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Cooperation is more important than Competition

Today, the world is highly competitive. Governments, corporations, learning institutions, businesses, and individuals are all competing to be the best in different aspects. The advancement of society today depends on both competition and cooperation because of the different roles they play. Competition is between two forces, which are opposing each other. Where there is competition, one party falls while the other stands tall, it is therefore a zero-sum game, where equals do not exist, it is either win or lose. In cooperation, there is the collective role of achieving a goal for the benefit of everyone. Competition in businesses leads to the production of better products and services; however, it may lead to the collapse of one business, leaving the other one in the market. In personal development, cooperation is more preferable. It results in better individuals and better society as a whole. Teamwork is the major bearer of cooperation, in which the productivity of each individual is enhanced. The society today embraces competition, which is problematic, instead of embracing cooperation for positive individual and societal growth.

Social conditioning is to blame for high competition in the world today. Schools teach students to compete academically, while in the business world, promotions and salary increments are offered on merit of improvements on performances, which is based on ranks. Big businesses, learning institutions, health care institutions, as well as parents still perpetuate the competition element, disregarding cooperation. None of them realizes the adverse effects competition has on the economy, as well as personal development of individuals. It is quite unfortunate that people are not taught cooperative skills at an early age. This has fostered a culture of competition in the society today. Companies compete today to make the most profits in the market, and have the best brands. Such competition is responsible for some of the social and economic problems experienced today. Human beings are inter-connected and belong to one whole, which makes them parts of a whole. Then without arguing, it is a fact that humans should cooperate, since they affect each other in different ways. Besides, cooperation involves making other people better. This is because while cooperating, talented individuals uplift the less talented individuals.  Cooperation in itself is fulfilling and therefore, individuals must adopt it.

The skills of cooperation should be imparted in individuals when they are still in their early ages. This way, children grow up into adults who value and embrace cooperation. The process of life is all about relationships and interactions between different people. No man is an island, and therefore, each individual is guaranteed of these interactions. An individual’s life journey starting at their home, school, and workplace is about meeting people and living with them. A student cannot study on their own, an employee too cannot work alone, and neither can a person engage in leisure activities alone. Therefore, if individuals lack cooperation, they will live miserable lives, since they cannot harmoniously co-exist with others. Skills of cooperation must be inherent in people in order for them to face different situations life presents to them.

Cooperation leads to development of the society. In cooperation, one plus one is larger than two, while in competition, it is a zero-sum game, where one wins, and another loses. A case in point is, if two companies are in a competition, one will definitely lose and maybe fall out of business, while the other remains stronger in the market. If this trend is popular in a country, the number of companies may drop, thus adversely affecting the country’s economy. On the other hand, if two companies decide to cooperate, this results in equal growth of the companies, as they will share improvement ideas. Alternatively, they may merge and form a bigger, stronger company. This is beneficial to a country, as the economy will be strengthened.

Competition results in hostility and hatred. When two parties are competing, they all view each other as a rival, and an impediment to their success. They therefore work hard to ensure they get rid of their rivals by weakening them, while they themselves grow stronger. Thanks to competition, we now have the demarcation between losers and winners, who receive differential treatment. In such a society, it becomes hard for individuals and groups to forge friendships or partnerships since they view each other as rivals or potential rivals. Competition leads to lack of trust in society. Competitors do not trust each other. Anyway, why would someone trust a person who is after his or her failure in life, and will rejoice when it happens? Therefore, competition in society only results in a bunch of insecure individuals. It is likened to a double-edged sword, which splits and destroys relationships.

Cooperation focuses on the growth and development of everyone, and not only one individual, as many people work together toward a common goal. This way, everyone is equally developed. On the other hand, competition focuses on rivalry for a goal, hence focuses on a specific individual. The mind-set of competitors is that there must be defeat for others, however, in cooperation, there is no room for defeat as it aims at general welfare of people in the society. This therefore makes cooperation the best strategy for societal collective development.

A society that embraces pure competition without cooperation cannot survive. This shows how cooperation is superior to competition. For example, in political elections, competition is highly exhibited. However, after the competitive period of elections, the elected leaders must cooperate with the citizens in order to run the country well. If the government cooperates more with its people, it is more likely to achieve excellence in its leadership. Therefore, competition is weak and must be complemented with cooperation in order to produce stable results.

Cooperation, unlike competition, can stand alone. For example, in marriages and other personal relationships, there needs to be no competition. In fact, competition in these kinds of interactions will only break them down. Cooperation strengthens relationships, while competition breaks relationships. Another example is the case of emergencies relief situations. If competition is employed in such cases, it can lead to devastating effects. During most humanitarian situations such as earthquakes, famine, or floods, the humanitarian agents do not compete; rather, they cooperate with each other in helping the affected populations.  This shows that cooperation is superior, as it does not need competition to achieve good results. In the learning process, students feel good when they cooperate in class rather than reading on their own. This boosts their self-esteem and gives them a sense of belonging, acceptance, and community, since they are engaged in group discussions. Cooperation also provides an opportunity for creativity. This is the same case even at the workplace, where teamwork is highly embraced.

In order to deal with the problem of negative competition in society, most of the corrective efforts must be aimed at the educational system. Teaching students, who are future generation and professionals, is paramount. These should be taught cooperative skills so that they will influence the future corporate world positively, thus improving the economy. The same responsibility must be taken by parents to teach their children cooperative skills at an early age. Once cooperation is realized in society, it becomes much easier to deal with different societal issues.

Generally, cooperation boosts people’s leadership skills, gives everyone a chance to participate and feel part of a group, and changes a person’s perception of their job place. Cooperation also leads to a quality output and better working environments. However, cooperation must be conducted while upholding the integrity of the activity being undertaken. It ought to be an objective cooperation. Nonetheless, cooperation is of great value in the society, it should therefore be practiced, and encouraged. It is because of cooperation that people acquire the virtue of good will. Unlike cooperation, which brings out the best in us, competition often brings out the beast in us. There is therefore no other better time to adopt cooperation, except now.

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SOMERSET RURAL YOUTH PROJECT

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A Case analysis of Somerset Rural Youth Project

The world today is experiencing a harsh economic climate. There are a variety of economic challenges today, which raises concerns about the future economic health of the world. Among the economic challenges, the youth are as well among the most affected, as their states have not effectively addressed the issues of education, training, and employment for them, considering they are the future generation. The youth in the rural areas have fewer opportunities compared to their counterparts in the urban areas. This is because the state does not give the youth in rural areas the attention and concern they deserve. The shortcomings of governments in addressing the plight of the youth has seen different organizations, as well as individuals take the initiative of addressing youth employment, education, and training concerns, especially in the rural areas. All this is to supplement government efforts, which seem to be inadequate in addressing these issues.

In England, the “Somerset Rural Youth Project (SRYP),” a registered, charitable rural organization, serves the purpose of supplementing government efforts in addressing different issues that face the youth in the rural areas. This project is the third biggest rural youth project in the UK, and is dedicated to ensuring youth empowerment in the rural areas (“Commission for Rural Communities” 2012). This youth project is highly diversified as it offers different services to the youth in isolated rural areas. Its partnership with the the Statutory Youth Service and other agencies helps it support its provision of an integrated youth provision in the whole rural county (“East Huntspill Parish Council” 2012). The SRYP is mainly concerned with the provision of advice, information, and guidance about different important issues such as employment, health, budgeting, sports, and training, among others. This is done through activities such as peer education, workshops, and volunteer services, among others. Support is given for the needy youth to pursue their educational needs, get employment, or learn different skills through the Rural Skills Workshop owned by SRYP. This project also values innovation and testing for its participants (“Somerset Rural Youth Project”).

At SRYP, quality is a priority, and so quality maintenance is integrated in the project’s business strategy. The business strategy of SRYP is long-term and comprises different strategies to ensure that the objectives and goals of the project are met, and are viable and effective. In order to ensure value in its activities, the business plan of SRYP focuses on beating competition in the area by increasing the effectiveness of the project. The commissioning of Exeter University to conduct a longitudinal research focusing on the aspirations of the youth is a commendable strategy, aimed at putting the project in the limelight as a leader in charity. This study helps SRYP to identify the needs of the youth, and come up with activities, which address the identified needs of the youth. Need-based activities are commendable as they serve the purpose and needs of the youth, thus increasing the quality of the project (“BQF” 2012).

Secondly, the move to gain a C2E accreditation is a move aimed at emphasizing the project’s commitment to quality. With a C2E accreditation, an organization shows its support for equality practice and its commitment to quality (“C2E” 2012).This way, the reputation of the project will be a positive one, enough to increase the trust of its donors and partners, thus increasing the possibility of more funding from its donors and partners.

Thirdly, by hiring a Business Development Manager, the project will have climbed a notch higher in its management. In fact, only effective management will propel the achievement of its goals and objectives. Therefore, a Business Development Manager will manage the project well, ensuring continued commitment to quality, and effectiveness of the programmes. Finally, the launching of a training programme for SRYP’s youth workers will help them participate positively to the strategic approach to the project’s programmes. Workers are the main forces behind the success of any organization. Therefore, training workers helps raise the quality standards of an organization. This is therefore a good strategy for SRYP in ensuring quality in its activities (“BQF” 2012).

Generally, the success story of SRYP is quite encouraging and inspirational. However, it seems that there are many challenges lying ahead of SRYP future operations. First, the SRYP’s financial, operational, and political systems cannot be mainstreamed as the standard practice. Although these systems have proved to be effective in the operation of SRYP, these cannot be utilized by other organizations since they do not measure up to the global standards. There is fear that if SRYP was to close down, most of its projects, such as the Moped Loan Scheme, cannot be adopted by other organizations despite the fact that they were cost-effective and successful. Failure to adopt global standards in its objectives also limits SRYP access to global funding. This incompatibility is a challenge to both the present and future of SRYP (“BQF” 2012).

The imbalance in allocation of time for project activities and funding process is quite a challenge. A major concern of SRYP is to ensure the continuity of its programmes. This requires commitment and time for all its participants. However, the youth workers in SRYP spend a bigger part of their time writing proposals seeking funding from donors. This also includes writing reports for the funding bodies on the progress of the projects, as well as writing new proposals to call for funding from new donors and partners. This is a considerable time that they could have used in the activities of the project, and getting closer to the youth they deal with. This in turn could have a negative influence on the productivity and effectiveness of the project.

The attention and great dedication that SRYP gives to the achievement of its goals and objectives is quite detrimental, as this limits innovation. When this project pays close attention and commits only to its objectives and goals, it lacks the freedom to explore newer ideas. This therefore has limited its innovation capabilities. Most funding organizations consider innovation as paramount to any youth projects. This lack of innovativeness on the side of SRYP, could therefore limit its donor funding, because they do not emphasize innovation in their policies (“BQF” 2012).

Funding continues to be a problem for SRYP. The programmes and activities conducted by SYPR need finances in order for them to be effective and viable. However, given the current difficult economic environment, SRYP cannot afford to raise alone all the amount of finances needed to run their projects. This leads them to solicit funding from donors and partners, who falling in the harsh economic times, may not give enough to sustain SRYP projects. With the lack of hope in the future of world economy, it is more likely that funding for SRYP will remain a great challenge, even in the future. Nonetheless, SRYP manages to acquire money for its programmes and maintain its good practice. Most of the policy and financial constraints experienced by SRYP are beyond its control and the control of their partners (“BQF” 2012).

SRYP’s journey to excellence though faced with challenges, need to proceed and bear fruit. The youth workers in SRYP are dedicated and committed to delivering good results for the project; however, there is more to results. They need to realize and understand the dynamics of the world economy, and therefore learn how to effectively manage all the little resources they have. This management element in the youth workers should be the responsibility of SRYP through training sessions for the workers. Investment in this course is worthwhile, as it will result in saving and good management of resources, therefore no resources put to waste.

For achievement of more funding, SRYP needs to strategize in order to attract donors and funding organizations. This could be through adjustment of its policies to meet the requirements of most donor bodies. More funding will boost the quality of SRYP’s services. There is also need for SRYP to embrace more innovation, which it lacks. If SRYP exhibits high innovation, this will guarantee it more donor advantages, as it is a condition for most donor organizations.  Innovation also ensures that diversity and high quality services are provided. Therefore, SRYP should avoid concentrating solely on its goals and objectives, and instead welcome different other ideas. This will be a commendable step in the journey to excellence.

Finally, SRYP needs to align its objectives with the global community standards. SRYP has not synchronized its policies and objectives to the global standards. This specificity of SRYP’s objectives then deters it from getting involved with other global organizations, as its objectives are particularistic. Objectives based on global standards can as well attract international donors, which is beneficial to an organization. Therefore, SRYP needs to integrate international resources into its operations as quality assessment is currently based on global standards as opposed to national standards alone.

Works Cited

“BQF” 2012 British Quality Foundation, Retrieved 19 November 2012,

<http://www.bqf.org.uk/sites/default/files/uploads/pdf/casestudies/Somerset_Rural_Youth_Project.pdf>

“C2E” 2012 C2E Equality Standard, Retrieved 19 November 2012,

<http://www.c2e.co.uk/standard.html>

“Commission for Rural Communities” 2012 Rural Youth Projects, The

Somerset Rural Youth Project. Retrieved 19 November 2012, <http://crc.staging.headshift.com/files/ST33.pdf.>

“East Huntspill Parish Council” 2012 Somerset Rural Youth Project. Retrieved 19 November

2012, <http://www.easthuntspillparishcouncil.gov.uk/Somerset-Rural-Youth-Project.aspx>

“Somerset Rural Youth Project” nd. Retrieved 19 November 2012,

<http://www.sryp.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48&Itemid=55>

 

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DRAFT

Final copy coming your way just shortly

At the beginning of the story, an eccentric Krespel, an amateur violinist and councilor is shown building his eccentric house. Krespel has a daughter called Antonia, of whom no one knows the relationship between these two of them. Several hints are given on the relationship between Antonia and Krespel. It is some kind of an unusual relationship. The funeral of Antonia id described, though in the form of a discreet narrator. At the beginning of this story, the details of the life of Antonia are not disclosed; neither does the author disclose facts about her illness and the causes of her death. These are only disclosed near the end of the book.

This is a tale that expresses Hoffman’s passion for music and singers, as its theme bases strongly on music. This is how he gives the details of Antonia and her life. Krespel narrates about his marriage to an Italian opera singer; Angela, who was popular. Krespel loved music, and so had bought a violin, which he loved to play. Unfortunately, his Italian wife accidentally breaks his violin while playing it. This annoys Krespel, who then pushes her out through the window and later flees to Germany for fear that he might have harmed her. After living in Germany for some time, Krespel gets the information that his wife had given birth to a baby girl, named Antonia.

Krespel’s wife later dies abruptly in Italy, and Antonia comes to live with her father, Krespel. Antonia is also a talented musician, just like her father and mother. However, her father, Krespel, does not want her to practice her talent. He fears that if Antonia explored her music talent, she will be risking death, just like her mother, while trying to practice her singing talent. Krespel is portrayed as a quite unusual man who goes ahead to stop Antonia’s marriage to a young music composer in addition to forbidding her from singing. He acts in an overprotective manner, fearing that the young composer would influence Antonia to engage in music, against his wish, and the dangers he thinks are involved.

Krespel spends time with Antonia, undoing old violins, in an attempt to learn how these are structured and how they operate. Days later, Krespel goes to Cremona and buys a new violin there. He plays this violin to Antonia as she listens in fascination. She is thrilled by this, and thinks to herself that since she has been denied the opportunity to practice her singing talent, then the violin will be playing her role. She assumes that the violin had taken her place and was singing on her behalf. She finds a consolation in this and accepts the fact that she will never sing, due to her father’s restrictions. She makes up her mind to forget her dream of music, and live her life happily, like everybody else. She then is happy with her life from then henceforth.

One day, while Krespel sleeps, he has a strange dream. He dreams that he could hear Antonia singing, with the violin, in the company of her once fiancé, the young composer. This surprises him, and on waking up from the dream, he heads directly to Antonia’s bedroom. There, he finds her inside. She was lying on the sofa, eyes closed, with an angelic smile. She was dead.

This is an intriguing tale,

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Xuxub Must Die: The Lost Histories of a Murder on the Yucatan

“Xuxub Must Die” by Sullivan Paul primarily seeks to establish factors that led to the 1875 murder of the Stephen Roberts, an Irish-American plantation manager, together with his farm workers by Maya rebels. Over the generations, no exact reason for this has been unraveled. Most are just varying theories on the same issue. Some of these theories reasons point toward a conflict related to love, while others blame it on the backlash of Maya slavery. In this essay, the major events that led to the murder of Stephens Robert will be addressed, together with the implications of the caste war in Yucatan on this event, from the perspectives of Sullivan Paul in his book, “Xuxub Must Die.”

In October 1875, a group of the Mayan Caste War rebels attacked the sugar plantation, Xuxub, which is located in the northern part of the Yucatan Peninsula. These war rebels were responsible for the murder of the owner of this plantation, who was Irish-American. Robert Stephens was murdered together with his plantation laborers, who comprised both men and women. It is believed that the attack this triggered the government troops to hunt down members of this rebel group the next day and managed to kill some of them. However, Sullivan thinks this was a fallacy, and that the government did nothing to investigate into the murder of Stephens, since it was indirectly behind this attack.

Sullivan, in this book attempts to establish the main reasons behind the caste war, by putting all the events in perspective. He questions why this has to be dug up again. In his opinion, the Maya remember this war as a victorious event on their side. However, its counterparts, the Americans and Mexicans do not remember this. Nonetheless, Sullivan holds that, by going back in history, through studying the events underlying this war, we might end up with useful discoveries about this event, which were not made back then. Sullivan however understands that not everyone will benefit from this knowledge. Nevertheless, there is a lesson anyone can learn from Xuxub. Sullivan impeccably employs factors such as personal, political, and cultural, to break down the events in the war. This good read can be immensely beneficial to those people interested in long history.

In this book, Sullivan condemns the war and thinks it was a fight or resistance to progress. The victim, Robert Stephens is portrayed as a highly skilled man, who goes to live in Yutican, a foreign land to him in order to employ his skills and expertise in the development of a country, which according to him, is in dire need of that kind of civilization. Sullivan therefore thinks that Robert and his wife Mary were exceptional to have thought of doing that. According to Sullivan, Robert did not have making profits as his main intention when he made this decision. In Cuba, Stephens mainly applied his engineering skills on the sugar plantations, as well as railroads. Therefore, such a good man with good intentions did not deserve to die in a brutal way.

From this book, a reader realizes that Roberts lived in an era where Cubans were still under colonization from the Spaniards. The Americans in Cuba desired that the Cubans get their independence in order to run their country well. It was however not the duty of Stephens to fight for the independence of Cubans. Stephens was however compelled to be part of the events around Cubans, fight for independence, because he was among the few influential Americans in Cuba at that particular period. This saw him witness the Cuban revolutionaries wage war with their Spanish garrisons, and this sometimes turned brutal.

What made Roberts vulnerable to attacks in Cuba is the fact that he had befriended Napoleon Arango, a top member of the Cuban revolutionary groups responsible for independence struggle. The Spanish soldiers murdered Augusto, who was Arango’s brother while attempting to forge peace talks with them. Arango was with Roberts when the Spanish seized him. He was as well captured, after he tried to plead Arango’s innocence. Amid all these, the Spaniards destroyed Arango’s plantation and estate, but he did not retaliate. This conflict and war situation saw Stephens abandon Cuba and move back to the USA.

From the States, Stephens moved to the peninsula of Yucatan, as fate led him. There he was appointed as an engineer in a new port project. After eight months, his appointment was accomplished, and Stephens had the option of returning to America. However, he was hired again in a sugar plantation to install sugar-milling equipment. While here, Stephens came to close contact with the Yucatan elite group, including the Urcelays.

Stephens, as it appears, had a variety of experiences in conflicts wherever he settled. Here in Yucatan, the relations between the Yucatans and the Indian population was the cause of a lot of tension, as the Yucatans believed that they could only progress economically if they got rid of the Indians. The Mayan Indians were agriculturalists who supplied food for all the Yucatans in towns and cities. Yucatans believed in the role of foreigners in their economy, and so accommodated many foreigners in their industries, including Stephens.

An important aspect in Stephen’s life in Yucatan was the agreement he struck with Aznar, a wealthy merchant, to purchase Xuxub, a plantation estate. The former owner sold this to Aznar and Stephens, who retained the field laborers, who were mainly the Mayan Indians. Stephens managed this plantation well and it was a success for him. However, trouble started showing up when some wealthy and powerful Urcelays, who owned an adjacent sugar plantation, Solferino, attempted to murder him for reasons unknown to him. The Urcelays used an ex-convict, Montilla to get to Stephens.

Sullivan clearly states that the relationship between the Urcelays and Robert Stephens primarily contributed to the events that led to his murder. These first came in contact when they hired Stephens to install a processing equipment on their sugarcane plantation. During his work period with the Urcelays, Stephens was involved in some mishap where he made great loses, which he had to pay for. In addition, the Urcelays did not pay half of his salary, claiming it was a compensation for the losses. Stephens however, successfully compensated the equipment damaged, and from then the Urcelays did not like him, and so were jealous of his progress in Xuxub.

The main argument presented in this book about the causes of Stephen’s murder is the strained relationship between him and the Urcelays. The Urcelays were hostile plantation managers who mistreated their workers, while Stephens was the most liked manager. He treated his workers well, even the workers who fled from the Urcelays sought refuge in Xuxub on Stephen’s plantation, where they were accommodated, and enjoyed better working terms. All these aggravated Urcelays’ hate toward Stephens. Urcelays also had a conflict with Mayan Indians, from whom they tried to grab land and other property. This led to a series of wars between these two groups. However, the Urcelays employed hostile Indians to join them in their fight against their enemies, including Stephens.

The Caste war in Yucatan was because of feuds between foreign investors, and the locals. The government in Yucatan did not resent the injustices on the Americans there. Instead, the evils of Montilla on Stephens were justified in the local dailies, while condemning Aznar and Stephens’s attempts to protect themselves. It is clear that the Yucatans did not like the progress of Americans in their land. Commandant Montilla was responsible for the murder of Stephen Roberts in October. They however blamed this on the hostile Indians. The Urcelays and Montilla were therefore falsely termed innocent in this.

Conclusively, this story by Sullivan describes a dark and compelling history. The events are unraveled in a way that integrates ethnography and journalism. Jealousy from the locals is the basis of all events that transpire in this war. Racism, forced labor, importation of foreign technology and capital, characterize the plantations in Yucatan. This war and the invasion on Xuxub however played a vital historical role as it marked an important incident in the shaping of Mexico during the age of initial globalization.

 

Works Cited

Sullivan, Paul. “Xuxub Must Die: The Lost Histories of a Murder on the Yucatan.” University of

Pittsburgh Press. 2006.

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Outline

1. Introduction

The role of bank loans and student loans in different world nations

A highlight of the federal student loans in the USA

Thesis statement – Student loans are widely preferred by students, therefore are better than bank loans, mainly because of their easy accessibility and convenience.

2. Main Body

Role of government in higher education – the government continues to play the most important role in education, as compared to banks, since most college students have benefited from the government student loans more than bank loans.

Comparison of conditions and requirements for qualification of federal student loans and bank loans – Federal loans are easily accessible than bank loans.

Flexibility of bank loans and federal loans – Federal loans are more flexible, starting from application to repayment process.

Elements of loan forgiveness and guarantee in both loans – Federal loans are entitled to loan forgiveness and are guaranteed in case of death or disability. Bank loans are not.

Interest rates – Federal loans have lower and fixed interest rates, while bank loans have higher and unstable interest rates.

Counter-argument based on efficiency and student satisfaction – bank loans cater for all student needs as the loan amount is not fixed. The application procedure of bank loan is not cumbersome.

3. Conclusion

Importance of both the federal student loans and bank loans in higher education

Future of the education aid in United States, in form of bank loans and federal student loans

 

 

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Student Loan Vs. Bank loans

            In most developed and developing countries of the world, students are considered for loans to facilitate their higher education. These are in the form of government student loans or the private loans, including bank loans. This is one of the ways in educational policies to ensure higher education for all in a country. In the United States, student loans are provided under the federal student loans. However, these loan types have different conditions for their accessibility by students, which makes one form to be more preferred than the other. Nonetheless, different researches point to the fact that student loans, apart from being easy to qualify, have many more other advantages, which makes them to be more preferred and more convenient than bank loans.

Forest observes that the state government plays the greatest role in financial aid for education of students in higher institutions of learning (259). However, he does not ignore the contribution of the private sector, especially banks, in offering students loans for their higher education. Nevertheless, Forest insists that the US federal government plays the most important role in financing students’ higher education as compared to the private sector, including banks. For instance, between 1998 and 1999, the federal government was responsible for 70 percent of financial aid to college and university students in the form of student loans. This was a total of $46 billion, inclusive of student loans and grants (Forest 260). This therefore points to the great influence of federal student loans in higher education, with bank loans having a lesser influence.

According to Forest, what makes federal student loans to be more preferable is their limited requirements and conditions for one to qualify for. In the US, the federal student loans are easy to qualify for, and have fewer restrictions. On the other hand, bank loans are hard to qualify for and highly restrictive. For one to qualify for a bank account, they have to show a reliable credit history, and possess sufficient income as shown by one’s bank account balance. However, most students in the world are still young, with no reliable income or bank account balances, which can serve as collateral for the bank loans. This therefore makes student loans a good option for students, as they do not require any collateral as a qualification condition (Forest 263).

“Kiplinger’s Personal Finance” records that the flexibility of federal student loans applies even during the loan repayment period, and this boosts their likeability by students. After studies, and upon getting employment, a student may choose the most convenient way for them to repay the loan (71). In the US, repayment of the Federal student loans depends on the approach one chooses to follow. First, one may opt for the extended payment. Here, the interest rates will be slightly high, but the repayment period is greatly prolonged, and includes lower monthly payments. Additionally, the monthly payments will change according to the changes in salary amount. Federal loans also allow one to pause loan repayment. This could be due to personal reasons of unemployment, among others. Unlike the federal loans, bank loans are generally less accommodating for students as their flexibility is limited. Different bodies offer bank loans, and therefore there is lack of uniformity in their lending process. Students interested in bank loans have to go an extra mile of researching on the different banks and coming up with the most preferred one after weighing different conditions, they present. On the other hand, government student loans application procedure and terms of repayment are clearly stated in different documentations available in multiple sources (“Kiplinger’s Personal Finance” 72). This makes student loans to be more convenient than bank loans.

According to Woodhall, the state government guarantees student loans in the US and other countries. This means that in case of failure for the student to repay their loan due to various reasons, the taxpayer will foot in the deficit created (42-43). On the other hand, most banks require a guarantor before loaning out their money, due to their lack of guarantee on their money. The guarantor is responsible for loan repayment in case the loanee fails to repay. According to “Kiplinger’s Personal Finance” magazine, the federal student loans in the US also offer loan forgiveness. When this is granted, it means the loan debt is cancelled and therefore not repayable. This may be possible if the student dies or is becomes disabled. However, this is hard to achieve, and does not apply to banks (71-72). Additionally, most bank loans require students to start their repayment plan while still in college. Like any other bank loans, students need to start repayment immediately after the grace period. This is unlike the federal student loans that require repayment six months after college graduation. This way, a student will have gotten employment, therefore well placed to repay their loan (“Kiplinger’s Personal Finance” 75). Thus, this emphasizes the convenience of student loans.

Woodhall (47) and “Kiplinger’s Personal Finance” magazine (79) share the view that bank loans come with high interest rates as compared to the federal student loans. The federal student loans come with fixed interest rates, and therefore these cannot change in case of economic instability. Bank loans on the other hand, have interest rates that are subject to change depending on the economic climate. Therefore, a borrower is not in a position to pre-plan for the loan repayment. Additionally, interest on student loans is kept low with government subsidies (“Kiplinger’s Personal Finance”82). Similarly, Forest (263) notes that federal student loans, unlike bank loans, come with additional packages such as educational grants for needy students, and these are not repayable. This puts the federal student loans in a higher position.

On the contrast, Hussain argues that bank loans too are as advantageous as student loans, but in their own different ways. First, he states that the overdraft form of a bank loan is simplistic. In this case, the person borrowing the loan does not have to open another account, after the confirmation of their current account (54). Thus, students do not have to undergo tiresome procedures in their application of a bank loan. There is also an argument that, bank loans have grown more popular among students today, meaning they are the most preferred than federal student loans (“Money-Zine” WEB). The author argues that the federal loans have not lived up to the expectations of the increasing tuition, and room and board costs. Therefore, more students seek bank loans, which meet their needs. To back this up, several researches has shown that most students, who go for private loans such as bank loans, are not left with any unmet need, compared to those who solely relied on federal loans (“Money-Zine” WEB). Thus, bank loans are hailed for satisfying student needs as students can apply for the amount that their needs cost. This is unlike the federal student loans, where the amount is fixed. Nonetheless, this does not lower the position the federal student loans hold in the financing of higher education.

Conclusively, both the bank loans and student loans play important role in furthering higher education in countries. However, as seen in the case of USA, federal student loans are more convenient as compared to bank loans. This ranges from the element of accessibility of the loans, to repayment procedures involved. Despite the various arguments by different researches and authors against the federal student loans, they remain the most preferred by students, considering they have lasted for years, in addition to their vast benefits. The importance of banks cannot be disregarded either. Although the federal student loans are subject to politics and national economy, opinion polls in the US have shown that Americans highly value education; given this is the age of information economy. Therefore, this makes the future of financial aid programs, including bank loans and federal student loans, to generally be considered promising.

 

Works Cited

“Kiplinger’s Personal Finance” Vol. 62, No. 6. Jun 2008. WEB.

“Money-Zine” Web, Retrieved 5 December 2012, <http://www.money-zine.com/Financial-

Planning/College-Loan/Private-Student-Loans/>

Forest, James. “Higher Education in the United States: An Encyclopedia.” New York: ABC-

CLIO, 2002.

Hussain, Ashiq. “A Textbook of Business Finance.” London: East African Publishers, 1989.

Woodhall, Maureen. “Student Loans: Potentials, Problems, and Lessons from Interpretational

Experience.” Boston College & Council for the Development of Social Science Research

in Africa, 2004. Pdf.

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Effectiveness of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (2002)

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After a seven-year struggle by congressional sponsors to amend the Federal Campaign Law, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) was finally enacted on March 27, 2002 after signing by president. This is concerned with the eradication of corruption that was formerly perpetrated by political parties during the electioneering process. Political parties in America today play different roles, from member recruitment to advocacy of political issues. These therefore need money for successful execution of their roles. Most parties have solicited for money from different sources, including corporations and individuals. However, a ban on “soft money” in 2002 brought changes in the role of money in political campaigns. This paper addresses the objectives and consequences of BCRA, and its effectiveness or ineffectiveness, basing on a variety of events in the political arena today.

The main objectives of the BCRA are to restrict the use of corporate and union funds in federal elections, and control of communication in electioneering. Therefore, a ban on “soft money” and the controlled political advertisements are major concerns of BCRA. This is all in an effort to regulate the escalating cost of campaigns, and reduce corruption in electioneering. Wallison & Gora (2009) argue that raising of large sums of money by candidates has a corrupting influence in politics, and on the candidates’ policies. The opponents of this reform however, argue that large amounts of money are needed to fund the candidates’ campaign expenditures, as well as to hold meaningful political debates at the national level. Whether this law is seen in negative or positive light, what remains is that it has changed the way politics are played in America today. Smith argues that political parties need more money, and not less, in their campaigns. He also considers the electioneering communication restriction in BCRA as a violation of constitutional right of freedom of expression (Smith, 2003).

 

The greatest determinant of the effectiveness of the BCRA is the emerging role of non-profit groups in the post BCRA political environment. The 2004 campaign was the first to be under the influence of BCRA. It is evident that the BCRA did not make political parties starve due to lack of finances. Surprisingly, the national political parties raised more hard money in 2003, than they did in both soft and hard money in 1999. The Democratic and Republican parties raised a sum of $371 million in hard money alone in the first year of post BCRA era, as compared to $266 million, a sum of both hard and soft money in the 2000 campaign period, before the BCRA. Today, the Republican Party raises more hard money than the Democratic Party. Nonetheless, both parties have increased their sum of hard money raised over years past the BCRA. Due to the restrictions by BCRA, Political Parties have maximized their money raising capabilities from the PACs and from individuals. This shows that the BCRA has not been effective in regulating the amount of money political parties acquire for their campaigns. BCRA’s restriction on soft money has made parties go for an alternative of hard money, which the parties can source from unrestricted sources. Political Parties today have turned to a large numbers of small donors, rather than a small number of large soft money (Malbin, 2003)

BCRA has seen a significant reduction of soft money spent in electioneering. Different analyses have shown that today in the post BCRA era, it is quite hard to make soft money contributions. Today, there are no links between the electioneering non-profit groups, officeholders, and candidates. Before the BCRA, party officials directly connected the large soft money contributors and the public officials in whom they were interested. Soft money contributions were offered in exchange for access to officeholders and candidates. This situation served as the grounds for the U.S Supreme Court to ban soft money. Today, after the BCRA, non-profit groups do not have access to officeholders and so cannot make their soft money contributions. This way, the BCRA takes credit for the change (Samples, 2005).

Failure of BCRA to emphasize on disclosure requirements for non-profit groups has presented many loopholes. The disclosure requirements of non-profit groups today are weak, untimely, and poorly enforced. The information is not availed easily for public access through the internet, but can only be availed upon request. In addition, the nature of the financial disclosure forms for non-profit groups cannot guarantee discernment of electioneering activities by these electioneering bodies. Therefore, this presents loopholes for underground campaign activities, and proves BCRA ineffective. BCRA needs to clarify its disclosure requirements for non-profits and enforce these requirements (Katkin, 2004).

Conclusively, it is a fact that both political candidates and their parties need money in order to run their campaigns. They also need to express and sell their agendas to the public, during their campaigns. However, owing to the negative issues that emerge during the electioneering process, the Federal Government enacted the BCRA in order to regulate electioneering. This Act has registered success, as well as failures in its objectives. For instance, the links between electioneering non-profit groups, officeholders, and candidates has been cut, therefore reducing the possibility of soft money contributions. However, parties have sought the alternative of hard money from numerous small donors. Therefore, they accumulate even more money than before the BCRA. In addition, regulation of electioneering communication is viewed today as a violation of freedom of speech. Nonetheless, no policy can attain perfection. BCRA just needs to employ more clarity in its requirements, and use a little more force in its enforcement.

 

 

References

Katkin, K. (2004). Campaign  Finance Reform After Federal  Election Commission  V. Mcconnell. Northern  Kentucky Law Review; Symposium Issue  (31:3): 233-375.

Malbin, J. (2003). Life After Reform: When the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act Meets Politics. USA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Samples, C. ( 2005). Welfare for Politicians?: Taxpayer Financing of Campaigns. USA: Cato Institute.

Smith, A. (2003). Unfree Speech: The Folly of Campaign Finance Reform. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Wallison, P., & Gora, J. (2009). Better Parties, Better Government: A Realistic Program for Campaign Finance Reform. Washington, D.C: AEI Press.

 

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 MEMORANDUM

Date: 08/11/2012

Subject: Corporations in Contemporary Business Environment

To: The Chief Communication Officer (Wal-Mart Stores)

From:

Background

The purpose of this memo is to share with your company some essential aspects in the business environment. Wal-Mart being a 500 Fortune Company, has a great influence on the economy of the United States of America, as well as the global economy. This information will be instrumental in the strengthening this company and other 500 Fortune Companies.

My analysis of the DVD The Corporation: (2004) based on the book The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power (2004) by Joel Bakan, and “Good to Great,” a book by Jim Collins, are the basis of my ideas. This documentary and book address critical aspects in corporations. If these are applied in any corporation, it will go a step further.

Key Points

• The place of corporations in contemporary business environment.
• Challenges corporations face in contemporary business environment.
• Solution to challenges posed by the contemporary business environment

Analysis

            Basing on the reading “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t” by Jim Collins, and the documentary “The Corporation,” I will explain the state of the corporation today, under the influence of different aspects in the current business environment. Major challenges as well as solutions will be highlighted.

The Place of the Corporation in the Current Business Environment

The corporation today draws from a black history. Both the book and documentary address the importance of business ethics, as these determine the success of a corporation. Most corporations in the past did not embrace business ethics in their operations.

Most corporations today have carried forth the ill practices of past corporations by continuing to violate business ethics. Interest of corporations has shifted from the consumers’ needs to profits, and involvement in politics, with vetted interests. Attention is centered only on stockholders.

The personification of corporations in the US is viewed by most people as pathological and evident of the greed for profits. Corporations disregard a healthy environmental outlook in their quest for profits. Lack of accountability is the root cause of this negative image of corporations today. Ideally, corporations should serve a good purpose. However, these have become perpetrators of present economic evils. They have a conscience but lack remorse.

Challenges corporations face in contemporary business environment

Multinationals in America experience a harsh global business environment due to Anti-Americanism. The main reasons for this are their exploitative nature of, hyperconsumerism nature, and insensitivity to other cultures.

Corporations are seen in negative light and so it has been difficult for them to win the trust of the society. Corporate reporting has plunged quite a number of corporations in scandals, lowering trust level.

Solution to Global Challenges Posed by the Contemporary Business Environment

Transparency in corporations through adopting a culture of accountability is vital, to restore its trustworthiness. Concern for environmental and social performance and addressing public concern must be a priority, as this creates a rapport with the society. The nature of corporate leadership and methodology employed are eminent in determining if any corporation will climb the success ladder. Positive leadership and effective approaches must therefore be inculcated in the corporate culture, to ensure its stability in the contemporary business environment.

 

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Article Critique – “Armstrong Gets Dumped” –

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   “Armstrong Gets Dumped” is an article in The Wall Street Journal of Thursday, October 18, 2012, by Shelly Banjo. The article is a reporting on the implications of the doping scandal of Lance Armstrong, a popular road-racing cyclist, who is known for winning seven consecutive times the Tour de France between 1999 and 2005. He also is a survivor of testicular cancer, an aspect that inspired him to establish a cancer foundation. The US-Anti Doping Agency (USADA) finds him guilty of doping, and different measures are placed against him, the greatest being banning him from future participation in cycling sport. In this essay, I will provide a critique to this article, addressing the issue of doping, its impact on business, and the best way to address this problem.

This article gives a reader an insight into Armstrong’s doping scandal. It shows how this issue began, and its final implications, which leave Armstrong in negative light. Most importantly, the US-Anti Doping Agency (USADA) declares Armstrong guilty of doping, based on a 200-page report with intensive details, which point to fact that Armstrong ran a complex doping operation. It is decided that he is a drug cheat when he fails to defend himself against these allegations. What follows is the stripping off all his seven Tour de France wins. Different organizations he collaborated with deny him and promise to cut business relations with him. For example, Nike terminates his contract abruptly, while some cycling chiefs from International Cycling Union (UCI) require Armstrong to repay all the prize money from the stripped winnings from 1998-2005, and he resigns as the chairperson of Livestrong, his cancer foundation (“The Wall Street Journal”).

In this article, the author takes a neutral stand, as she neither supports nor condemns any of the parties involved in this whole issue. The author only reports on the facts as they are, and does not give personal opinion on the overall issue. This is a commendable approach, essential in reporting, for bias avoidance.

Armstrong’s doping scandal raises many concerns in the cycling sport, as doping is mentioned as a trend among some cyclists. Nonetheless, doping, according to the World Anti-Doping Agency is illegal. One of the reasons is that it adversely affects the health of the involved athletes, and is considered cheating in sport (Porterfield, 2007). Therefore, pointing out and investigating Armstrong by USADA for this practice is in order. However, the measures taken against him, as well as the kind of publication of the evidence adopted cast a doubt on the presentational procedure employed. This kind of publicity may influence the cycling sport in the wrong light (Rigozzi, Kaufmann-Kohler & Malinverni, 2003). A number of criticisms raised on this issue point out that the sanctions taken against Armstrong violated the US anti-doping law, and most sport law experts consider them extreme (“NDTV SPORTS”). According to the “Herald Sun,” reviews are underway in the manner this issue was handled .

Conclusively, this article indirectly brings out the importance of integrity and upholding of ethics in whatever kind of business or work environment one is in. Lack of integrity by Armstrong has earned him a bad reputation, causing his business partners to lose trust in him and cut business links with him. Nonethelesss, doping is illegal and governments could enforce the anti-doping laws by changing current strategies to more effective ones.

 

References

“Herald Sun” (n.d). Federal Sports Minister announces review in wake of Lance Armstrong scandal. Retrieved from http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/more-sport/federal-sports-minister-announces-review-in-wake-of-lance-armstrong-scandal/story-e6frfglf-1226512244609

“NDTV SPORTS.” (n.d). Lance Armstrong ban flouted anti-doping law: Experts. Retrieved from http://sports.ndtv.com/othersports/cycling/item/198695-lance-armstrong-ban-flouted-anti-doping-law-experts.

“The Wall Street Journal.” (n.d). Lance Armstrong Gets Dumped. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444868204578062313532317222.html

Porterfield, J. (2007). Doping: Athletes and Drugs. The Rosen Publishing Group.

Rigozzi, A., Kaufmann-Kohler, G., & Malinverni, G. (2003). Doping and fundamental rights of athletes: comments in the wake of the adoption of the world anti-doping code. I.S.L.R 3, Sweet & Maxwell Limited.

 

 

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Why did the United States adopt a Policy of Neutrality from 1914 to 1917?

At the beginning of the 19th Century, America was experiencing a rapid growth rate. It therefore concerned itself with its internal issues, rather than the external global issues. The core issues were, solving the unemployment problem, promoting human rights, and regulating corporations. However, this was prone to change as the international issues eminently influenced America. The First World War presented a critical situation for America’s equilibrium. However, America chose not to take sides with any of the warring sides, but carry on its businesses. US President Wilson publicly declared this neutrality policy, and most Americans welcomed it. In this essay, the main reasons behind America’s adoption of neutrality policy will be established. In addition, the effectiveness of this policy will be determined, basing on different events that occurred during the period 1914-1917.

Since the late 19^th Century, different countries in Europe had been forming unions and alliances, to enhance their preparedness for war. This saw the Independent German Kingdoms come together in the late 1870’s, and this became the most powerful in the continent. During that time, France highly invested in weapons, in anticipation of an attack from Germany, its long time enemy. The power status of German was a threat to most counties, including Russia, which had to take sides with France, Great Britain, and even German itself, to ensure its safety. The British effort to remain uninvolved in conflict was impossible, owing to its ownership of the most powerful navy in the world. Unrest in Europe was hastened by rebellious provinces of Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Ottoman leaders who aimed at expansion of their empire. However, Europe was resistant to war and tried to withhold this for a long time. During this period, the Central powers included Ottoman Turks, Germans, and Austro-Hungarians, while their rivals, the entente powers included France, Great Britain, and Russia (U.S Department of State Web).

The United States of America dissociated itself from these events, even though most of its citizens were generally inclined to England and the Entente powers. Most Americans did not want their county to participate in the war. America therefore distanced itself from these events, and hoped not to get involved in them. Most Americans, as well as their leaders, including the president and the congress then, adopted this perspective. The then president Woodrow Wilson introduced the “neutrality policy,” publicly citing that the USA must remain neutral in the situation, and display impartiality in both actions, and thought. By doing this, Wilson thought that the probability of putting to risk the other US policies would be greatly minimized.

America adopted this policy because they wanted to avoid effects of the war on their county and economy. The neutrality policy upheld the principles of impartiality, friendliness, and fairness. However, the successful implementation of this required the citizens’ loyalty to their nation. Wilson thought that America needed the neutrality concept for the protection of the diverse populations it held, which included people from different parts of the world, and different races. Therefore, neutrality was meant to serve as an instrument for expressing sympathy to the warring nations, since a part of America’s population was chiefly drawn from the warring countries (Tucker 1).

The neutrality policy needed true nationalism. This was expected to be portrayed in the media, through what journalists reported, what politicians said in public, and what ordinary citizens discussed in meetings. This was therefore a collective role by the whole nation. The reason Wilson gave for the neutrality policy is that if America got involved in war, this would result in divisions among its citizens, which would therefore jeopardize the county’s peace and stability. He warned against beaching neutrality by taking sides. To him, America was to uphold its integrity during those tying moments of war, which brought weariness to the souls of humanity. Therefore, being uninvolved would mean that America did not contribute to the perpetration of evil in the world (Tucker 9).

As a neutral state, the USA carried on with their businesses. Trade with merchants involved commodities such as, clothing, food, equipment, medicine, and weapons to both of the warring sides (Willoughby and Willoughby 58). America continued to keep all its ports neutral and open to serve all countries, so long as the purpose was not military oriented. Both sides of power had promised not to violate this condition. However, these countries took advantage of America’s neutrality to seize its merchant ships. Nonetheless, America settled this diplomatically by making them pay for the seized cargo.

With time, the USA faced challenges in maintaining this neutrality. The actions that Germany took in the early phase of the First World War made most Americans to be more inclined to the Entente powers. USA started to trade less with Germany, and impediments were placed on Germany such that they could not receive any goods from other countries. This forced Germany to adopt a sub-marine technology, which disregarded the neutral ships of America. In early 1915, President Wilson employed peace talks, which based on neutrality, between Germany and America, but Germany was unwilling to solve the conflict. Wilson preferred neutrality in this issue, since it was meant to avoid conflict and loss of life of Americans; it was a form of protection (Tucker 14).

In May 1915, a new conflict developed between Germany and USA, when German submarine destroyed a British Ocean Liner, causing 120 Americans to lose their lives, of the total 1 200 lives lost. Still, the Americans, including the congress and President Wilson vowed to remain neutral amid their loss. Wilson announced that America would not retaliate, as peace was a priority to America. Following German’s multiple submarine attacks despite America’s neutrality, Wilson, in 1916, threatened to end all diplomatic relations with Germany. This made Germany withdraw its attacks shortly. Wilson was e-elected as the USA president in 1917, as Americans considered him a man of peace. His top agenda remained forging negotiations to end the war at hand. However, on April 2, 1917, America officially declared war on Germany, before officially joining World War One on April 6, 1917. This declaration marked the end of the neutrality policy in America (Tucker 21).

Conclusively, US president, Woodrow Wilson, declared the neutrality policy adopted by America between the years 1914-1917. Wilson was a peace-loving president who did not want his country to be involved in war. The neutrality policy therefore, mainly served as an instrument to protect Americans from the detrimental effects that war brings. By not taking sides with the warring powers, America would not be caught in the war. This policy was successfully applied up to 1916, before the emergence of major challenges. Specifically, German took advantage of America’s neutrality policy to attack them, knowing that they would not retaliate. This forced USA to breach this policy in order to protect its people. Joining the war meant that the neutrality policy was ineffective, and needed a more effective replacement. Circumstances forced this to happen and Americans had to choose a lesser evil of joining war, rather than watching its citizens killed by attacks from enemies.

 

Works Cited

Tucker, Robert . “Woodrow Wilson and the Great War: Reconsidering America’s Neutrality,

1914-1917.” University of Virginia Press, 2007.

U.S Department of State. “A Short History of the Department Of State: The

Challenge of Global Conflict, 1913-1945.” 2010.

<http://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/short-history/globalconflict>

Willoughby, Susan and Doug, Willoughby. “The USA 1917-1945.” Oxford: Heinemann, 2000.

 

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Abstract

The speed at which e-commerce has been adopted in our society is extremely high. This therefore makes the aspect of ethics in e-commerce essential. E-commerce has created numerous opportunities for customer choice, as well as efficiency in economics. E-commerce is internet-based and so employs diverse technology in its operations. This is what makes it different from other businesses transacted face to face. This technological affiliation of e-commerce makes it to have unique ethics, different from the face-to-face transactions. In this paper, I explain what      e-commerce is and explain its characteristics, which differentiate it from the traditional business. In explaining the ethical foundations of e-commerce, the guiding question is, “How are ethics different in e-commerce?” This already shows that ethics in e-commerce are unique. The major concern will therefore be on those ethical aspects, which bring about the difference. The difference only comes in their manifestation. The conclusion will include a call for further research into establishing the uniqueness of e-commerce ethics, and problems this causes.

 

What is Different about Ethics in E-commerce?

Ecommerce avails an opportunity for business transactions to be conducted electronically through the internet. The business processes including advertisements of products, buying, selling, and paying are done electronically, without physical presence of the buyer and seller. In its nature, e-commerce attracts a great number of people across the world. It has brought efficiency in business, at a reduced rate, since hosting an online business is not expensive. Technology is highly employed in e-commerce, and includes, telephone, and computers (Nardal and Sahin 190).

The utilization of a worldwide internet in e-commerce is advantageous to both consumers and owners of virtual companies. However, the internet presents a new environment, which can easily enhance the violation of ethics in business. Despite the tremendous growth of e-commerce over past years, consumers continue to complain about ethical issues they are faced with. These increased cases of violations of ethics in e-commerce raise concerns whether its unique nature of ethics helps in the propagation of these cases.

Ethics is a critical issue for new businesses in the e-commerce world. New businesses in e-commerce may lose focus on the ethical part and pay more attention to its technological issues. Ethical implications in face-to-face businesses vary with those in e-commerce. For instance, it is harder to regulate selling of alcohol to an underage over the internet than in face-to-face situation. In addition, it is easier to sell weight loss pills to an underweight person over the internet, than in face-to-face transaction. The fact that customers are virtual poses a big challenge to the ethical implications in e-commerce. Therefore, in e-commerce, there are a number of products, which cannot be sold effectively, as the ethical standards cannot be determined.

Ethics are important for orderliness in society. In e-commerce, rules and ethics exist; however, these are violated due to the not-so-strict enforcement, since enforcement of these rules is as well virtual. Cases of crackers, hackers, frauds, cyberburg, and schemes have persisted in   e-commerce. These forms of lawlessness may threaten the ethical and honest e-tailers. It is no doubt that ethics in e-commerce systems is hard to implement. Trust is the major worrying element to both developers and consumers in e-commerce (Leitch and Warren 1-3).

Privacy of consumers is a critical aspect of e-commerce ethics. A breach of consumer privacy may lead to the crashing of business. For instance, in November 1999, the Halifax Bank plc in United Kingdom was forced to temporarily close down its online share dealing after some customers gained access to the information of others online. Therefore, information privacy is uniquely important in e-commerce. However, e-commerce businesses sometimes violate this without knowledge of consumers, through accessing personal information and shopping habits of people on other sites, while doing their market research. These may also use cookies technology to trace web users. The ethical issue of internet security is problematic, as self-regulation has proved impossible. This sharply contrasts with the face-to-face transaction where security issues are easier to deal with. A study conducted by Georgetown University showed that 94 percent of 100 most visited online sites had privacy disclosure (Stead and Gilbert 80).

The technologies employed in e-commerce help in the perpetration of unethical behavior. Cookies are used by online businesses to trace the people who have visited their sites, and in determining potential consumers for specific products. In addition, the Email is commodified in e-commerce. This could have detrimental effects on the practicing company. For instance, Boo.com, Toysmart and CraftShop.com are examples of failed online businesses, which attempted to sell vital data of their customers (Sandoval). Deception in e-commerce comes in form of web spoofing, where an attacker develops a fake website and lures users with an intention of getting their credit card numbers, and other personal information. It is evident therefore that the ethics in e-commerce are easy to breach due to their basing on the internet, and the virtual world. In face-to-face transactions, it is quite hard to violate ethics, since physical presence is guaranteed.

Conclusion

The unique nature of ethics in e-commerce exposes it to possible breaches. However, concerns raised by public have enabled considerable exposure of the state of ethics in e-commerce. Nonetheless, the ever-changing technology will bring more issues that are ethical. Further research into this aspect is essential in order to come up with strategies that will see the strict enforcement of ethics in e-commerce. Alternatively, the internet itself could be used to spotlight this issue.

 

Works Cited

Stead, Bette and Gilbert, Jackie. “Ethical Issues in Electronic Commerce.” Journal of business

ethics 34(2):2001. 75-85.

Leitch, Shona and Warren, Matthew. “Ethics and Electronic Commerce.” Australian Computer

Society, Inc. 2001.

Sandoval. “Failed dot-coms may be selling your private information.” CNET

News.com, June 29, 2000.

Nardal, Sinan and Sahin, Ayse. “Ethical Issues in E-Commerce on the Basis of Online

Retailing.” Journal of Social Sciences 7 (2): 2011. 190-198.

 

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