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Making ethical decisions in business

1. There are several lies in the tangled webs that have been discussed. The first lie that comes out clearly is the lie that life is short and thus each person must have an affair. This makes the people to rush to the social site in an attempt to get friends that will in the end culminate into lovers. The revenues of the site owners continue to increase at the expense of the marriages and affairs of the people who visit this site. The site owners do not tell the people the consequences that might accrue from their interaction on the site. As much as the site owner gives some advice on how people can meet safely, it does not guarantee the security of the information shared on the site. This shared information is what leads to the downfall of many successful business people like Gansman and Brodsky. Additionally, the owners do not tell the people the right thing that marriages can be broken through this site, but only look at their profitability from the venture. The main losers of this grand scheme of lies were the spouses of the people involved in the extramarital affairs resulting from the contacts on the site.

Another lie presented in the tangled web is the failure of Donna to disclose to her friends he met on the social site, her dealings. She does this so craftily that neither of her friends realizes this accept her farther who also has fraudulent dealings. She additionally deals fraudulently in the stock market by making abnormal profits. To cover her fraudulent deals, she registers the securities under her two daughters’ names. Later after her fraudulence is discovered, she tried to conceal evidence of her dealings by deleting the contents of her laptop’s hard disk. She additionally gives fabricated lies and gives false documents to exonerate herself. These lies by Murdoch affected the lives of the people she was close with. For instance, Gansman lost his job and his life was totally ruined by the deceptive lies of Murdoch. He was sentences to one year and one day in prison for the offences committed by Murdoch. Additionally he was given a six months supervised release from prison by the courts. Furthermore, the attorney was barred from practicing his profession following the conviction. On the other hand Murdoch was fined for the offence she committed but was later acquitted based on her inability to pay the fine. But the mastermind of these grand lies, Murdoch has never been imprisoned for the crimes she committed. This so far is most harmful lie that is told in the tangled webs.

2. Secondly we explore the fairness is the judgments pronounced on Murdoch, Gansman and Brodsky. The judgment of Gansman was not fair in that he was not the one involved in the dealings that were under investigation. It is the case of a good man who made the wrong decision of falling in love with a deceptive woman who made him go against what they had agreed with his employer. As much as Murdoch tried to prove that Gansman had the motive to commit the offence, the judgment was unfair in that the accused did not gain anything financially from the dealings of Murdoch. On the other hand the judgment of fining Murdoch was not fair as compared to the harsh penalty given to Gansman. Murdoch should have received the most severe punishment of the accused. This is because she was the architect and driver of all the dealings. She was also the major beneficiary of the grand fraud having gained a lot financially. This is when compared to the gains enjoyed by other like Gansman. The sentence of Brodsky was fair given that he had been involved in the dealings and he had greatly benefited from the business they were doing defrauding the stock market. The sentencing to one year and a day in prison was to act as deterrent for him not to engage again in the acts of fraud but this did not serve the purpose. This is because he later instructs his friend to conduct the business on his behalf.

3. Thirdly, the analysis shifts on whether the Ashley madison is based on ethical principles. This firm is not based on ethical principles given what it standards for as seen from its motto. According to a leader of a pro-marriage group, the company is dumping raw sewage into the marriages. This means that the company brings down the marriage institution. Additionally, the company disclosures the private information of its members that is entirely unethical. A company is not allowed to disclose any information regarding its customer to any person other person other than the authorized firm and the individual himself.

These disclosures are what led to the arrests of Murdoch and Gansman. To explain the extent to which this company is viewed as unethical, the company failed to secure funding in its quest to merge with other companies for expansion. One of the investors approached to invest, said that it was better to invest in beer or tobacco company than to invest in Ashley madison. His reasons for this were that the company leads to destruction of families. He believes that consequence of divorce brought about by the activities that take place on the site, lead to broken families with children suffering the most.

4. Biderman justifies his business by using his own marriage life. He says that he is happily married and he has high fidelity to his marriage. He believes that one’s ability is no based on the use of a website but rather it’s the individual’s predisposition. He is of the opinion that all humans have the genetic predisposition to cheat. He does not believe that marriage must be monogamous and is of the opinion that anybody who assumes this is burying their hand in the sand on the truth. He further alleges that his site does not entice people in happy unions to cheat but only creates an avenue for the aggrieved parties in marriage to get solace in the arms of someone they may love better. But despite his attempts, he is unable to fulfill his ethical responsibilities to the people. This is seen by the great opposition he faces in trying to market his site in the mainstream media. He is not allowed to market this concept in the media.

5. From these stories, one is able to learn that one’s business ethics should be in line with the expectations of the people and the moral codes. Going against the laid down ethics is detrimental to both the individual and the organization at large. It goes further to show that while in a capitalist environment you must do what conforms to the capitalist ideas for you to survive.

Summary

Making ethical decisions in business

In life there are various situations that call for one to act ethically whether at the work place or in private life. The individuals can use the various principles, ideas and methods in order to navigate the challenging situations arising from the ethical issues. One has to stick to the laid down regulations regarding the ethical principles to be followed regardless of the prevailing conditions.an individual should never be influenced by their individual short term gains in exchange for the adherence to the ethics. This can be seen in the case of Gansman who compromised his ethics for his friendship with Murdoch. This led to his downfall as he was convicted and eventually lost his job as an attorney.

Lies and deception are the main things that make people blunders in the right implementation of ethics both at the work place and in an individual’s private life. When faced with ethical issues one should consider first the value of ethics and think about the personal gains or friendships later. Lies are so bad in life in that it takes power from other people. It is believed that lies make people not to speak the truth, manipulate others and withhold information that may be necessary for one to make a sound ethical decision. These lies can make other people to act against their own conscience. Additionally, the lies can have far reaching consequences even to people who did not lie but are close to the liars. All in all, people should uphold ethics at all times in their decision making in order to avoid the consequences.