Case Study

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 Ethics and Law

CASE A: ICC Group: Balancing Ethics in International Trade

PART 1

Impact of manager’s decision on the company and its employees going forward if Hannah had not

pursued legal action against ICC Group.

Hannah's manager's judgment on the company and its employees would have been seen as more discrimination

basis and less potential basis if Hannah had not pursued legal action against ICC Group. The company and its

employees must have face the consequences of the decision taken by the manager as the decision of the

manager encourages inequality and discrimination within the company. The time and effort that Hannah and her

team have given to the project would be fully wasteful. Apart from it, the other employees of the company

(especially women) would feel demotivated. They might feel insecure due to their gender; they will never get an

opportunity to manage projects in a country like Dubai. Furthermore, it might have created an environment

within the company where female employees are not as important as male employees. If Hannah had not spoken

up, the company might have made the same type of decisions again and again and encouraged discrimination

with the company. So, in short, Hannah is responsible for the recognition of equality rights within the

organization.

Steps ICC Group have taken in place that would have prevented the situation presented

in the case from occurring.

To prevent a situation, ICC must have done a proper investigation. They should have considered and evaluated

the cause and effect of their decision first. Second, before assigning responsibilities to staff, the company should

first learn about the needs of its clients in order to avoid disagreements that could lead to discrimination (for

example, the Dubai-based company might have accepted Hannah as the project manager, after knowing her

experience and skills). ICC should ensure that all its employees have equal access to opportunities. Men will be

better candidates when it comes to promotion because they have worked on the most critical projects and meet
the requirements most valuable clients. As a

result, the company will become a male-

oriented company. Furthermore, ICC must

have laid down strict guidelines in their

company policies that no manager, higher

authority or any person of the company can

take decision while considering the factors

such caste, creed, religion, gender or race. Figure 1. 10 Roles of Manager: Managerial Roles by Henry
Mintzberg
Such railings and barriers to managers will prevent them from taking such discriminatory decisions. The

opportunities presented in front of all the employees must be equally accessibleby everyone, and no single

employee must be given a higher preference for any reason.

Strategies that ICC Group could implement to foster a culture of equality and a workplace

that strives towards true equal Opportunity.

To reinforce equality and equal opportunity culture at the workplace, the ICC group must ensure that important

responsibilities and projects are allocated purely based on merit. A system or a process must be laid down that

enlists the parameters or qualities of a manager which will be considered while assigning project to the

employee of the company. The system or process must be made transparent to the employees. So, that the

employees are clear on the skill sets and criteria based on which the project is the assigned to employee. Such a

transparency would also give a sense of equal opportunity to everyone, and each employee will know and

understand the reason of selection or rejection for a specific role or responsibility. The senior management and

the employees at the workplace must consist of diversity in terms of gender, caste, religion etc. Diversity in a

workplace sends amessage to the employees that there is no room for discrimination for anyone in the

organization. Moving further, the company should enforce a strict policy that during the interview selection

process there should be no place for questions such as asking nationality, gender, race etc. The main reason for

avoiding such question is because the manager (the person who is taking interview might not hire the person

because he is transgender, even if he is qualified for the position). Asking this type of question during interview
process encourages discrimination within the company. ICC should make a high management team within their

organization which takes care that discrimination does not take place in the company. The employees of the

company can directly talk or email to the management if they or any other person of ICC face discrimination.

The management team will take strict action against the employee who is found as culprit (doing

discrimination). The management team will promote health environment within the company. For example, if

in ICC there was a team who was handling the issues like discrimination than Hannah would not have filed a

case in court instead, she would have complained to this higher management about the gender discrimination

she faced and the issue might have resolved within the company.

Part 2

FIFA: Top officials accepted bribes and kickbacks.

The extent of the ethical dilemma.

The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), soccer's worldwide governing organization was

mired in a corruption controversy for several years. Corruption is defined as the misuse of authority or position

for personal gain, and both appear to be at work in the FIFA affair. Over $150 million in bribes and kickbacks

were paid to FIFA officials, according to the Justice Department. Deals involving the sale of television rights,

merchandise, and sponsorship were also included in the bribes. "The claims are that it was all about selection.

FIFA officials were at the center of the corruption, accepting bribes in exchange for the 2010 World Cup, TV

rights, souvenirs, and sponsorship. Greed and dishonesty appear to have infected the business, prompting a

multi-country investigation. Many FIFA members appear to have determined that their position of authority

within the organization provided them with a fantastic opportunity for personal gain that they couldn't pass up.

The listed elements indicate the organization ethical standards for each category:

Responsibilities to the Individual: The unethical event that took place broke the trust of the people who watch

soccer. The bulk of soccer enthusiasts watched the events despite FIFA's unethical problems. However, the only

potential cost to FIFA is a negative fan base. Individuals believe FIFA is rife with crooked officials.
Responsibilities to the organization: By failing to recognize the seriousness and unacceptability of corruption

within its luxurious borders, FIFA has hurt its own credibility. There was a lack of auditing within the

organization due to which FIFA officials took bribe and FIFA was not aware about it.

Responsibilities to the community and society: FIFA officials received around $150 million in bribes and

kickbacks, all for the purpose of selection. Choosing a location for events. Choosing who got the broadcasting

rights, and so on. Because the selection was not made on a fair basis, the community's responsibility was not

met. Authorities who paid bribes to FIFA officials were given preference in the selecting process. So, in short

discrimination took place.

Responsibilities to the Profession: By taking the bribe the FIFA officials have not fulfilled the duties of their

profession. They did not do their job on the basis as per the rules and regulations. They did it for what they were

paid. Trust, honesty, hark work is the responsibility of a profession towards their job but it was not fulfilled.

Conflict of Interest: Bribes and kickbacks of over $150 million were paid to FIFA officials. Deals involving

the sale of television rights, merchandise, and sponsorship were also included in the bribes. It was all about

selection, according to the charges. Choosing a location for events. Choosing who will get the broadcasting

rights. The authority in this situation was generated by those crucial decisions that were extremely profitable for

the beneficiaries. Hundreds of powerful soccer administrators and marketing professionals were arrested and

convicted of racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy during the investigation.

Resulting Implications for the FIFA

The FIFA corruption case put focus on several changes that were made because of the implications. Hundreds

of powerful soccer administrators and marketing professionals were arrested and convicted of racketeering, wire

fraud, and money laundering conspiracy during the investigation. The presidents of FIFA resigned surprisingly,

but in actuality they were suspended by the committee as the result of accepting bribes. They were banned for 8

years, and other officials were arrested. Financial statements were also under the focus of solving the problem

and avoiding corrupt staff. Investigation of the financial statements helped to determine the actual balances.

Sepp Blatter was responsible for the breach of the payment of $2 million to Michel Platini, which was an
amount of bribe and could be judged as a crime. As FBI was involved in making inquiries to find the root cause

of the phenomenon. Several officials were included in the inquiries. Another step was the elections that were

organized for appointing new presidents to run the organization. In investigations that included the enquiries

into financial transfers among the officials that helped to find the corrupted people. The impact on the US and

Swiss governments was also noticeable, that were cracking down due to the case. The number of teams was

found to have improved. After several changes and implications, FIFA started investigations on its own. The

biggest loss was the reputational crisis, which influenced the financial status of the organization. As with the

blame for accepting bribes, making the people’s trust break down from the organization. That needs to be

improved to make conditions better.