1. Determine at least three (3) different internal and external stakeholders that Dr. DoRight might have to deal with on a daily basis at the hospital.

According to Alejo (2008), stakeholders are people who have something to lose or gain depending on the outcomes of organizational processes and operations. With the increased emphasis on public participation in healthcare, it is becoming imperative for decision makers to have an understanding of the people who are likely to be affected by their actions and decisions (Campbell, 2005). In the light of this view, internal stakeholders refer to people who take part coordinating and funding the daily operations of the Universal Human Care Hospital whereas external stakeholders take part in mainly contributing their experiences and views with regard to tackling issues that are essential to them in the capacity of service users, community members and patients. There are a several external and internal external stakeholders that Dr. DoRight encounters during the daily operations of the Universal Human Care Hospital. Examples of internal stakeholders include departmental managers; the Board of Trustees; and employees who include nurses and physicians, and hospital administrators. Departmental managers are supposed to maintain a high standard of loyalty to the organization and should refrain from using their corporate position for their individual benefits and impeding the organization’s capacity to grow. Employees have the duty to be loyal to their employers and should perform their duties in accordance with the terms of employment. In this regard, nurses and physicians should prioritize patient safety whereas hospital administrators should strive at promoting an assuring image that reflects patient safety. On the other hand, the Board of Trustees has the primary responsibility of ensuring that the hospital’s strategic decisions are implemented as required and ensuring that the hospital operates within the confines of regulatory compliances.

Examples of external stakeholders in this case could include patients, partner corporations, community organizations and governmental regulatory agencies. Patients act as the client of Universal Human Care Hospital and are obligated to provide feedback about their satisfaction with the hospital’s healthcare services, which reflects the performance of the hospital and point out illegal and negligent practices in the hospital. Government regulatory agencies have the responsibility of formulating guidelines on standard and ethical practice and conducting follow ups to ensure compliance in order to enhance patient safety.

2. Compare and contrast potential conflicts of interest that may exist between the internal and external stakeholders.

It is apparent that internal and external stakeholders have divergent interests, wherein internal stakeholders focus on achieving business efficiency whereas external stakeholders place emphasis on the value they attain from the operations of the organization (Ferell, Fraederich, & Ferrell, 2010). In the light of this view, it is highly likely that internal and external stakeholders will have conflicting interests. For instance, employees, departmental managers and hospital administrators are primarily involved in planning and organizing daily operations of the hospital; therefore, they play an instrumental role in enhancing the profitability of the hospital, promoting its image and long-term growth (Fernando, 2010). On the other hand, external stakeholders such as the government regulatory agencies establish the standards of practice, and customers can offer negative feedback of the hospital’s services, which are likely to harm long term growth and profitability of the hospital; this presents a potential conflict of interest with internal stakeholders focusing on profitability and long term growth whereas externals stakeholders are focusing on the value of service. Whereas patients are likely to benefit from high quality health services, the hospital’s profitability is likely to be affected adversely.

Conflicts of interest can also stem from the duties of loyalty owed to external versus internal stakeholders. Therefore, hospital administrators such as Dr. DoRight should take into account the degree and source of power for every stakeholder and the goals and objectives of the business in tackling conflicts of interests among external and internal stakeholders. For instance, for the case of corporate officers, they have affirmative obligations as outlined in their duty of loyalty; as a result, they can disclose information that is deemed to fall under the span of the fiduciary relationship and not to take part in profiting from information or property that belongs to the beneficiary without the consent of the person owed the fiduciary duty (Campbell, 2005). However, this duty does not forbid an employee from taking part in planning and forming a competing firm despite the fact that he/she is still working for the employer, or even telling a client of his intent to leave his current employer provided that the employee does not take part in competition with his/her existing employer. After an employee leaves his/her existing employer, then he stops to owe that particular employer a fiduciary duty. In addition, former employees can engage in competition with their former employers provided that there was no fraud and a restrictive contractual agreement. Similarly, trustees are not supposed to make any profits from their relationship with the trust expect through compensations. As a result, a trustee is not allowed to undertake any business agreement with the trust that results in either a direct or indirect benefit to the trustee. Overall, trustees are prohibited in engaging in activities that have conflicting interests with those of the interests of the trust (Alejo, 2008).

3. Discuss whether Dr. DoRight has fulfilled his ethical duty by reporting the illegal procedures.

Zimmerli, Klaus, & Holzinger, (2007) assert that ethics are of two kinds, which includes the ethics of duty (ethical duty) and the ethics of virtue. The aspect of ethical duty is focuses primarily on what is right thing for a person to do in a particular situation. An orthodox example of ethical duty is utilitarianism (Fernando, 2010). In this particular case, Dr. DoRight failed to fulfill his ethical duty regardless of the fact that he reported the illegal procedures on the Executive Committee and Regional Director Compliance Manager. Dr. Right did not fulfill his ethical duty because he did not follow up on the investigation and reporting resulting in patient deaths due to illegal and negligent practices even after two years. Since ethical duty is primarily concerned with the actions of people rather the outcomes of their actions; Dr. DoRight failed to undertake any action following the reported cases of illegal and negligent practices that caused patient deaths in the hospital.

4. Describe the deontology principle and apply it to the ethical dilemma that Dr. DoRight faces in this case.

Ethical principles and theories form the basis of an ethical analysis since they constitute the perspectives from which guidance can be attainment when making a decision. The ethical principles are divergent in terms of the prediction of an individual’s outcomes and the duty obligation to others when making a decision that is correct ethically; as a result, the most ethical decision depends on the guidelines outlined in the ethical theory itself (Campbell, 2005). According to the deontological theory, people must stick on to their duties and obligations during an analysis of an ethical dilemma. This implies that an individual should observe his/her obligations to other people owing to the fact that observing an individual’s duty is ethically correct. The deontology principle offers a foundation for unique obligations and duties for particular people; for instance an older brother has a duty to protect little siblings when they are crossing a busy road in their company (Campbell, 2005). In this regard, deontological ethics focus mainly on the actions of people rather than their outcomes; thus, people ought to do the right thing because it is the right thing to do and avoid wrong doing wrong things since they are wrong to do.

In the ethical dilemma presented in the case, it is apparent that Dr. DoRight has an obligation to ensure the safety of patients by ensuring that cases associated with illegal practices by nurses and physicians and negligent supervision and oversight do not take place in the hospital. In the light of this view, Dr. DoRight’s failure to follow up on the investigation can be considered as ethically incorrect in the sense that he did not tackle crucial issues and follow up on the Executive Committee and Regional Compliance Director to take corrective measures on the matter.

5. Describe the utilitarianism principle and apply it to the ethical dilemma Dr. Do Right faces in this case.

Contrary to the principle of deontology, the utilitarianism principle places emphasis on the ability of an individual to envisage the outcomes of an action. According to the utilitarianism principle, the action that results in the utmost benefit to the majority is an ethically correct action. The strength of the utilitarian principle in ethical dilemma analysis is that an individual can weigh against the foreseeable alternatives and deploy a point system in determining the course of action that benefits most people, which serves as a justification for any decision taken. In the light of this view, the moral worth of any decision or action depends on both foreseeable and unforeseeable consequences (Ferell, Fraederich, & Ferrell, 2010). According to this ethical standard, a number of individual rights can be anticipated to be sacrificed in order to result in greater good.

In this case, it is apparent that Dr. DoRight’s actions did not result in any greater good and there were no sacrifices made for the sake of the good of the majority. Therefore, according to utilitarian principles, Dr. DoRight’s actions can be deemed unethical. In fact, the outcomes of his actions are inconsistent with utilitarian principles; for instance, Dr. DoRight has received awards for meeting business goals and leadership of the hospital regardless of the fact that patients are dying because of illegal and negligent acts by nurses and physicians under his watch.

References

Alejo, S. (2008). Corporate Governance and Ethics: An Aristotelian Perspective. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Campbell, J. (2005). For Business Ethics: A Critical Text. New York: Routledge.

Ferell, O., Fraederich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2010). Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases. New York: Cengage Learning.

Fernando, A. (2010). Business Ethics And Corporate Governance. New Delhi: Pearson Education India.

Zimmerli, W., Klaus, R., & Holzinger, M. (2007). Corporate Ethics and Corporate Governance. New York: Springer.