Category: business ethics

Bible College a Scam?

On By southwerkIn business ethics

01Bible College a Scam?

One of the chief problems is business ethics today is the seizure of public resources by private interests. Hospitals, schools, public parks, etc. are all considered fair game for private ownership. Here we also have a conversion, public trust into private profit. It is not unusual for a minister or other church authority to misuse their authority, their standing in the community for profit. The story is not new but this episode is particularly cruel. This was not a case of embezzlement or working the elderly for a place in their will, this was a form of slavery using the power of the federal government as an enforcement mechanism to avoid compliance with the law.

Students from foreign countries came to the United States in the belief that they would receive a Christian education, instead they were given hours and hours of work each week while being denied decent housing and an education.

It is the understanding in this country that both churches and religions are not for-profit organizations. This is not always the case but it is the expectation. This “Christian” organization appears to have been a money making bonanza utilizing foreign labor at a small fraction of the minimum wage under the threat of expulsion from the United States for non-compliance.

This is a business ethics problem pure and simple. A Christian College was used as a cover for a racket. Religion was used as a cover for crime. Public respect and status were converted into cash. This college, if the testimony of these students is accurate, was as much about religion as Bernie Madoff was about legitimate investments. The scam played it from two angles, a reliance on the cover provided by both American respect for religion and college education.

This does little for the American image overseas that we treat visitors to our country so brutally. It is embarrassing but I am even more worried about the outcome of the case. This has become increasingly a nation with two tiers of justice, one for the majority of us and another for the well placed and influential. Our villain here is in the influential group. What will it be, probation and community service? Will they stall the sentencing until the public outrage subsides and something appropriate for an upper class member of society can be worked out?

I am not hopeful. I have seen who gets prosecuted and what sentences are given for a good number of years now.

We only get a little justice.

James Pilant

South Carolina Bible College President Busted For Slavery, Forced Labor | Crooks and Liars

The president of a South Carolina Bible college was charged last week with essentially treating foreign students as slaves by forcing them to perform work for little or no pay.

According to The Sun News, federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against Cathedral Bible College President Reginald Wayne Miller, accusing him of forced labor.

An affidavit included with the complaint said that students “described a pervasive climate of fear in which their legal status as non-immigrant students was in constant jeopardy, at the sole discretion of Dr. Miller, who threatened expulsion and therefore termination of their legal presence in the United States for noncompliance with his demands.”

Students told investigators that classes at the school “were not real,” and that the real purpose of the school was to force them to work over the maximum of 20 hours per week that federal law allows for student visas. The students alleged that Miller often forced them to live in substandard conditions without hot water, heat or air-conditioning.

via South Carolina Bible College President Busted For Slavery, Forced Labor | Crooks and Liars.

Some Additional Information: The Raw Story.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/05/25/sc-pastor-accused-of-turning-bible-college-into-forced-labor-camp-for-foreign-students/

Miller was arrested in 2006 on charges of lewdness and prostitution after he exposed himself to an undercover officer in a bathhouse at Myrtle Beach State Park. Records indicated that Miller participated in a pre-trial intervention program, allowing his record to be expunged.

During a Friday appearance at Florence Federal Court House, a federal judge set bail at $250,000. He was also ordered to stay away from Cathedral Bible College, and its students. The former pastor could spend 20 years in jail if convicted.

From Around the Web.

From the web site, World.Time.Com.

http://world.time.com/2013/02/20/irish-prime-minister-apologizes-for-forced-labor-in-magdalene-laundries/

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny made a historic apology on Tuesday to the survivors of the notorious Magdalene Laundries and the families of more than 10,000 women who were forced into unpaid labor from 1922 to 1996. In an emotional speech to the Irish Parliament, Kenny told the surviving women and their families “this is a national shame for which I say again I am deeply sorry and offer my full and heartfelt apologies.”

For more than seven decades in the 20th century, thousands of unmarried mothers, women who had been sexually abused and young girls who had grown up in the care of the state lived and worked in the Irish Magdalene Laundries operated by four orders of Catholic nuns. Ignored by Irish society, 26.5% of these “fallen women” were sent there by the Irish state to work without pay for an average of six months. The Irish government had previously denied playing a role in sending young women to work in laundries.

The U.S.-India Nuclear Deal (via The Council on Foreign Relations)

On By southwerkIn business ethics

 This article explains and summarizes the nuclear treaty between the two countries.

This treaty is the flashpoint for the controversy and public outcry over corruption in the Indian government. More than two years after the agreement was ratified by both nations, diplomatic cables from the American State Department detailed vote buying in the Indian legislature to get the treaty passed. Wikileaks published the cables and their impact in India has been major. It has been so important that it has pushed much of the coverage of the nuclear meltdown in Japan off the front pages.

Please read the summary.

James Pilant

The U.S. Congress on October 1, 2008, gave final approval to an agreement facilitating nuclear cooperation between the United States and India. The deal is seen as a watershed in U.S.-India relations and introduces a new aspect to international nonproliferation efforts. First introduced in the joint statement released by President Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on July 18, 2005, the deal lifts a three-decade U.S. moratorium on nuclear trade with India. It provides U.S. assistance to India’s civilian nuclear energy program, and expands U.S.-India cooperation in energy and satellite technology. But critics in the United States say the deal fundamentally reverses half a century of U.S. nonproliferation efforts, undermines attempts to prevent states like Iran and North Korea from acquiring nuclear weapons, and potentially contributes to a nuclear arms race in Asia. “It’s an unprecedented deal for India,” says Charles D. Ferguson, science and technology fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. “If you look at the three countries outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)-Israel, India, and Pakistan-this stands to be a unique deal.”

Barry Lynn at INET, Decoupling our Corporations (via Rortybomb)

On By southwerkIn business ethics

I have been assigning some of my students the mission of discovering how the Japanese disasters are effecting the United States. This would be a good place for them to start.

The invaluable web site, Rortybomb, talks about the problem of specific parts made largely or only in Japan and what that lack is doing here in the United States.

Unfortunately it is likely we are only seeing the beginning of the dislocations caused by the loss of Japanese manufacturing.

James Pilant

If you are not subscribing to Rortybomb, you should be.

As you may know, Toyota has many plants in the United States. This kind of regional diversification has to be good for the company in the wake of the Japanese earthquake, right? Even though the Japanese plants are in trouble the US ones can up production, hopefully making as many cars as the Japanese-based plants cant, balancing out what is a scary time for the company. Well, no. The US ones cant run without specific parts from Japan, and since … Read More

via Rortybomb

Forbes on firing your bad boss

On By southwerkIn business ethics

!!@@#dddddd444hmlbr35Forbes on firing your bad boss.

SEC is now considering a rule that would require public companies to disclose to their shareholders how they are using corporate resources to fund political activities.

On By southwerkIn business ethics

Everyone reading one of my blogs should go to the SEC site linked in this post and write in support of a rule that would require public companies to disclose to their shareholders how they are using corporate resources to fund political activities. In the wake of Citizen’s United, it is a critical step for our country and shareholder democracy. jp

eslkevin's avatarTeachers, Peacemakers, Witnesses for Justice and Learning Societies. Let´s Get Smart. Let´s Get Active. Let´s Be United. Improve the Planet NOW!!!

Dear Kevin –

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has the authority to counteract the flood of special interest, corporate money into our elections that was unleashed by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. The agency is now considering a rule that would require public companies to disclose to their shareholders how they are using corporate resources to fund political activities. But the SEC won’t act without public pressure, and it is taking public comments now – click here to submit yours. 

This particular rule has been in the works for several years, but was quietly dropped from the agenda sometime after the agency’s chairman, Mary Jo White, was pressured by Republican lawmakers to abandon it. In the hearing, Republicans warned White not to drag her agency into the political fray by tackling such a partisan issue… Pressing White to remove the rule from the agency’s annual agenda…

View original post 84 more words

Destruction of the Planet, a Sinful Act

On By southwerkIn business ethics

Destruction of the Planet, a Sinful Act

Ethics: an area of study that deals with ideas about what is good and bad behavior : a branch of philosophy dealing with what is morally right or wrong.

Business ethics is narrowed branch of ethics devoted to the economic and organizational activities of societies. The power of these organizations, private enterprises, corporations etc., are such that they surpass in influence and the ability to do things like harm the environment on a scale almost beyond human understanding (think gulf oil spill or Fukushima). Is the environment a value in itself that business and industry should take into consideration?

One of the more popular philosophies today is Christianity, in this case, the branch known as the Roman Catholic Church. And what do they say about the destruction of the environment?

Read the article below for the most recent declaration on the subject.

James Pilant

Pope Francis Makes Biblical Case For Addressing Climate Change: ‘If We Destroy Creation, Creation Will Destroy Us’ | ThinkProgress

Pope Francis made the religious case for tackling climate change on Wednesday, calling on his fellow Christians to become “Custodians of Creation” and issuing a dire warning about the potentially catastrophic effects of global climate change.

Speaking to a massive crowd in Rome, the first Argentinian pope delivered a short address in which he argued that respect for the “beauty of nature and the grandeur of the cosmos” is a Christian value, noting that failure to care for the planet risks apocalyptic consequences.

“Safeguard Creation,” he said. “Because if we destroy Creation, Creation will destroy us! Never forget this!”

The pope centered his environmentalist theology around the biblical creation story in the book of Genesis, where God is said to have created the world, declared it “good,” and charged humanity with its care. Francis also made reference to his namesake, Saint Francis of Assisi, who was a famous lover of animals, and appeared to tie the ongoing environmental crisis to economic concerns — namely, instances where a wealthy minority exploits the planet at the expense of the poor.

“Creation is not a property, which we can rule over at will; or, even less, is the property of only a few: Creation is a gift, it is a wonderful gift that God has given us, so that we care for it and we use it for the benefit of all, always with great respect and gratitude,” Francis said.

Francis also said that humanity’s destruction of the planet is a sinful act, likening it to self-idolatry.

via Pope Francis Makes Biblical Case For Addressing Climate Change: ‘If We Destroy Creation, Creation Will Destroy Us’ | ThinkProgress.

Solitary Confinement for Juveniles?

On By southwerkIn business ethics

I recognize that this is not business ethics related but I teach criminal justice courses and this falls under the category of teaching. Please bear will me as I will occasionally write about these subjects. jp

illo-47-thSolitary Confinement for Juveniles?

The idea behind juvenile justice is that young people who are not yet mature make poor choices and given the opportunity will change their behavior. Solitary confinement is not the kind of punishment that should be used on a regular basis in dealing with juveniles. It is very punitive and very damaging. In the case of Ohio, the federal government is insisting on changes to their policy. The feds are absolutely correct. We should not treat young people in a way that can damage them permanently nor should we use it on the mentally ill.

James Pilant

Ohio agrees to reform, eventually eliminate juvenile solitary confinement | Al Jazeera America

The Department of Justice on Monday announced it had reached an agreement with Ohio under which the state will dramatically reduce and eventually eliminate the use of solitary confinement for juveniles — with an emphasis on those with mental illness — in a move some advocates said would have “enormously important implications” for the rest of the country.

Under the deal, Ohio’s Department of Youth Services, which deals with offenders ages 10 to 21, will significantly reduce the duration of solitary confinement and the scenarios in which the punishment would be allowed, according to the DOJ. The state will also increase therapeutic, educational and recreational services for juveniles held in seclusion.

“Overreliance on solitary confinement for young people, particularly those with disabilities, is unsafe and counterproductive,” Attorney General Eric Holder said. “The Justice Department will continue to evaluate the use of solitary confinement so that it does not become a new normal for incarcerated juveniles.”

In essence, the agreement means Ohio would need to provide mental health treatment to young people in its facilities and not use solitary confinement, which involves placing an incarcerated person by themselves with no human contact other than prison staff — usually used as form of discipline, punishment or protection — as a replacement for treatment.

Some of the juveniles in the Ohio detention centers were allegedly held in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours per day, often with no human interaction at all, according to the DOJ.

via Ohio agrees to reform, eventually eliminate juvenile solitary confinement | Al Jazeera America.

From Around the Web.

From the web site, Youth Media for Building Healthy Communities.

http://ymbhc.wordpress.com/2014/05/22/double-charged-the-true-cost-of-juvenile-justice/

Double charged: The true cost of juvenile justice

By Editor on May 22, 2014

The process of charging a youth with a crime involves trials, probation hearings, and now the negotiation of a long catalog of fines and fees that get tacked on for things like staffing, clothing, health care – even a fee for the investigation following the arrest, which is upheld whether the youth is exonerated or not. The charges amount to an average of close to $2,000.  Juvenile offenders are charged for each day they must wear a GPS ankle-device – one accessory no teen wants to wear. And it’s usually on for longer than expected: nearly half of young people who are electronically monitored end up violating probation, and extending their GPS time or going to juvenile hall.

High Administrative Salaries Don’t Benefit Students

On By southwerkIn business ethics

southwerk's avatarPilant's Faculty Senate Page

i_374High Administrative Salaries Don’t Benefit Students

A disturbing new report from IPS, Institute for Policy Studies, show a correlation between administrative salaries and student debt, the more administrators are paid, the more the students owe.

Other findings from the report called The One Percent at State U:

Key Findings:

  • The student debt crisis is worse at state schools with the highest-paid presidents. The sharpest rise in student debt at the top 25 occurred when executive compensation soared the highest. 

  • As students went deeper in debt, administrative spending outstripped scholarship spending by more than 2 to 1 at state schools with the highest-paid presidents. 

  • At state schools with the highest-paid presidents, part-time adjunct faculty increased 22 percent faster than the national average at all universities. 

  • At state schools with the highest-paid presidents, permanent faculty declined dramatically as a percentage of all faculty. By fall 2009, part-time and contingent faculty at the…

View original post 482 more words

The Corporation : The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power

On By southwerkIn business ethics

An excellent blog post and a good documentary. jp

MHTV's avatarMemory Hole TV

The Corporation is a 2003 Canadian documentary film written by University of British Columbia law professor Joel Bakan, and directed by Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott. The documentary examines the modern-day corporation. This is explored through specific examples. Bakan wrote the book, The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power, during the filming of the documentary.
The documentary shows the development of the contemporary business corporation, from a legal entity that originated as a government-chartered institution meant to affect specific public functions, to the rise of the modern commercial institution entitled to most of the legal rights of a person. The documentary concentrates mostly upon North American corporations, especially those of the United States. One theme is its assessment as a “personality”, as a result of an 1886 case in the United States Supreme Court in which a statement by Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite[nb 1] led to corporations…

View original post 19 more words

Protecting the Public?

On By southwerkIn business ethics

!!@@#dddddd444193mProtecting the Public?

Government exists to protect people industry.

James Pilant

Republicans in North Carolina want to make it a felony to disclose fracking chemicals – Salon.com

Just when we thought we were making the first steps toward transparency in fracking — in the form of EPA indicating it might require frackers, at long last, to reveal the names of the chemicals they blast into the ground in order to extract oil and gas — three GOP state senators in North Carolina stepped in to put a stop to all that.

The senators, who seemed to have taken a page out of the ag-gag book, last week introduced a bill that would slap any individual who disclosed information about confidential chemicals with a felony charge. Such individuals could include fire chiefs and health care providers, who might require access to the information in order to respond to emergencies. Environmental groups see the provision allowing for easy access to that information as a good thing, but worry about the bill’s harsh terms for making sure those in-the-know keep it to themselves.

via Republicans in North Carolina want to make it a felony to disclose fracking chemicals – Salon.com.

From Around the Web.

From the web site, Lenin2u.

http://lenin2u.wordpress.com/2014/05/12/fracking-chemicals/

Shale needs to be fracked using a mixture of hot water, sand, and poisonous chemicals, the composition of which fracking companies claim to be proprietary secrets, and disclosing them would make them less competitive. However, scientists who have analyzed fracking fluid discovered the following substances common to diesel fuel: Benzene, Ethylbenzene, Toluene, Xylene, Naphthalene, Methanol, Formaldehyde, Ethylene glycol, Glycol ethers, Hydrochloric acid, Sodium hydroxide. Most fracking companies surveyed by a 2010 Congressional Committee admitted that diesel fuel is part of their fracking mixture. Where diesel fuel was not used, chemical mixtures includes high levels of benzene, a tiny amount of which can poison millions of gallons of water.

Theo Colburn, PhD, director of the Endocrine Disruption Exchange, Colorado, identified 65 chemicals that are probably used in fracking fluids. These included benzene, glycol-ethers, toluene, and ethanol, all of which have been linked to health problems when human exposure is too high. In 2012, ShaleTest visited many fracking sites in North Texas, monitoring ambient air using stainless steel summa canisters. Results showed the presence of the known carcinogen benzene. “It is unacceptable that the natural gas industries are ignoring the devastating impacts they have on citizens and the environment”, commented Susan Sullivan, board member of ShaleTest.

Another study in 2012, led by Lisa McKenzie, Ph.D., MPH, of the Colorado School of Public Health, concluded that air pollution caused by fracking may contribute to acute and chronic health problems for those living near natural gas drilling sites. The study, based on three years of monitoring, found benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene and xylene in the air around the frack sites. Other chemicals included heptane, octane and diethylbenzene ‘The greatest health impact corresponds to the relatively short-term, but high emission, well completion period’. The study said that this was due to exposure to trimethylbenzenes, aliaphatic hydrocarbons, and xylenes, all of which have neurological and/or respiratory effects, including eye irritation, headaches, sore throat, and difficulty in breathing. … ‘We also calculated higher cancer risks for residents living nearer to the wells as compared to those residing further’, the report said. ‘Benzene is the major contributor to lifetime excess cancer risk from both scenarios’.