Ethical Issues on Maddy’s financial circumstance

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Ethical Issues on Maddy’s financial circumstance

In a normal social setting, ethics refers to the acceptable chord of conduct upon which the behavior of an individual can be evaluated as acceptable or not acceptable, or as either right or wrong. The means of setting up a universally acceptable chord of conduct has however had controversies with different philosophers coming up with various theories to attempt to develop the standards. This has led to diverse views on what is ethical and what is not ethical among different communities or social groups. Philosophy and religion are the major ways of attempting to establish the generally acceptable principles in these settings (Becker, 2009). This paper discusses a case study of Maddy who has no financial capability to receive medical care.

At the face value, it seems that the hospital has the ethical responsibility of offering Maddy free or simply reduced cost medical care. However, the ethical issues are not always black and white. In studying business ethics, one can approach the subject from different angles or perspectives. One can speak of business ethics in relation to the employees in a business enterprise, the top management of the enterprise or the enterprise itself. It can also be considered in relation to the society with the analysis of the social, political, and economical impacts such behaviors have in the society. Considering the diversity that is often witnessed in these settings, there arise conflicts between the various organs that are fundamental in the smooth running of the enterprises. The interest of each of the different parties may not be fully satisfied in that attempting to satisfy one party may be equivalent to harming another party. An act or a decision by the management might suite the interest of the employees while it carries with it losses to the business. Various forms of conflict emerge in a business environment and failure to properly resolve them can lead to the organization’s/firm’s downfall. The conflicts in a business environment could be external conflicts, management conflicts, strategic conflicts, interdepartmental conflicts, operational conflicts, or value conflicts. The social norms in a business environment may fail to apply globally and this is what results into value conflicts (Zain, 2008).

The situation of Maddy is a dire one since her condition is really deteriorating further incase a way is not found for the surgery to be carried out so that she can get back on proper diet and medication that will eventually keep Crohn’s flare-ups in the neck. Her condition is interfering with not only her work and education, but also the quality of life. Ignoring her condition is not a practical option, and based on the financial situation of her family, payment for the operation is also not feasible. In this case, an outside help is needed. Therefore, the hospital which is devoted to ensuring a healthy community has an ethical obligation of helping Maddy in spite of her financial circumstances (Welter, n.d).

Conventional morality is concerned with the moral standards in a given societal setting. Those with conventional moral reasoning consider what the society say or feel about their behaviors. Participants here accept the social norms as provided in the society and are bound to them regardless of their consequences. Such conventional moral reasoning has the weakness in establishing its strength or appropriateness and there may be difficulties in abiding by them. Conventional morality is also subject to frequent changes and what is conventionally moral in one society can be immoral in an adjacent society and it is still subject to debate (Becker, 2009). However, if all the business stakeholders in a given society were to act in the conventional manner, then the success of their businesses would not be threatened. It has been observed that ‘conventional rules are arbitrary, situation-dependent rules that facilitate social co-ordination and organization, they do not have an objective, prescriptive force, and they can be suspended or changed by an appropriate authoritative individual or institution’ (Golan, 2005).

Due to the fact that it is unethical to actually refuse medical treatment to any individual who cannot afford it, it is equally unreasonable for the hospitals to provide free medical care to everyone who needs it. The hospitals are expected to critical evaluate the patients on a case to case basis. In the case of Maddy, the circumstances surrounding her seem to be completely out of control and there is likelihood that she can recover when accorded adequate and proper care. While it is true that the hospital should not be expected to accord her free medical care, the particular case is one where a small financial loss to the hospital in this case would bring about a greater increase in the quality of life of Maddy. Just like the hospitals, the society should also strive to accord medical accessibility to Maddy and several others like her. Provision of preventive care at a reduced cost would have actually been better in this case for all the parties involved. The medical deterioration of Maddy would have been avoided if she could have been able to afford her medication (Welter, n.d). A In a nutshell, a program should be incorporated that ensure that the cost of medication is reduced so that people like Maddy can afford it.

References

Becker, K (2009). Moral Leadership in Business. A journal of International Business Ethics Vol.2 No.1

Golan, P (2005). Employee relations. The international journal, Volume 27, Issue 3 London: Emerald Group Publishing.

Welter, N. (n.d). A Hospital’s Ethical Obligation to the Uninsured. Center for Applied Ethics. Retrieved on March 28, 2014 from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/medical/hospitals-uninsured.html

Zain, M (2008). Social Responsibility in Business: Friedman and Carroll’s Differing Views on Business Responsibility, Cengage Learning.