IMPACT OF GOVERNMENT POLICIES ON ETHICS

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PROJECT REPORT

ON

IMPACT OF GOVRNMENT POLICIES AND LAWS

ON ETHICS

MASTERS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

(2008-2010)

Submitted To: Submitted By:

Mrs. SHAVINA GOYAL HARDEEP SHARMA

Lect.(SMS) MBA-II(SEM-IV)

Roll No. 3832 (C)

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

P U N J A B I U N I V E R S I T Y P A T I A L A

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It gives me great satisfaction on completion of Project entitled IMPACT OF GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND LAWS ON ETHICS.

On the submission of my project report I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mrs. Shavina goyal (Lect. SMS, Punjabi University, Patiala) for helping me and taking active interest throughout the project. She was always available, correcting mistakes, intelligently directing me to proper sources of information advising to aim for simplicity, brevity, clarity and accuracy. I am indeed thankful to her for her valuable guidance.

I would also like to express my thanks to my friends who helped me on every stage. Without their help the project could not be completed.

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TABLE OF CONTANT PAGE NO

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 2

CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION 4

CHAPTER-2

WHAT IS LAW?

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CHAPTER-3

ETHICS AND LAW 12

CHAPTER-4

GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND ETHICS 21

CHAPTER-5

BIBLIOGRAPHY 36

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CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION

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INTRODUCTION

What is Ethics?

Ethics (also known as moral philosophy) is a branch of philosophy which seeks to address questions

about morality; that is, about concepts like good and bad, right and wrong, justice, virtue, etc.

“Ethics” refers to the moral values that govern the appropriate conduct of an individual or group. “Ethics”

speaks to how we ought to live, that is, how we ought to treat others and how we ought to run or manage

our own lives.

Simply stated, ethics refers to standards of behavior that tell us how human beings ought to act in

the many situations in which they find themselves-as friends, parents, children, citizens,

businesspeople, teachers, professionals, and so on.

Ethics refers to a system of moral principles a sense of right and wrong, and goodness and

badness of actions and the motives and consequences of these actions. As applied to business

firms, ethics is the study of good and evils, right and wrong and just and unjust actions of

businessmen. Ethics is a body of principles or standards of human conduct that govern the

behavior of individuals and groups. Ethics arise not simply from man's creation but from human

nature itself making it a natural body of laws from which man's laws follow. Ethics is a branch of

philosophy and is considered a normative science because it is concerned with the norms of

human conduct, as distinguished from formal sciences such as mathematics and logic, physical

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sciences such as chemistry and physics, and empirical sciences such as economics and

psychology.

Ethics is seen as an individual’s own personal attitude and a believe concerning what is right or

wrong, good or bad. It is important to note that ethics reside within individuals and that

organization doesn’t have ethics. People have ethics. Consequently, its definition and

understanding varies from person to person. These are not absolute, but are relative. Ethical

behaviors are in the eye of beholder. What is right or wrong is a personal individual matter, but is

still influenced by socially accepted norms. Right, and proper and fair are the ethical terms. It

expresses a judgment about behavior towards people they felt to be just. Ethics are useful tools

for sorting out the good and bad components within complex human interactions. Business ethics

does not differ from generally accepted norms of good or bad practices. If dishonesty is

considers to be unethical and immoral in the society, then any business man who is dishonest his

or her employees, customer’s shareholders, or competitors is unethical and immoral person.

Businessmen should not try to evolve their own principles to justify ‘what is right and what is

wrong’. Ethics refers to accepted principles of right or wrong that govern the conduct of a

person, the members of a profession, or the actions of an organization. Business Ethics are the

accepted principles of right or wrong governing the conduct of business people. Ethical decisions

are those that are in accordance with those accepted principles of right and wrong, whereas and

unethical decision in one that violates accepted principles. This is not as straightforward as it

sounds Managers may face ethical dilemmas, which are situations where there is no agreement

over exactly what the accepted principles of right and wrong are, or where none of the available

alternatives seems ethically acceptable

It is helpful to identify what ethics is NOT

Ethics is not the same as feelings. Feelings provide important information for our ethical

choices. Some people have highly developed habits that make them feel bad when they

do something wrong, but many people feel good even though they are doing something

wrong. And often our feelings will tell us it is uncomfortable to do the right thing if it is

hard.

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Ethics is not religion. Many people are not religious, but ethics applies to everyone. Most

religions do advocate high ethical standards but sometimes do not address all the types of

problems we face.

Ethics is not following the law. A good system of law does incorporate many ethical

standards, but law can deviate from what is ethical. Law can become ethically corrupt, as

some totalitarian regimes have made it. Law can be a function of power alone and

designed to serve the interests of narrow groups. Law may have a difficult time designing

or enforcing standards in some important areas, and may be slow to address new

problems.

Ethics is not following culturally accepted norms. Some cultures are quite ethical, but

others become corrupt -or blind to certain ethical concerns (as the United States was to

slavery before the Civil War). "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" is not a satisfactory

ethical standard.

Ethics is not science. Social and natural science can provide important data to help us

make better ethical choices. But science alone does not tell us what we ought to do.

Science may provide an explanation for what humans are like. But ethics provides

reasons for how humans ought to act. And just because something is scientifically or

technologically possible, it may not be ethical to do it.

IS ETHICS JUST ABOUT HAVING THE RIGHT PRINCIPLES?

When people respond intuitively to the question ‘What is ethics?’ they tend to identify ethics

with principles which distinguish right and wrong. And this is correct – as far as it

goes. However, the kinds of situations which demand ethical action motivated by sound ethical

principles also require a specific kind of thinking, namely ethical reflection.

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CHAPTER-2

WHAT IS LAW?

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WHAT IS LAW?

Law is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. It shapes politics,

economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary social mediator of relations

between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on

derivatives markets. Property law defines rights and obligations related to the transfer and title of

personal (often referred to as chattel) and real property. Trust law applies to assets held for

investment and financial security, while tort law allows claims for compensation if a person's

rights or property are harmed. If the harm is criminalized in a statute, criminal law offers means

by which the state can prosecute the perpetrator. Constitutional law provides a framework for the

creation of law, the protection of human rights and the election of political representatives.

Administrative law is used to review the decisions of government agencies, while international

law governs affairs between sovereign nation states in activities ranging from trade to

environmental regulation or military action. Writing in 350 BC, the Greek philosopher Aristotle

declared, "The rule of law is better than the rule of any individual." Legal systems elaborate

rights and responsibilities in a variety of ways.

A general distinction can be made between civil law jurisdictions, which codify their laws, and

common law systems, where judge made law is not consolidated. In some countries, religion still

informs the law. Law provides a rich source of scholarly inquiry, into legal history, philosophy,

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economic analysis or sociology. Law also raises important and complex issues concerning

equality, fairness and justice. "In its majestic equality", said the author Anatole France in 1894,

"the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of

bread." In a typical democracy, the central institutions for interpreting and creating law are the

three main branches of government, namely an impartial judiciary, a democratic legislature, and

an accountable executive. To implement and enforce the law and provide services to the public, a

government's bureaucracy, the military and police are vital. While all these organs of the state

are creatures created and bound by law, an independent legal profession and a vibrant civil

society inform and support their progress.

ARE ETHICS AND LAWS TWO SIDES OF ONE COIN?

Most of the time laws are written, approved, and then enforced by the level of government where

they were written. For example, a State law is enforced by the state. A Federal law is enforced by

the Feds.

In other words; State Laws and Government Laws go through a process to get approved, written

into law, and then are enforced.

Ethics are like rules of conduct. For example, Doctors have unwritten ethical rules or practices

that they adhere to just because it's the right thing to do. They have the responsibility to take care

of you to the best of their ability. It's ethically correct for a Doctor to do his best to help you with

your medical malady, but it's not a law that he has to. If a Doctor is unable to help you with your

problem he has an ethical responsibility to refer you to a specialist, but there is not a law saying

that he has to do that. Most occupations have ethics that come along with the job. They are not

written done, they are unspoken rules of conduct that people adhere to. For example an

electrician has an ethical responsibility to repair your house wiring correctly so that it works

correctly and is not a safety hazard for you.

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Natural Law and Reason

Among intellectuals who consider themselves "scientific," the phrase "the nature of man is apt to

have the effect of a red flag on a bull. "Man has no nature!" is the modern rallying cry; and

typical of the sentiment of political philosophers today was the assertion of a distinguished

political theorist some years ago before a meeting of the American Political Science Association

that "man's nature" is a purely theological concept that must be dismissed from any scientific

discussion.l In the controversy over man's nature, and over the broader and more controversial

concept of "natural law," both sides have repeatedly proclaimed that natural law and theology are

inextricably intertwined. As a result, many champions of natural law, in scientific or philosophic

circles, have gravely weakened their case by implying that rational, philosophical methods alone

cannot establish such law: that theological faith is necessary to maintain the concept. On the

other hand, the opponents of natural law have gleefully agreed; since faith in the supernatural

is deemed necessary to belief in natural law, the latter concept must be tossed out of scientific,

secular discourse, and be consigned to the arcane sphere of the divine studies. In consequence,

the idea of a natural law founded on reason and rational inquiry has been virtually lost.?

The believer in a rationally established natural law must, then, face the hostility of both camps:

the one group sensing in this position an antagonism toward religion; and the other group

suspecting that God and mysticism are being slipped in by the back door.

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CHAPTER-3

ETHICS AND LAW

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ETHICS AND LAW

Laws and ethics have common aim- defining proper and improper behavior. But the two are not

quite same. Laws are the society’s attempt to formalize that is to reduce to written rules- idea

about what is right and what is wrong in various walks of like. However, it is rarely possible for

written rules to capture all the sublet variations that people give to ethics. Ethical concepts are

more complex than writing rules. Ethics deals with human dilemmas that frequently go beyond

the formal language of laws and the meanings given to legal rules. Similarities and differences

apart, legal rules help promote ethical behavior in organization. Some of the acts which seek to

ensure fair business practices in our country are the followings:

The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973, now replaced by FEMA.

The Companies Act, 1956.

The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969.

The consumer Protection Act, 1986.

The Environment Protection Act, 1986.

The Essential Commodities Act, 1955.

Government policies on ethics

Cultural Expression as a Human Right :- Although there is no specific mention of ‘culture’ or

‘ethnicity’, the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides for the equality of

individuals, prohibits discrimination based on race/religion/language, and freedom of religion.

These protections are generally accepted to cover the right to collective protection of culture.

Cultural Expression as reflected in Social Work Ethics:- The IFSW’s Declaration of Ethical

Principles recognizes in its introduction that IFSW guidelines should be adapted to differing

cultural contexts. These principles prohibit discrimination on any basis (race, religion, language,

etc) and adhere to the UN declaration of human rights. It can be assumed that these ethics

encourage social workers to support their government’s adopting policies that fit these

principles. Government policy on cultural diversity can have a major impact on the practice of

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Social Work Of course, while social workers may refer to such broad principles as the UN

Declaration of Human Rights and the IFSW Declaration of Ethical Principles when dealing with

cultural diversity, these laudable standards do not always translate into reality on the ground

level of day-to-day practice. Both individual and structural barriers may exist. Being human

themselves, social workers bring any number of biases to their work and they also practice

within the context of government policy on cultural diversity. Governments world-wide have

taken a variety of approaches to addressing cultural diversity in policy. And since social workers

often work in government regulated settings, have their profession regulated by legislation and

deal with the effects of other government policy on their ‘clients’, government policy without a

doubt is a key shaping factor of practice. If cultural rights are not being respected, government

policy will shape the recourses available to social workers and the people with whom they work.

How government policies affect the ethics

Sometimes it's easy to see when things go wrong in government: Elected officials take bribes;

candidates lie about their opponents; city officials make important public decisions in secret

meetings. Other times, the right thing is not so obvious: Should a councilmember represent the

wishes of the majority, even when he or she thinks the majority is wrong? Is it acceptable for a

governor to appoint a family member to his or her cabinet if the appointee is the best person for

the job?

Whether the ethical issues are obvious or complicated, they are easier to address if public

servants have given some thought to the kinds of dilemmas they will confront before a crisis

occurs. The materials in this "primer" on government ethics are intended to provide elected

officials, government workers, and ordinary citizens with an introduction to the basic questions

that are likely to come up in the conduct of public business.

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A Framework for Thinking Ethically

We all have an image of our better selves-of how we are when we act ethically or are "at our

best." We probably also have an image of what an ethical community, an ethical business, an

ethical government, or an ethical society should be. Ethics really has to do with all these levels-

acting ethically as individuals, creating ethical organizations and governments, and making our

society as a whole ethical in the way it treats everyone.

Why Identifying Ethical Standards is Hard

There are two fundamental problems in identifying the ethical standards we are to follow:

On what do we base our ethical standards?

How do those standards get applied to specific situations we face?

If our ethics are not based on feelings, religion, law, accepted social practice, or science, what

are they based on? Many philosophers and ethicists have helped us answer this critical question.

They have suggested at least five different sources of ethical standards we should use.

Five Sources of Ethical Standards

The Utilitarian Approach

Some ethicists emphasize that the ethical action is the one that provides the most good or does

the least harm, or, to put it another way, produces the greatest balance of good over harm. The

ethical corporate action, then, is the one that produces the greatest good and does the least harm

for all who are affected-customers, employees, shareholders, the community, and the

environment. Ethical warfare balances the good achieved in ending terrorism with the harm done

to all parties through death, injuries, and destruction. The utilitarian approach deals with

consequences; it tries both to increase the good done and to reduce the harm done.

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The Rights Approach

Other philosophers and ethicists suggest that the ethical action is the one that best protects and

respects the moral rights of those affected. This approach starts from the belief that humans have

a dignity based on their human nature per se or on their ability to choose freely what they do

with their lives. On the basis of such dignity, they have a right to be treated as ends and not

merely as means to other ends. The list of moral rights -including the rights to make one's own

choices about what kind of life to lead, to be told the truth, not to be injured, to a degree of

privacy, and so on-is widely debated; some now argue that non-humans have rights, too. Also, it

is often said that rights imply duties-in particular, the duty to respect others' rights.

The Fairness or Justice Approach

Aristotle and other Greek philosophers have contributed the idea that all equals should be treated

equally. Today we use this idea to say that ethical actions treat all human beings equally-or if

unequally, then fairly based on some standard that is defensible. We pay people more based on

their harder work or the greater amount that they contribute to an organization, and say that is

fair. But there is a debate over CEO salaries that are hundreds of times larger than the pay of

others; many ask whether the huge disparity is based on a defensible standard or whether it is the

result of an imbalance of power and hence is unfair.

The Common Good Approach

The Greek philosophers have also contributed the notion that life in community is a good in itself

and our actions should contribute to that life. This approach suggests that the interlocking

relationships of society are the basis of ethical reasoning and that respect and compassion for all

others-especially the vulnerable-are requirements of such reasoning. This approach also calls

attention to the common conditions that are important to the welfare of everyone. This may be a

system of laws, effective police and fire departments, health care, a public educational system, or

even public recreational areas.

The Virtue Approach

A very ancient approach to ethics is that ethical actions ought to be consistent with certain ideal

virtues that provide for the full development of our humanity. These virtues are dispositions and

habits that enable us to act according to the highest potential of our character and on behalf of

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values like truth and beauty. Honesty, courage, compassion, generosity, tolerance, love, fidelity,

integrity, fairness, self-control, and prudence are all examples of virtues. Virtue ethics asks of

any action, "What kind of person will I become if I do this?" or "Is this action consistent with my

acting at my best?"

Putting the Approaches Together

Each of the approaches helps us determine what standards of behavior can be considered ethical.

There are still problems to be solved, however.

The first problem is that we may not agree on the content of some of these specific approaches.

We may not all agree to the same set of human and civil rights.

We may not agree on what constitutes the common good. We may not even agree on what is a

good and what is a harm.

The second problem is that the different approaches may not all answer the question "What is

ethical?" in the same way. Nonetheless, each approach gives us important information with

which to determine what is ethical in a particular circumstance. And much more often than not,

the different approaches do lead to similar answers.

Making Decisions

Making good ethical decisions requires a trained sensitivity to ethical issues and a practiced

method for exploring the ethical aspects of a decision and weighing the considerations that

should impact our choice of a course of action. Having a method for ethical decision making is

absolutely essential. When practiced regularly, the method becomes so familiar that we work

through it automatically without consulting the specific steps.

The more novel and difficult the ethical choice we face, the more we need to rely on discussion

and dialogue with others about the dilemma. Only by careful exploration of the problem, aided

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by the insights and different perspectives of others, can we make good ethical choices in such

situations.

We have found the following framework for ethical decision making a useful method for

exploring ethical dilemmas and identifying ethical courses of action.

A Framework for Ethical Decision Making

Recognize an Ethical Issue

Could this decision or situation be damaging to someone or to some group? Does this

decision involve a choice between a good and bad alternative, or perhaps between two

"goods" or between two "bads"?

Is this issue about more than what is legal or what is most efficient? If so, how?

Evaluate Alternative Actions

Evaluate the options by asking the following questions:

Which option will produce the most good and do the least harm? (The Utilitarian

Approach)

Which option best respects the rights of all who have a stake? (The Rights Approach)

Which option treats people equally or proportionately? (The Justice Approach)

Which option best serves the community as a whole, not just some members? (The

Common Good Approach)

Which option leads me to act as the sort of person I want to be? (The Virtue Approach)

Make a Decision and Test It

Considering all these approaches, which option best addresses the situation?

If I told someone I respect-or told a television audience-which option I have chosen, what

would they say?

Act and Reflect on the Outcome

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How can my decision be implemented with the greatest care and attention to the concerns

of all stakeholders?

How did my decision turn out and what have I learned from this specific situation?

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WHEN LAW AND EHICS COLLIDE

A Case:- On February 14, 2006, a U.S. District Court issued an unprecedented ruling concerning

the California execution by lethal injection of murderer Michael Morales. The ruling ordered that

the state have a physician, specifically an anesthesiologist, personally supervise the execution, or

else drastically change the standard protocol for lethal injections. Under the protocol, the

anesthetic sodium thiopental is given at massive doses that are expected to stop breathing and

extinguish consciousness within one minute after administration; then the paralytic agent

pancuronium is given, followed by a fatal dose of potassium chloride.

The judge found, however, that evidence from execution logs showed that six of the last eight

prisoners executed in California had not stopped breathing before technicians gave the paralytic

agent, raising a serious possibility that prisoners experienced suffocation from the paralytic, a

feeling much like being buried alive, and felt intense pain from the potassium bolus. This

experience would be unacceptable under the Constitution's Eighth Amendment protections

against cruel and unusual punishment. So the judge ordered the state to have an anesthesiologist

present in the death chamber to determine when the prisoner was unconscious enough for the

second and third injections to be given — or to perform the execution with sodium thiopental

alone.

The California Medical Association, the American Medical Association (AMA), and the

American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) immediately and loudly opposed such physician

participation as a clear violation of medical ethics codes. "Physicians are healers, not

executioners," the ASA's president told reporters. Nonetheless, in just two days, prison officials

announced that they had found two willing anesthesiologists. The court agreed to maintain their

anonymity and to allow them to shield their identities from witnesses. Both withdrew the day

before the execution, however, after the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit added a further

stipulation requiring them personally to administer additional medication if the prisoner remained

conscious or was in pain. This they would not accept. The execution was then postponed until at

least May, but the court has continued to require that medical professionals assist with the

administration of any lethal injection given to Morales.

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CHAPTER-4

GOVERNMENT

POLICIES AND ETHICS

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IMPLICATIONS OF LAWS FOR THE SOCIAL WORK

The protection, preservation and promotion of one’s culture is widely recognized as a basic

Human Right and professional social work ethics also recognise the importance of cultural

autonomy in social work practice. Government policy, however, can greatly influence the degree

to which social workers are able to respect their ethics and human rights. In Canada, there is a

celebrated national policy addressing cultural diversity, but our experience highlights the

difficulty of actually implementing such a policy and the difficulty in reaching social consensus

on what is an equitable approach. Social workers, despite the degree to which they are impacted

by government policy, need to do more research and reflection on the topic, developing the

means by which they might advocate for equitable government policy for cultural diversity.

BAN ON TABBACO ADS BY THE GOVT OF INDIA

In a case which started in 1991 and ended in 1997, RJ Reynolds Tobacco company, marketer of

Camel cigarettes, was forced to withdraw its mascot, Joe Carmel, an animated camel, from all its

advertisements, after the California Supreme Court (USA) ruled that the company could be

prosecuted for exploiting minors.

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The accusation was that the slick, colorful advertisements (using an animated camel) appealed to

the children and encouraged them to smoke. In India, analysts estimated that cigarettes

contributed only 0.14% of the G.D.P and the health costs roughly translated to 0.21% of the

G.D.P. So the revenue logic of huge contribution in the form of excise to the Exchequer did not

seem to be valid. Also, given the state's significant contribution to health care, smokers, by

damaging their health were in fact enhancing the State's expenditure. Questions were also raised

about the economic impact of such a ban, given the fact that the tobacco industry provided direct

and indirect employment to 26 million people.

However, a study on tobacco consumption and employment, showed that effective policies to

reduce smoking were likely to increase, and not decrease employment. The reason for this was

that when people stopped smoking, the money did not disappear from the economy. It was spent

on other goods and services, which the study showed, were more labor intensive. This, in turn

produced more jobs.

The impact of cigarette advertising on consumers was another contentious issue. A World Bank

report had pointed out that policymakers who wanted to control tobacco should be aware of the

fact that bans on advertising and promotion would prove effective, only if they were

comprehensive-covering all media and all uses of brand names and logos.

The report also published the details of a comprehensive study of over 100 countries, comparing

the consumption trends over time in those countries where relatively complete bans on

advertising and promotion were and where no such bans were. In the countries with nearly

complete bans, the downward trend in consumption was much steeper

In 1992, the Department of Health (DOH), UK reviewed various forms of evidence to assess

whether tobacco advertising affected the aggregate demand for tobacco products. Four countries

(Norway, Finland, Canada and New Zealand) were chosen, as these countries had already

imposed an advertising ban and enforced it effectively. The main conclusion of the DOH was

that the evidence available on these four countries indicated a significant effect. In each case, the

banning of advertising was followed by a fall in smoking.

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In 1997, in a similar study for the International Union against Cancer, the available data in the

same four countries was examined. It was found that per capita consumption of cigarettes (15

years +) had dropped between 14 and 37 % after the implementation of the ban. (Refer Table I).

In three out of the four countries, smoking among young people had decreased, while in one it

remained stable. The conclusion was that advertising bans worked if they were properly

implemented as part of a comprehensive tobacco control policy

The National Population Policy The National Population Policy (NPP) hopes to address the unmet need for contraception, and

provide health infrastructure, personnel and integrated service delivery for basic reproductive

and child health, bring the total fertility rate to replacement level by 2010, and achieve a stable

population by 2045. Besides more general directives such as making school education free and

compulsory and promoting delayed marriage for girls, the policy advocates an “integrated

package of essential services”, which seems to consist of providing contraceptives, treating some

reproductive infections and implementing some communicable disease programmes. Shortfalls

in the government’s services are to be made up by involving the voluntary and private sectors. Many of the NPP’s recommendations are uncontroversial on paper, and seem to be aimed at

providing people more services. However, the proposed incentives to poor couples for

sterilization, and rewards to local bodies for their performance, could encourage coercion.

Women’s organizations have also asked how the ‘intersectoral approach’ will be implemented,

and whether contraceptive technology and research will focus on safe and women-controlled

products.

Most important, perhaps, is the fact that the NPP does not seriously address the conditions which

produce ill health. Without significant change at this level, family planning will remain a low

priority for the poor.

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The Living Wage: Building on the Minimum Wage The “age of the living wage” has arrived with a vengeance. In less than a decade, a well-

organized coalition of community groups, labor unions, political parties, think tanks, and

churches has coaxed dozens of local governments across the United States into forcing

designated employers to pay workers well above the current federal minimum wage of $5.15 an

hour. Living wage jurisdictions include major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago,

and Baltimore plus a large number of smaller cities and suburban counties. Local school boards

and institutions of higher learning are participating as well. By the end of 2002 there were 103

living wage measures on the books, enacted mostly by municipal and county general

governments, and another 74 campaigns actively under way. Activists defend living wage laws

as protecting vulnerable entry-level workers from poverty. They also argue that such laws

improve employee morale and productivity, which in turn improves employers’ profits. Local

governments, to the extent they pay contractors living wages, deliver better services at lower

cost. Residents are more satisfied with the quality of life, and the pathologies associated with

poverty are reduced. Only exploitative employers and their political supporters lose. Common

sense and human decency therefore require national as well as local action in the face of right-

wing scare tactics. The federal minimum wage should be made a “living” wage. The reality is

quite different. At best, living wage laws bring about modest benefits at a higher cost to

businesses and taxpayers. There should be little surprise in that. As an elevated version of the

minimum wage, the living wage magnifies the former’s labor market distortions. If applied to all

employers in the United States, the living wage would make it far more difficult for first-time job

seekers, especially those coming off welfare, to find work. The economic case for the living

wage is difficult to make. Indeed, some three-fourths of economists surveyed by the

Washington-based Employment Policies Institute said that living wage laws would result in

employers looking for more-skilled employees, thus crowding out the people with the least

skills—the very people whom living wage laws are intended to benefit.

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The Minimum Wage as a Living Wage: A Critique Displacement of Less-Skilled Workers Congress established the first federal minimum wage in 1938, as part of the Fair Labor Standards

Act, and has raised it 19 times since. More than 80 studies have demonstrated a link between an

increase in the minimum wage and subsequent job loss, especially among teenagers and

unskilled adults, the workers with the least skills, experience, and education.12 The more

employers have to pay such workers, the less likely they are to employ them. Those workers may

turn out to be productive employees, but they present risks to the employer so, given the

minimum price set by the state, the employer reduces risk by hiring only more-qualified workers.

Hyundai’s are less reliable automobiles than Hondas or Toyotas. If the Hyundai’s could not

compete on the basis of a lower price, none would be bought. A review of the empirical research

over the past quarter century supports that thesis. In 1977 Congress created a Minimum Wage

Study Commission. Economists on the commission surveyed a broad range of studies and

estimated that a 10 percent increase in the minimum wage decreased teen employment by about

1 to 3 percent.13 One skeptical researcher not on the commission replicated the earlier study’s

methodology and found a teen job loss of 0.6 percent.

Counterproductive Anti-Poverty Policy

Advocates of the living wage argue that it combats poverty, but the evidence does not support

that claim. First, the problem for low-income Americans is really insufficient hours rather than

insufficient wages. A Bureau of Labor Statistics report revealed that in 2000 only 3.5 percent of

all household heads who worked full-time 27 weeks or more over the course of the year fell

below the poverty line. By contrast, this figure was 10.2 percent for household heads who

worked less than 27 weeks.23 The BLS study also revealed that only a few more than 20 percent

of all household heads with below-poverty-line incomes attributed their condition solely to low

earnings. The remaining 80 percent cited unemployment, involuntary part-time employment, or

one or both of those factors in combination with low earnings.

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Social Legislation pertaining to women

1. Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005

2. The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961

3. Sexual Harassment and Rape Laws

4. Right to Abortion

Subordination of women has led to violence under this head to rise. Incidence of

domestic violence crosses all the barriers of class, income, rare, culture and religion and in a

highly under reported crime. Domestic violence is one of the greatest obstacles to gender

equality and securing for women their fundamental rights to equal protection under the law and

the right to life and liberty.

Provision under IPC which aims at protecting the Women:

1. Under Sec. 125, the wife can file a suit against her husband if the husband fails to maintain

her.

2. Sec.375 and 376 specify the punishment for rape.

3. Under Sec.359-396, Kidnapping of women is punishable Sec.363 to 373 clarify as to what

constitute kidnapping and abduction.

4. Sec.302/304 (b) Define the meaning and punishment relating to homicide for dowry, dowry

death or their attempts. U/s 304 (b) death of a woman within seven years of her marriage shall be

deemed to have been caused by any demand for dowry.

5. Sec.306 says that any person who commits suicide, whosoever abert the commission of such

suicide is punishable with imprisonment up to 10 years and also fine. The offence is cognizable,

non-bail able, non compoundable.

6. Under Sec.312 to 314, a person causing miscarriage be punished with imprisonment which

may extend up to 3 years, or with fine or both.

7. Bigamy is an offence u/s 494. It is punishable with imprisonment for a term extending up to 7

years or with fine.

8. U/S 407, a person who commits adultery shall be punished with imprisonment for a term

which may extend up to 5 years or with fine or both.

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9. U/S 498 (a) FIR can be lodged at any Police Station or a Women Cell for torture, both mental

and physical by the husband or a in-laws. The offence is cognizable, non-bail able, non

compoundable. The punishment is imprisonment; which may extend up to 7 years with fine.

10. Importation of girl up to 21 years of age from a foreign country shall be punishable U/s 366

of IPC. The punishment can extend up to a term of 10 years and also fine.

11. Section 354 deals with outraging modesty of women. Any act of molestation with intent to

outrage the modesty of a woman is punishable.

12. Section 509 is related to the suit of modesty of a woman (Sexual Harassment). Such an act

shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend up to 10 years and also fine.

ABORTION

Abortion means the expulsion of a living fetus the mother’s womb before it is viable. “In

medical parlance,” according to Dr. Andre E. Hellegers, “abortion is the termination of

pregnancy spontaneously or by induction prior to viability. Thereafter, termination of pregnancy

is called delivery.”

EFFECTS OF ABORTION TO THE WOMAN

PHYSICAL:

· Woman may suffer habitual miscarriage

· Ectopic pregnancies

· Menstrual disturbances or discomfort

· Still births

· Bleeding

· Shock

· Insomnia

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PSYCHOLOGICAL:

· May manifest guilt

· Suicidal tendency

· Loss of sense of fulfillment

· Loss of confidence

· Loss of appetite

· Coma

· Perforated anus

· Fever and cold sweat

· Intense pain

· Weight loss

· Frigidity

· Hostility

· Thwarted maternal instinct

· Self-destructive behavior

· Anger, rage

· Helplessness

· Loss of interest in sex

· Inability to forgive herself

· Intense interest in babies

MORAL CONSIDERATIONS

The direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being is always gravely immoral even

when it is performed as a means to a good end. The magisterium of the church has consistently

condemned abortion throughout history, even when the exact moment of fetus animation is still

being disputed. The sanctity of human life demands that it must be respected and protected

absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human

being already possesses the rights of a person, among which is the inviolable right of every

innocent human being. This alienable right must be recognized and respected by civil society and

political authority. Abortion destroys life and violates the right to life. As such it is morally evil

and it should not be in any way legalized and liberally permitted in the laws and constitution of a

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nation. Abortion and infanticide are unspeakable crimes. We should reject abortion, unless for

therapeutic reasons, for it is simply the murder of an innocent being.

LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

PHILIPPINES:

Article II, Section 12 of the 1986 Constitution provides that “The State recognizes the sanctity

of life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution. It

shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception.” Despite

this position, however, the illegal practice of abortion continues and formal complaints against

violators have yet to be filed in the Philippine courts. Based on the study conducted by the

National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), the number of cases of induced abortion in

the Philippines ranges from 150,000 to 750,000 every year. In one Metro Manila hospital alone,

4,000 cases of abortion are undertaken annually. What usually happens is that illegal abortionists

perform abortions outside, and when the woman suffers from profuse vaginal bleeding, she goes

to a hospital for confinement.

UNITED STATES:

Roe v. Wade gave strength to a woman’s right to privacy in the context of matters relating to her

own body, including how a pregnancy would end. However, the Supreme Court also has

recognized the interest of the states in protecting potential life and has attempted to spell out the

extent to which the states may regulate and even prohibit abortions. First trimester. In the first

trimester the pregnancy starts with a fertilized egg that divides to become tissue and cleavage,

which becomes an embryo. In these first three months the embryo goes through organogenesis

and develops body organs, its heart beats after the fourth week, brain waves can be monitored

after six weeks, and by the eighth week all major body parts are present. At the end of the

trimester the embryo has matured into a fetus. The decision to undergo an abortion procedure is

between the woman and her physician. Second trimester. During the second trimester the fetus

grows from the approximately 5cm it was at the end of the first trimester to about 30cm long. It

also begins to move as it is continuing to mature. During approximately the fourth to sixth

months of pregnancy, the state may regulate the medical conditions under which the procedure is

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performed. The constitutional test of any legislation would be its relevance to the objective of

protecting maternal health. Third trimester. By the third trimester it becomes fully-grown,

completely fills the capacity of the womb, and fully matured at about 50cm long. Since the heart

has been beating since the beginning of the first trimester, a fetus in the stages of the second and

third trimesters are almost always considered alive and, therefore, state property to some extent

unless there are extenuating circumstances. During the final stage of pregnancy, a state may

prohibit all abortions except those deemed necessary to protect maternal life or health.

UNITED KINGDOM:

There are two key statutes relevant to abortion: the Offences Against the Person Act and the

Abortion Act. The Offences Against the Person Act 1861 The Offences Against the Person Act

1861 remains the definitive law in England. It gives statutory grounds to the effect that abortion

is a crime except where subsequent legislation provides protection against criminal prosecution.

The Abortion Act (1967), amended 1990 The Abortion Act was designed to tackle two main

issues. The first was increasing concern at the number of ‘back street abortions’, despite their

being illegal. These were often medically quite unsafe, and an increasing number

of women were being admitted to hospital with complications from such abortions. The second

was the lack of clarity over the question of when a doctor could carry out an abortion for the sake

of the mother’s health. · Prior to 24 weeks a doctor may carry out an abortion, with the woman’s

consent, on very wide grounds.

· After 24 weeks abortion is only lawful either to prevent risk of considerable harm to the

mother, or for the sake of the fetus.

· Except in an emergency two doctors are required to be of the opinion that abortion is justified

n one of the grounds stated in the Act.

· It is generally assumed that when the Act states that ‘pregnancy has not exceeded its 24th week’

it means 24 weeks since the first day of the woman’s last period.

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ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS There are specific laws that pertain to abortion. Certain laws even permit abortion within a

maximum time limit. They state that abortion is possible only up to a certain stage during

pregnancy and should essentially be at the woman’s request. Abortion is allowed only for

medical reasons in very exceptional circumstances, e.g., to save the mother’s life. Today, with

the legislation and positive authorization of abortion in some cases, things have changed. A

review of the legal proceedings of those countries which have legalized abortion show some

differences in modalities, which can be observed upon reading the World Health Organization

chronicle of 1976. This chronicle summarizes the conditions or situations in which the legislation

of different countries authorizes the practice of abortion. Such situations are

· When the mother is authorized to safeguard her physical and mental health;

· When pregnancy is the consequence of rape or incest, or when it occurs in minors;

· When the mother contracts sub-cola during a critical stage of gestation or has been exposed to

other risks which can lead to defective fetal development;

· When Down’s syndrome or other chromosomal abnormalities are diagnosed through

amniocentesis; and

· When the parents are mentally deficient and considered incapable of adequately rearing a child.

MATERNAL – FETAL RELATIONS

Legal considerations

Over the last decade a number of cases have been heard in the courts concerning the legality of

enforcing a caesarian section n an unwilling woman. Most cases have been heard in great haste,

and without legal representation for the pregnant woman. The Royal College of Obstetricians

and Gynecologists produced guidelines that stated:

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· Obstetricians must respect the woman’s legal liberty to ignore or reject professional advice….

· We conclude that it is inappropriate…., to invoke judicial intervention to overrule an informed

and competent woman’s refusal to treatment, even though that refusal might place her life and

that of her fetus at risk. The courts have interpreted common law as giving a competent woman

the right to refuse treatment even where the life of the fetus is at grave risk. However, they fall

over backwards to find the woman incompetent in order, perhaps, to justify saving the fetus, and

perhaps on the view that the woman will be glad afterwards that that was the decision taken.

Ethical considerations

In thinking about the ethical issues raised by decisions or interventions in reproductive medicine

it is important to distinguish between an identity-preserving and an identity-altering intervention

or decision. An example of an identity-preserving intervention is when a pregnant women drinks

large amount of alcohol. If the child is subsequently born with some brain damage as a result, it

has been harmed by the mother’s alcohol intake. An example of an identity-altering decision is

when a woman decides to delay reproduction from, for example, 30 years to age 40 years. A

different child will be born as a result of her decision. Suppose that she has a child (child a) at

age 40 that is born with Down’s syndrome. The likelihood is that, had she conceived a child at

age 30, it would not have suffered from Down’s syndrome. Has Child A been harmed as a result

of her decision to delay reproduction? The decision has altered the identity of the child who is

born. Had she conceived at the age 30 she would have given birth to a different child. Because

child A would not have come to existence at all, had she not decided to delay reproduction, it is

not clear that child A has been harmed by having Down’s syndrome as a result of her decision.

On one view of harm, the decision could only have harmed child A if it would have been better

for A not to have existed at all than to exist with Down’s Syndrome.

Children in situations of crime and exploitation

Recognizing the flaws of the 1986 Juvenile Justice Act, the government passed the

Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2000. But the knee jerk reaction in amending the law

without a wider discussion and consultation with child rights practitioners has left many who are

concerned with children and work with them deeply distressed. In 2003 the government drafted

amendments to the law. But, because of criticisms and concerns raised by several organizations

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and groups, it has been placed before a Parliamentary Standing Committee. The Committee is

currently reviewing the law.

The Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation Act) was enacted in 1986, to specifically address

the situation of children in labor. However, this law distinguishes between hazardous and non-

hazardous forms of labor, and identifies certain processes and occupations from which children

are prohibited from working. It leaves out a large range of activities that children are engaged in

and are exploited and abused. The large-scale exploitation and abuse of children employed in

domestic work and hotels are cases in point. Child trafficking is one of the most heinous

manifestations of violence against children.

This is taking on alarming proportions - nationally and internationally. Although, very little

reliable data or documentation is available, meetings and consultations across the country have

revealed the gravity and the extent of this crime. It is high time we understood and realised that

children are trafficked for a number of reasons and this cannot be treated synonymously with

prostitution. The absence of this comprehensive understanding and a comprehensive law that

addresses all forms of trafficking to back it makes this issue even more critical.

Adoption: The need for greater checks and balances

Adoption is one of the best and appropriate forms of alternative family care. Indeed, it is the only

way to break the mindset of institutional care for children, which has been posed as the only

solution for many years. However, adoption of children continues to be determined by religion of

the adoptive parents or the child when religion is known. Only Hindus, Janis, Buddhists and

Sikhs can adopt children. The personal laws of other religions - Muslims, Parses, and Jews do

not allow it. Even as it exists for Hindus, the law has serious flaws discriminating against

married women. It allows only married men to adopt. Further, it only allows for adoption of

children of opposite genders.

Legal Literacy

A citizen should be aware of his rights. He may know that he has a right to a ration card. But he

doesn't know how to get it in a reasonable time if he loses it. Similarly, the question of personal

liberty. He doesn't know what to do if a constable comes calling. There are so many procedural

things courts have laid down. It is in these matters — regarding life and liberties — that legal

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literacy is not realized. Legislation like the Right to Information Act will be blocked by

bureaucrats if people don't know its provisions and procedures. If there is an enlightened

citizenry such things will not happen.

Marriages-Divorces

India being a cosmopolitan country tolerates personal laws of its citizen. As a result each citizen

of India is entitled to have his own personal laws inter alia in the matter of marriage and divorce.

Hindus are governed by Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 which provides for the conditions of a Hindu

Marriage where under the bridegroom should be of 21 years and bride of 18 years, they both

should be Hindus and should not be within the degree of prohibited relationship or sapindas,

neither party should have a spouse living nor any party should be subject to recurrent attacks of

insanity or epilepsy, either of them should not be suffering from mental disorders or should not

be unfit for marriage and procreation of children and both should be of sound mind and capable

of giving valuable consent. Divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 can be obtained on the

grounds of Adultery, Cruelty, Desertion for two years, Conversion in religion, Unsound mind,

Suffering from venereal disease and/or Leprosy has renounced the world not heard for 7 years no

resumption of co-habitation for one year after the decree of judicial separation, no restitution of

conjugal rights for one year after decree for restitution of conjugal rights, Husband guilty of rape,

sodomy or bestiality and if after an order of maintenance is passed under the Hindu Maintenance

and Adoptions Act or the Criminal Procedure Code there has been no cohabitation for one year.

Drugs and the Law

A policy that sets drugs in context and seeks above all to reduce drug-related harm needs a new

legal framework to reflect these objectives. In our view, the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and the

Classification system it embodies achieves neither of these aims. The Act, and all the later

legislation following on from it, should be repealed and superseded by a new Misuse of

Substances Act that:

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• sets drugs in the wider context of substance misuse alongside alcohol and tobacco;

• is linked directly to a scientifically based index that makes clear the relative risks of

harm from individual substances;

• seeks to punish harmful behaviors stemming from drug use rather than the simple

possession of drugs.

Regulating alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs all within the same framework would have an

integrity and credibility that the present system lacks. Centering the framework on a harms index

that can be changed in order to reflect the latest developments and the most recent research

would give it both authority and flexibility. A framework of this kind would be a neutral

instrument. It could be used either to relax or to tighten the regulation of individual substances.

Some drugs that are currently illegal could be brought under the same kind of regulation that is

now used to control comparably harmful but legal substances; for example, milder forms of

cannabis might be regulated in much the same way as tobacco. Conversely, some drugs whose

current regulation is elastic and discretionary might be more strictly controlled alongside

substances that inflict similar amounts of harm; for example, the stronger forms of ‘skunk’

cannabis might be regulated alongside amphetamines instead of Valium. Not all members of the

Commission, like many in the arena of drugs policy, are agreed on whether or not any particular

drug should be legalized, or even on whether the possession and use of anydrug should be treated

as a civil rather than a criminal offence. But they have refrained from trying to settle these

narrower issues in order to advocate the broader principle of a new legal framework to replace

one that is manifestly failing in its aims. The UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961

requires its 180 signatories to declare illegal the cultivation, manufacture, export, import,

distribution, sale and possession of the major plant-based drugs – heroin, opium, cocaine and

cannabis – other than for scientific and medical purposes. There are wide variations in the way in

which the Convention is interpreted by its signatories, but it remains the framework within which

drugs policy makers are on the whole constrained to operate. The 1971 UN Convention on

Psychotropic Substances adds LSD, ecstasy and other psychoactive pharmaceutical drugs to the

list of substances to be controlled. The 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs

and Psychotropic Substances strengthens existing provisions against money laundering, directs

signatories to cooperate in tracing and seizing drug-related assets and inserts the requirement that

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they should impose criminal penalties for all drug offences, including possession of drugs for

personal use.

The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971

Britain fulfils its obligations under these UN Conventions mainly through the Misuse of Drugs

Act 1971 (MDA), which makes it unlawful to produce, import, export, supply or possess

anything designated as a controlled drug unless an exception or exemption applies. Controlled

drugs are listed in Schedule 2 to the Act. Beside the best known illicit drugs, the list includes a

large number of drugs that are used mainly for medical purposes but that may also be used

recreationally: Ritalin, for example, which is prescribed in order to dampen down hyperactivity

but abused for precisely the opposite reason. The idea of controlling these commonly prescribed

drugs is to protect their licit use (in the interests both of public health and of the pharmaceutical

industry) while at the same time restricting their illicit use. To enable doctors, dentists,

pharmacists, researchers and others to prescribe and handle these drugs for medical purposes, the

Home Secretary makes exemptions to the Act under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001.

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CHAPTER-5

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

1. Ethics for life - Judith A. Boss

2. Government ethics and law enforcement- El-Ayouty

3. Natural law and the possibility of a global ethics- By Mark J. Cherry

Articles in newspapers (june01 – jan10)

1. The Tribune

2. Hindustan Times

3. The Hindu Magazines

1. India today

2. Business today

Websites

1. www.Wikepedia.org

2. www.questia.com