Identification of ethical issues and their challenges in corporate environments

1. Ethical Issues and Challenges
Dr. Elijah Ezendu
FIMC, FCCM, FIIAN, FBDI, FAAFM, FSSM, MIMIS, MIAP, MITD, ACIArb, ACIPM,
PhD, DocM, MBA, CWM, CBDA, CMA, MPM, PME, CSOL, CCIP, CMC, CMgr

2. Stakeholders of Corporate Environment
• Shareholders
• Employees
• Customers
• Suppliers
• Creditors
• Governmental Agencies
• Community
• Special interest Groups

3. Ethical Issues 1
• Developing ethical culture
• Eliminating conflict of interest
• Enhancing cross-cultural ethics
• Boosting fraud prevention
• Aligning risk management to Corporate
Governance
• Equitable action to every shareholder
• Fostering acceptable values in inter-
organisational relationships

4. Ethical Issues 2
• Unbiased relationship with employees
• Appropriate disposition to acquisition and use
of intellectual property
• Observance of acceptable standards in finance
• Adherence to genuineness of proposition in
sales, marketing and representation
• Application of technology for improving
human race
• Effective use of acceptable production and
assurance technique

5. Ethical Issues 3
• Promoting gender equality at work
• Participating in community development
• Accepting full responsibilities for its action
• Prohibition of bribery

6. Causes of Unethical Practices
• Greed
• No Time
• No Experience
• Breakdown of control
• Deficient Education
• Circle of Influence
• Poor organisational culture
• Absence of Requisite Risk Management
• Gamble
• Lack of Integrity

7. Ethical issues in a society recline on the levers of
values, beliefs and idiosyncrasies of people
who act or stand perceived as role influencers
or action models therein.

8. Rest’s Model of Ethical Action

9. Approaches for Handling
Ethical Predicament
• Utilitarianism
• Communal Acceptation
• Religiosity
• Religiophilosophy
• Personal Virtue
• Deontology
• Integrated Corporate Ethical Framework

10. Utilitarianism
This is an ethical doctrine based on value of
usefulness to all concerned thereby yielding
the highest level of happiness. Thus its not
focused on the desire of few people in a
society.

11. Communal Acceptation
This approach hinges on the finality of action by
a community for a particular purpose, albeit
the fundamental goal could be the happiness
of a person or few people who used positions
as great power influencers to induce followers
or protégé in the direction of self
aggrandizement or minority satisfaction.

12. Religiosity
The application of doctrines enshrined in a
particular religion as the only permissible
framework for ascertainment of right & wrong.

13. Religiophilosophy
This highlights admixture of doctrines of an
imbibed religion and the basic beliefs in
addition to principles of a group of people
with the aim of obtaining a framework that
conciliates both sides of the coin.

14. Personal Virtue
The practice of evolving individual character to a
point of effectiveness by reinforcing one’s
values with the culture of a community, firm,
group or association.

15. Deontology
The generic method of assessing the level of
morality which a particular action or activity
represents in order to categorise it as right,
wrong, permissible or mandatory.

16. Integrated Corporate
Ethical Framework
This involves the development of an inclusive
framework that serves as a hallmark of value
excellence for an organisation or association
by mixing well-assessed values and principles
of immediate operating communities,
professional bodies and global institutional
benchmarks.

17. Source: Shirley Egan
Common Rationalizations Used to Justify
Unethical Conducts
o If it’s necessary, it’s ethical
o If it’s legal and permissible, it’s proper.
o I was just doing it for you
o I’m just fighting fire with fire
o It doesn’t hurt anyone
o It can’t be wrong
o It is not for myself
o It is a fair compensation for I lost
o It does not affect my judgment

18. Types of White Collar Crime 1
• Bank Fraud
• Blackmail
• Bribery
• Cellular Phone Fraud
• Computer Fraud
• Counterfeiting
• Credit Card Fraud
• Embezzlement
• Environmental Schemes
• Extortion
• Forgery
• Weights and Measures

19. Types of White Collar Crime 2
• Health Care Fraud
• Insider Trading
• Insurance Fraud
• Investment Schemes
• Kickback
• Larceny/Theft
• Money Laundering
• Racketeering
• Securities Fraud
• Tax Evasion
• Telemarketing Fraud
• Welfare Fraud
Source: National Check Fraud Center

20. “Computer fraud can be defined as the use
of a computer to gain unauthorized
access to information or perform
activities with the explicit goal of gaining
material goods at the expense of others
through criminal means.”
- ComputerFraud.com

21. “An act involving misuse of computer or
data therein, so as to illegitimately take
over fund, material or property or
valuable thing, or to bring about loss."
- Elijah Ezendu, Computer Fraud

22. “Computer crime involves the use of a computer
resource for the purpose of illicitly gaining
goods or resources, or causing harm to
another entity. For example fraud, theft, child
pornography, virus, and unauthorized access.
Whereas computer fraud is a subset of
computer crime involving the use of electronic
resources to present fraudulent or
misrepresented information as a means of
deception. For example online auction fraud,
identity theft, and phishing.”
- Kunz & Wilson, Computer Crime & Computer Fraud

23. Types of Computer Fraud
1. Computer Manipulation
2. Computer Forgery
3. Desktop Counterfeiting

24. Computer Manipulation
1. Input Manipulation
2. Programme Manipulation
3. Output Manipulation

25. Computer Forgery
This is illegal alteration of documents in a
computer in order to cause misrepresentation
thereby defrauding an entity.

26. Desktop Counterfeiting
This deals with designing and developing
counterfeits or modified forms of documents,
cheques and certificates by means of desktop
publishing skills.

27. “Internet fraud is a form of fraud which
uses any component of the Internet to
accomplish the intended fraudulent
activity.”
- National White Collar Crime Center, USA

28. “The term ‘Internet fraud’ refers generally to any
type of fraud scheme that uses one or more
components of the Internet - such as chat
rooms, e-mail, message boards, or Web sites -
to present fraudulent solicitations to
prospective victims, to conduct fraudulent
transactions, or to transmit the proceeds of
fraud to financial institutions or to other
connected with the scheme.”
Source: US Department of Justice

29. “Internet auction fraud was by far the most
reported offense, comprising 44.9% of referred
complaints. Non-delivered merchandise
and/or payment accounted for 19.0% of
complaints. Check fraud made up 4.9% of
complaints. Credit/debit card fraud, computer
fraud, confidence fraud, and financial
institutions fraud round out the top seven
categories of complaints referred to law
enforcement during the year.”
Source: Internet Crime Complaints Center

30. Tools Used for Internet Fraud
• Email
• Chat rooms
• Websites
• Message Boards
• Portals
• Web Application

31. Types of Internet Fraud 1
• Credit/Debit Card Fraud
• Business Deceit
• Recruitment Deceit
• Freight Forwarding Scam
• Counterfeit Cheque Scam
• Advance Fee Fraud
• Non-Delivery of Goods/Service Fraud

32. The successful integration of fitting ethical
framework into organisations and the society
at large shall provide the right platform for
building effective action against challenges of
unethical practices.

33. Exercise
An organisation intends to boost its corporate
governance through effective ethical practices.
State appropriate recommendations.

34. Dr Elijah Ezendu is Award-Winning Business Expert & Certified Management Consultant with expertise
in Interim Management, Strategy, Competitive Intelligence, Transformation, Restructuring, Turnaround
Management, Business Development, Marketing, Project & Cost Management, Leadership, HR, CSR, e-
Business & Software Architecture. He had functioned as Founder, Initiative for Sustainable Business
Equity; Chairman of Board, Charisma Broadcast Film Academy; Group Chief Operating Officer, Idova
Group; CEO, Rubiini (UAE); Special Advisor, RTEAN; Director, MMNA Investments; Chair, Int’l Board of
GCC Business Council (UAE); Senior Partner, Shevach Consulting; Chairman (Certification & Training),
Coordinator (Board of Fellows), Lead Assessor & Governing Council Member, Institute of Management
Consultants, Nigeria; Lead Resource, Centre for Competitive Intelligence Development; Lead
Consultant/ Partner, JK Michaels; Turnaround Project Director, Consolidated Business Holdings Limited;
Technical Director, Gestalt; Chief Operating Officer, Rohan Group; Executive Director (Various Roles),
Fortuna, Gambia & Malta; Chief Advisor/ Partner, D & E; Vice Chairman of Board, Refined Shipping;
Director of Programmes & Governing Council Member, Institute of Business Development, Nigeria;
Member of TDD Committee, International Association of Software Architects, USA; Member of Strategic
Planning and Implementation Committee, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria;
Country Manager (Nigeria) & Adjunct Faculty (MBA Programme), Regent Business School, South Africa;
Adjunct Faculty (MBA Programme), Ladoke Akintola University of Technology; Editor-in-Chief, Cost
Management Journal; Council Member, Institute of Internal Auditors of Nigeria; Member, Board of
Directors (Several Organizations). He holds Doctoral Degree in Management, Master of Business
Administration and Fellow of Professional Institutes in North America, UK & Nigeria. He is Innovator of
Corporate Investment Structure Based on Financials and Intangibles, for valuation highlighting
intangible contributions of host communities and ecological environment: A model celebrated globally
as remedy for unmitigated depreciation of ecological capital and developmental deprivation of host
communities. He had served as Examiner to Professional Institutes and Universities. He had been a
member of Guild of Soundtrack Producers of Nigeria. He's an author and extensively featured speaker.

35. Thank You