Assessment Brief:

BUS2003/SBM3204 Sustainability
and Ethics
Assessment 2

Submitted by Submitted to:

Aakriti Shrestha
Student number: 202001155

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 Table of contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2

Literature review..............................................................................................................................3

Methods...........................................................................................................................................5

Structure and format the case study findings and analysis..............................................................6

Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7

References........................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction

Randy is a BS degree holder working at Meeker which is a medical warehouse offering

pharmaceutical products to hospitals and clinics. Randy was a new employee and he has to know
the laws, regulations, system, procedure, and software application of hospital and clinic. He was
provided 2 months of training which included general type emergencies in hospitals and clinics.
During the training, he learned the usage of different products and equipment and also to train
other people concerned with it. For another assignment. Randy’s supervisor Cheryl assigned him
for inventory count where he needs to go to the hospital and substitute the expired product with
new ones after checking the expiry dates. The expiry date on the products is less than 3 months
than the rivals. The company is providing credit facilities to the customer while taking back the
expired products in order to gain customer loyalty (Nasır, 2017). This leads to a decline in profit
for the organization. However, Cheryl introduced an idea to overcome the loss by replacing old
labels with the new label in the expired product. Randy was not comfortable in doing such an
act. Randy talked with his supervisor that it would be dangerous but his supervisor confirmed it
won’t be dangerous, only that it will be a little be ineffective and rivals are using the same type
of product with longer expiration dates. Though Randy understood the concept of his supervisor,
he was yet not convinced to follow it due to the learning he has archived during the training
period. He was worried that he needs to sign in the inventory worksheet and if the staff from the
administration department could not find any credits for an expired product, how to manage the
situation without cheating. Randy should know how to manage ethical issues in the above case.
This report attempts to describe the ways to handle ethical issues. The case study indicates that
Randy is in dilemma concerning attaching additional dates to the expired medicines. Handling
ethical behavior is the most widespread and complicated matter confronting today's businesses
(Abiodun & Oyeniyi, 2011). A variety of individual and contextual factors affect staff' choices to
act ethically or unethically. In this case study, Randy has two options either to attach additional
dates to expiry medicines to save the company’s loss or not to obey the supervisor’s instruction
by advocating the principles that he learned in his training session. A systematic review approach
will be applied as methodology and analyze the recent literature through an online database via
keyword searching techniques. The relevant research papers have been adequately researched

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and studied critically. The analysis has been properly discussed in the analysis sections. The case
study has been compared and studied under Australian law.

Literature review

Almost all contemporary companies aim to acquire maximum financial benefits. To earn such
lucrative profits, the company sets its policies and procedures. Every single thing that the
employee needs to follow in workplace premises is mentioned and explained in the outlined
policies and procedures. The main motive of the company for introducing policies and
procedures is to enrich the best work performance of the employees (Boye Kuranchie &
Amponsah-Tawiah, 2016). Also, the employees have to comply with all policies and procedures
without any hesitation. If any employee failed to comply policy and procedures of the company,
they may get terminated by the company. It has been found that some of the companies take bad
advantage of this policy and procedures. For example, the companies make the employee
undertake illegal activities. Some of the illegal activities include sticking or editing additional
dates on expired medicines. These types of activities are found mainly in developing countries
where most of the people are under the line of poverty. The government of such developing
countries faces severe financial problems to import medicines. The rules and regulations in most
of the developing countries are not that strict compared with the rules and regulations of
developed nations such as the USA, UK, Australia, and so on. In order to gain maximum profits,
the private companies in developing countries, which import medicine, are more likely to
undertake unethical and illegal activities. Since they are not regularly monitored by the
government, those companies are more likely to add additional dates to expiry medicines. After
that, the companies sell expired medicine at a cheaper price. Consequently, the people of such
regions, specifically of remotes areas, experience untimely death due to a shortage of medicines.
The untimely death in developing countries due to medication is higher than in developed
countries (Alexander & Wang, 2014). It can be claimed that such activities deployed by private
medicine companies are the prime reason for having a higher mortality rate in developing
countries.

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Rational and value-driven difficulties in the work environment seem to be hard to manage if
workers must choose between what would be wrong and right based on their own core beliefs.
Managing ethical issues in the workplace necessitates a stable and sensible approach to situations
that may be risky or unlawful. As per the study conducted by Barry Posner and
warren, Managers' primary goal is to make one’s companies more efficient, profitability and the
expectations of stakeholders have not been the main goals of the executives researched, visiting
clients was viewed as crucial, managers at all levels valued integrity as the most significant
feature, the perceived level of pressure to comply to corporate policies was strong, partners play
an important role in assisting their partners in dealing with ethical problems and most employees
take the help of others when dealing with ethical quandaries. According to Archie B. Carroll,
management ethics are of 3 types such as immoral management, moral management, and amoral
management. Immoral management entails managers' failure to follow ethical practices (A,
2020). Moral management adheres to legal and professional conduct standards. Amoral
management is a type of management ethics that exists between moral and immoral management
ethics. Managers react to individual and constitutional ethics except when obligated to or else
there seems to be a lack of ethical beliefs and knowledge. James A. water stated 3 organizational
blocks of ethics management i.e. Chain of command, Group leadership, and ambiguous
priorities. Employees are hesitant to report unethical behavior up the chain of command for
anxiety of becoming mistaken and punished if they recognize their bosses are not pursuing
ethical conduct. Members of a group are bonded by their loyalty and respect for one another, and
unethical behavior by any group member is generally ignored in favor. Employee behavior
cannot be directed in a changing state when reforms are vague and imprecise (Carnevale &
Hatak, 2020). It is hard to distinguish between something being ethical or unethical. The social
responsiveness of a company is regarded as ethics in management. It is the concept that deals
with the concepts of good versus bad, right or wrong, and ethical duty and obligation.

Every medicine has its expiry dates. The expiry dates give significant information that the
medicine will lose its efficacy if it is taken after expiry dates. In some cases, the patient face
health problems after taken expired medicines. In the worst-case scenario, the patient may take
after consumption of expired medications. Researchers have found that expired medicine may

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undergo cross-reactivity in the body. Therefore, it is highly suggested to people not to take any
expired medicines.

According to Bill Gore, companies must have ethical standards to aspire to be fair with all team
members, suppliers, and customers, as well as to assist and encourage all stakeholder groups to
enhance their ability, expertise, and obligation, create and keep commitments, and contact
someone in judgment. Three major ethical and professional practice issues provide REC:
handling multiple organizational duties and responsibilities, protecting confidential information,
and sharing information with consultation applicants on how these problems are handled (Sharp
et al., 2015). According to Bob Dunn, “Ethical decisions are no longer as simple as they once
were. They are now the distinction between what is right and what is wrong.” Many scholars
have studied ethical behavior required to be bear by managers. Some explained the types of
management of moral or ethics whereas some discussed possible barriers in managing ethics.
However, the managers should not entertain any activities that are regarded as illegal by the
territory government. Other researchers presented different viewpoints on ethical behavior. In my
opinion, there is some research gap i.e. ways to overcome the barrier in managing ethical
behavior which can be the further topic of research.

Methods
To accomplish the purpose of this study, this report used a systematic review strategy and
analyzed the most related research from internet existing data sources available by using
keyword search technique. The relevant research papers related to the case study were searched
properly and critically studied. The studies are classified and interpreted employing originally
described theories and models, that have presented proof to the general agreement that ethical
behaviors are reliant on the interrelations of personal, institutional, and environmental conditions
and have been rewritten to accomplish the objective. No random sites were chosen for the study.
Only the academic sources were chosen. We sought PubMed and Google Scholar for papers that
had a relevant discussion of managing ethical behavior in the organization. Following a
qualitative review of relevant keywords, we identified all relevant articles based on the
terminology ethical behavior management and types of research. As taken from one of the

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articles from pud med, which relies on observations of a national Research Ethics Consultation
Collaborative, which compiled over 350 ethical research discussions in a database and released
18 complex cases with associated moral critique to recognize four situations in which REC
(Research Ethics Consultation) can be a useful tool. The explained 4 situations are: researchers
pre and post regulatory scrutiny; researchers, IRBs, and other research executives confronted
with novel and challenging ethical concerns; IRBs and researchers confronted with the growing
complexity of explicit consent and risk/benefit assessment, and offering flexible and cooperative
aid to address research obstacles, arbitrate disputes inside a group, or actively engage with
research teams (Porter et al., 2018).

Structure and format the case study findings and analysis

Randy holds a BS degree and works at Meeker, a medical warehouse that provides medical
products to clinics and hospitals. Randy was a recruit who needed to understand the hospital's
and clinic's laws, regulations, systems, procedures, and software applications. He received two
months of training that included general-type emergencies in hospitals and clinics. As a next
assignment. Randy's boss, Cheryl, delegated him to do an inventory count, which requires him to
go to the hospital and replace expired products with new ones upon verifying the expiration
dates. The products have a shorter expiration date than competitors. In order to gain customer
loyalty, the company offers credit to customers while returning expired products (Kumar et al.,
2015). This results in a decrease in profit for the company. Cheryl, on the other hand, proposed a
solution to the loss by replacing old labels with new labels in the expired product. Randy
discussed it with his supervisor, who confirmed that it will not be frightening, however, it will be
inefficient, and also that rival companies are using the same particular product with lengthier
expiry dates. He was concerned that he'll have to sign the inventory worksheet and that if the
administration staff members could not notice any credits for the expired item, he will have to
handle the situation without telling lies. The case study shows that the case is related to
performing unethical and illegal activities for earning maximum revenues. In the literature
review, we have discussed ethical behavior required to be bear by managers, possible barriers in
managing ethics, and different viewpoints on ethical behavior as well as ethical and professional
practice complexities linked with the service of REC. In the above case, in order to handle the

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situation without telling lies by demonstrating the various duties and obligations, trying to keep
confidential data, and consulting with experts regarding such matter. Randy should share his
issues with the expert so that he can find a better solution without being dishonest. It can be also
stated that the suggestion provided by the supervisor to Randy is unethical and illegal. It is
clearly stated in the Australian company’s activities that the company cannot produce a product
that is against the company’s law. Changing the medicine expiry date level is a serious crime.
The company has to face court if the government health representative found such issues
concerning changing the expiry date labels. The company ultimately loses its brand's reputation
if it promulgates its staff to involve in such immoral and illegal activities (Camilleri, 2018).
Concerning the other relevant research papers, it can be suggested to Randy to stop working for
the company. If the health inspection officers found him changing the medicine expiry date
labels, then Randy will be accused of a fraudulent case though he has been working and doing as
per supervisor instruction. The health officer will directly question him that he should be aware
of the legal and illegal activities when undertaking any tasks. The case study illustrates that the
supervisor reckons it will be not any issue altering medication expiry dates as the competitors are
also sending the same medicine at longer expiry dates. It can be concluded that the claims made
by the supervisor are invalid because the competitors may have a different chemical formulation
for formulating the same medicines. As a result, the competitor’s medicine has a longer expiry
date. The supervisor must be aware that medicine is a serious topic. The expiry date of medicine
indicates that the medicine is more likely to lose its potentiality and effectiveness. The medicine
may show other cross reactiveness if it is undertaken after expiry dates. Thus the claim made by
the supervisor to change the expiry dates levels considering it won’t have any negative to people
is invalid. The Australian government health department is serious regarding population health.
The government directly cancels the license of any companies permanently if they found the
companies to be involved in selling expiry medicines to hospitals and clinics.

Conclusion
This report is about managing ethical issues in the organization in relation to the case study of
Randy who works at the medical warehouse. The ethical issue is an important topic in business
today. Every organization tries to fulfill its ethical obligation. There is certain ethical behavior

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required to be possessed by the manager. Various types of ethics management can be followed
regarding ethical issues. In regard to Randy’s case, he can consult with an expert like REC to get
advice on such a scenario since he is not comfortable with the order given by his supervisor.
Randy should stop doing such companies that emphasize him in involving unethical tasks. The
supervisor should also understand that adding expiry date levels for earning maximum profits is
against Australian government law. It might be comfortable after the guidance of experts on this
matter since there is a greater risk associated with this scenario. The report also disseminates that
health sector-related companies need to be aware of their actions in making profits. If the
government found the company is involved in illegal activities the companies have to face
serious repercussions.

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References
A, T. (2020) Management Ethics: Meaning, Need and Importance. Available from:
<https://www.businessmanagementideas.com/notes/management-notes/corporate-social-
responsibility/management-ethics-meaning-need-and-importance/5319>.
Abiodun, A.J. & Oyeniyi, J.O. (2011) Ethical Dilemmas In Management: An African
Perspective. Journal of Business Systems, Governance, and Ethics, 6 (2). Available from:
<https://jbsge.vu.edu.au/index.php/jbsge/article/view/203>.
Alexander, C.A. & Wang, L. (2014) Medication Errors: Preventing Untimely Deaths.
International Journal of Research in Nursing, 5 (2), pp.52–60. Available from:
<http://thescipub.com/abstract/10.3844/ijrnsp.2014.52.60>.
Boye Kuranchie, E. & Amponsah-Tawiah, K. (2016) Employee motivation and work
performance: A comparative study of mining companies in Ghana. Journal of Industrial
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<http://www.jiem.org/index.php/jiem/article/view/1530>.
Camilleri, M.A. (2018) Market Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning. In: Travel Marketing,
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