities and Social Sciences Communications Discussion Paper
Ethics Case Scenario Paper
Case Study
The chief nursing officer Betty had to decide between buying 120 new hospital beds for patient rooms. After interviewing nurse managers at the units where the beds would be placed, Betty compiled her findings and contacted a well-known equipment company to obtain prices and contracts. The equipment company’s executive salesperson, Jim, discussed options at length with her and invited her and her significant other to an upcoming all-expenses-paid lavish retreat at a five-star hotel in Hawaii to see demonstrations of the beds and to hear a comprehensive sales pitch. Betty thought to herself, “We badly need some relaxation and stress relief. Hawaii would be fun. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications Discussion Paper
Questions
Would It Be Wrong For Betty To Go? Why Or Why Not?
Every business involves various ethical considerations that help employees deal appropriately with ethical issues. According to Weiss (2021), business ethics helps all employees to enhance their trust and integrity as they continue to carry forward their daily activities. In such light, it would be wrong for Betty to go to the all-expenses-paid retreat Jim offers. That is because it would compromise her relationship with the company concerning that the retreat would benefit Betty and her spouse regardless of that being a business relationship.
If You Were Betty, What Would You Do? Give Your Rationale.
If I were Betty, I would refrain from engaging in personal-level business and emphasize the need to maintain a professional relationship. That is because accepting the offer by Jim, an executive seller in the company targeted to offer the hospital equipment, would deter my judgment in assessing the quality and value of buying 120 new hospital beds (Weiss, 2021). Hence, since there is a need to be a rational and critical thinker, the all-expenses-paid retreat would be unnecessary considering the high possibility of the coached comprehensive sales pitch that may limit the ability to make informed choices.
Justify Your Answer With An Ethical Framework, Theory, Approach, or Principle. Explain How The Ethical Framework Applies to Your Rationale.
The decision not to take Jim’s offer reflects the consequentialist theory that provides a moral framework that enables individuals to discover the ethical course of an action based on the results. According to Buchbinder et al. (2019), before any person makes any decision, it is essential to acknowledge that outcomes are, in most cases, pragmatic. Hence, the consequentialist theory is crucial in selecting the desired outcome since it reveals potential actions and the possible outcome. Hence, before deciding on taking the all-expenses-paid retreat, one has to make decisive transparency that will help minimize chances of buying counterfeit hospital beds that may later on result in patients’ falls and thus increase financial constraints for the hospital as they try to purchase better hospital beds. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications Discussion Paper
Do You Consider This Situation a Conflict Of Interest? Why Or Why Not? Give Your Rationale
Betty’s perspective when approaching Jim’s organization brings out the conflict of interest. That is because Jim tries to act manipulative by offering Betty an all-expenses-paid retreat to convince her why she needs to purchase the proposed sales while, on the other hand, Betty had already done her research and was very sure of what kind of hospital bed would be necessary for the healthcare organization (Weiss, 2021). Hence, despite the retreat having some advantageous comprehensive sale pitch, it might not change Betty’s initial budget and plan. Consequently, Betty conducting the research and later on contacting Jim’s company proves that Betty knew the company had quality and reliable equipment.
What Policy Should Be In Place Regarding a Scenario Such As This One? In Any Way, Would The Policy Impact Day-To-Day APRN Activities? Explain.
Organizational policies are essential in such a scenario. Every healthcare organization has to formulate policies that help employees practice integrity and transparency, even under minimal supervision. According to Bhattacharya et al. (2020), such organization policies will be easy for Betty to decide quickly to refrain from the offer since once she takes it, it will breach the healthcare organization policies, which can cost her current job. Hence, organizational policies are essential since they help employees make informed decisions despite ethical challenges (Mostepaniuk et al., 2023). Hence such organization policies should restrict the employees from entertaining activities that involve personal gains when dealing with companies that offer them business services. The policy is essential to APRN activities since it encourages them to engage in activities that will enhance overall patient outcomes. That is because the policies highlight what is right or wrong, thus making APRNs refrain from inappropriate activities. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications Discussion Paper
Do You Have Any Such Policy In Place For Similar Situations At Your Workplace?
Policies regarding ethical behavior make it easier to run a corporation because they give employees detailed directions about acceptable and inappropriate conduct at work without requiring constant supervision. A company’s ethical rules guide all personnel, encouraging them always to act morally and with high standards (Mostepaniuk et al., 2023). An ethically sound culture built on transparency and trust is produced through good policies. They encourage moral behavior and benefit clients because contented clients are loyal repeat customers (Montgomery et al., 2020). In our healthcare organization, the management clarifies that all employees must uphold integrity when conducting business transactions. However, the healthcare management also stipulates that if any healthcare organization employees face ethical issues, they must consult their fellow healthcare providers or the ethical committee to make informed decisions (Bhattacharya et al., 2020). As a result, the health organization maintains its sustainability and competitiveness by providing the patient population with quality and safe services. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications Discussion Paper
References
Buchbinder, S. B., Shanks, N. H., & Kite, B. J. (2019). Introduction to health care management. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Bhattacharya, S., Medcalf, A., & Ahmed, A. (2020). Humanities, criticality and transparency: global health histories and the foundations of inter-sectoral partnerships for democratizing knowledge. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-0491-7
Mostepaniuk, A., Akalin, T., & Parish, M. R. (2023). Practices Pursuing the Sustainability of A Healthcare Organization: A Systematic Review. Sustainability, 15(3), 2353. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032353
Montgomery, T., Berns, J. S., & Braddock, C. H. (2020). Transparency as a Trust-Building Practice in Physician Relationships With Patients. JAMA, 324(23), 2365. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.18368
Weiss, J. W. (2021). Business ethics: A stakeholder and issues management approach. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Ethics Case Scenario Paper
Explain and provide detail in each of your responses. Include the case scenario in your paper. The maximum length of the paper is 3 pages (excluding cover page, actual case scenario and references).
Betty, the chief nursing officer, had to make a decision about buying 120 new hospital beds for patient rooms. After she interviewed nurse mangers at the units where the beds were going to be placed, Betty compiled her findings and decided to contact a well-known equipment company to obtain prices and contracts. The equipment company’s executive salesperson, Jim, discussed options at length with her and invited her and her significant other to an upcoming all-expenses-paid lavish retreat at a five-star hotel in Hawaii to see demonstrations of the beds and to hear a comprehensive sales pitch. Betty thought to herself, “We badly need some relaxation and stress relief. Hawaii would be so much fun. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications Discussion Paper
• Would it be wrong for Betty to go? Why or why not? (1.5%)
• If you were Betty, what would you do? Give your rationale. (2%)
• Justify your answer with an ethical framework—a theory, approach, or principle. Explain how the ethical framework applies to your rationale. (5%)
• Do you consider this situation a conflict of interest? Why or why not? Give your rationale. (5%)
• What policy, should be in place regarding a scenario such as this one? In any way, would the policy impact day-to-day APRN activities? Explain. (5%)
• At your place of work, do you have any such policy in place for similar situations? (1%)
• APA style (0.5%)
No bullets or tables allowed. An abstract is not required for this assignment. Articles should not be older than 5 years old. Use your own words and paraphrase. Do not quote anything from the articles. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications Discussion Paper