Case Study Analysis of Personal and Organizational Ethics Essay

Not-for-profit organization’s primary goal â€Å"is not to increase shareholder value; rather it is to provide some socially desirable need on an ongoing basis. It generally lacks the financial flexibility of a commercial enterprise because it depends on resource providers that are not engaging in an exchange transaction. The resources provided are directed towards providing goods or services to a client other than the actual resource provider. Thus the not-for-profit must demonstrate its stewardship of donated resources —money donated for a specific purpose must be used for that purpose. † (LII – 1992) For-profit organization’s primary goal is â€Å"making money (a profit), which focuses on a goal such as helping the community and is concerned with money only as much as necessary to keep the organization operating. Most companies considered to be businesses are for profit organizations; this includes anything from retail stores to restaurants to insurance companies to real estate companies. † (Business dictionary) Good abstract! Try not to use dictionaries or encyclopedias as references for college-level papers. Case Study Analysis I have decided to do my case study on the not-for-profit organization â€Å"March of Dimes† and the for-profit organization â€Å"Insurance Companies. † These two different organizations are similar in what they stand for and that is helping the client by any means possible. They are also very different due to the nature of their organization and what they have to offer. I am about to prepare a Case Study Analysis of Personal and Organizational Ethics and Values between the For-Profit (Insurance Companies) and Not-for-Profit Organization (March of Dimes). Be sure to give a strong thesis statement in your introductory paragraph. The not-for-profit organization, â€Å"March of Dimes† provides mothers, pregnant women and women of childbearing age with educational resources on baby health, pregnancy, preconception and new motherhood, as well as supplying information and support to families affected by prematurity, birth defects, or other infant health problems. Have you ever thought about how difficult it is for a baby to be born without low birth weight, prematurity, or birth defects? After visiting the March of Dimes website I learned that over 460,000 newborns in the United States alone are born prematurely. I found that the March of Dimes, Mother’s March, and Walk-America were just three of the well-known, not-for-profit organizations in the United States. Each of these organizations main focus is putting an end to prematurity and each work to make their name well-known. The March for Dimes, has been highly effective in advocating for women’s and children’s health. The not-for-profit organization is also a great sponsor for public awareness campaigns; the organization represents some of the most famous names in medicine and is organized into more than 90 local chapters, overseen by a national office. The organization was comprised of volunteers and researchers in a partnership, and today the same holds true. The foreseeable objective of course is to fight until prematurity and birth defects no longer exist. The foundation was founded by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938. â€Å"The organization began as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. The name â€Å"March of Dimes† coined in the late 1930s by vaudeville star Eddie Cantor as a play on the contemporary newsreel series â€Å"The March of Time† was originally used for the foundation’s annual fundraising event and gradually became synonymous with that of the organization. It was officially adopted as the organization’s name in 1976, when it became known as the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation. In 2007, the name became the March of Dimes Foundation. † The March of Dimes original goal or direction for the organization was for eliminating polio and that was done, so then they wanted to make a choice to either change their mission or do away with the organization all together. While putting together all their strengths and weaknesses of the organization they came up expanding the organization against birth defects, arthritis, virus diseases, and premature births. â€Å"They wanted to become a â€Å"flexible force† in the field of public health. † â€Å"The March of Dimes has been described as a bureaucracy that has taken on a life of its own through a classic example of a process called goal displacement. Break-up giant paragraphs into smaller paragraphs! On the other hand, every business or individual is exposed to many different types of risks such as fire, theft, burglary, accident, etc. Some of the risks can be conveyed to companies known as Insurance companies, the for-profit organization. Insurance agencies insure the loss of the insured. It is the best protection against risks to businesses, properties, and life. Like the dangers and risks of businesses, human life is also visible to many different risks. A family generally depends on the income brought in by the head of household, but when a death suddenly occurs, the family may be left in a very different and hard situation. Forever is not a part of the human life. Insurance replaces this by providing financial compensation. Moreover, it is a contract between the insurer and the insured under which the insurer undertakes to compensate the insured for the loss arising from the risk insured against. In consideration the insured agrees to pays premium regularly. Having insurance means that, in exchange for payment; an insurance company agrees to cover the expenses in an event that would otherwise cause financial loss for the policyholder. In short, having insurance means that out-of-pocket expenses can be prevented or diminished. The insurance policy represents a legally binding contractual agreement between the policyholder and the insurance company and spells out how much financial protection is. Some of the ethical perspective and values of the not-for-profit and the for-profit organization is that the March of Dimes is built on their mission statement that very much embraces it first, helping people in need. Volunteers have really studied this mission to guide them through this selfless act. They maintain a high ethical standard and avoid all selfishness. Also defining and enforcing standards of quality service, and striving for continuous improvement. Nevertheless, insurance companies claim that their mission and values are about growth of the people and the company’s performance. It ranks both making a difference and getting things done. Don’t these two organizations have the same concept when they talk about what their ethical perspective and values? They are always looking for ways to improve the organization to bring to more people to them and doing what is right for the customer. However, these two organizations have their set back just like everyone else. Some key problems that the March of Dimes face is stated from the Life Issues Institute: â€Å"For 20 years National Right to Life, its 50 state affiliates and its almost 3,000 chapters have maintained a boycott against giving any contributions to the March of Dimes. The reason for this started back in 1972. At that time, the March of Dimes sponsored a major seminar on genetically handicapped unborn babies. It pioneered the technic of diagnostic, mid-trimester amniocentesis. It began to teach a nation you could take some of the fluid from the sac around the baby in the middle of the pregnancy, and find out if the child had a genetic problem such as Downs Syndrome or spine-a-bifida. Once this was determined, about 95% of these babies would be killed by abortion. † Although the March of Dimes officially takes a neutral stance on abortion, their actions often portray a pro-abortion position. Most recently, they have attempted to hide a clearly established link between abortion and premature births. March of Dimes, whose motto is â€Å"Saving Babies, Together†, must be more vigilant in educating women who have had previous abortions of the need to receive adequate prenatal care during subsequent pregnancies. This is would be the biggest problem that the March of Dimes has to face, but there are so many followers that believe what this organization does because they agree with that their mission statement says and their values. â€Å"We help moms have full-term pregnancies and research the problems that threaten the health of babies. Recognizing, respecting and balancing the rights, roles, health and safety. † This organization has come a long way from when it was first founded and all the research has been for such a great cause, there is no stopping them now. Insurance companies too face dilemmas in their own organization with moral hazard and adverse selection: â€Å"Due to the existence of the insurance policy has altered your behavior. You take more risks, making a loss from burglary more likely than if you were uninsured. When the person on one side of a bargain knows more about what is being bought and sold than the person on the other side. Also, the tendency for people who are more at risk than the average to purchase insurance and for those who are less at risk than the average to reject insurance. † Insurance companies are driven by success and without a little selfishness; they would not be where they are today. Yes, they do help out the customer, but something has to come to a price (the final print). So I would say it is not in a bad way due to the fact they help out people in certain events and we feel that sense of protection when we walk out of an insurance agency. These key problems impact the organizations much more then we know. In the March of Dimes situation people will not know if they should trust them and maybe they will start to thin that they are just all talk. After all the hard work the organization is going to have to put their heads together to come up with a strategy to reassure these mothers that they are the real deal and they are the ones that can help in their time of need. If it is for your children as a parent I will do anything possible for the health and safety of my children. As far as insurance goes, people will get discouraged and just rather not pay, drive and live without insurance. So they will just deal with it when it happens. In my opinion, is not worth it. I have worked with insurance for the past 7 years and I have seen people in all different kinds of situations, but because they put themselves there. We try to explain everything in the best way that we can, but some people still are not convinced that the insurance companies want to help. I think that due to this is when the rates or premiums go up and people are wondering why, this is where the company gets selfish. Once the company reaches the point they want they will come back down. So in my experience in working with them, I think people will realize that they need insurance when something happens and they cannot get out of it by themselves and they need help. Insurance companies are there to help, but for a price. As I am reading your paper, I realized that you do not have any in-text citations with supporting discussion from your references. This concludes the study of theories and paradigms underlying personal and organizational values and ethical principles, how personal values and ethical principles relate to the organizations in which people function, and the effects of the organization’s ethics on its reputation, functioning and performance. As much as I know now about the Personal and Organizational Ethics and Values between the For-Profit (Insurance Companies) and Not-for-Profit Organization (March of Dimes) they are two organizations that want one thing and that is to help the customer. Both have good mission and value statements that they should stick too and continue doing what they are doing. The March of Dimes is here to offer the help to mothers that they cannot get anywhere else for them and their children. You can meet some really great people along the way that are sharing the struggles as you and all they have on their mind the well-being of their children. Insurance companies will not go away and they will not stop being selfish, but this is for the better. You feel more protect when you walk out the door of your home and get into your vehicle or close up at your business. Yes, things will happen, but there is someone their help you out and get you out of something that you cannot do alone. I love my job and what I do! People just remember to just get informed when purchasing insurance and don’t be afraid ask questions about something you have no idea about. Same goes for the March of Dimes, there is so much information on the web about this organization and how they are willing to help you. Don’t get discouraged just one piece of bad article you read. Go and find out, what is the worst that can happen when you just want more information on who to trust in your situation.