SYNOPSIS: Insights 70 Days Ethics Plan – Day – 9

insightsonindia.com/2018/07/14/synopsis-insights-70-days-ethics-plan-day-9/

July 14, 2018

1. Your friend has started a start-up that focuses on producing a paper based
product on mass scale that seeks to replace plastic products. The product has
been a hit with investors. To sell his product on massive scale he needs
cooperation and support from the government. However, he faces uphill task of
fighting the huge lobby of plastic manufacturers who have been collectively
pressurising government to not to ban plastic, or levy high taxes on paper based
consumer products. He knows that these pressure groups have paid huge bribes
to concerned authorities to not to ban plastic.

a) Is it possible for your friend to make his product popular without bribing authorities
or compromising his values? Evaluate his options.

Plastic pollution is one of the major threats to the environment in the modern society. So the
need for conservation of environment for ourselves and future generations is the duty of all
people. But bribing to maintain their own interests by plastic manufactures is unethical and
rises a doubt in the democratic system of government.

My friend has the following options in order to make his product popular without
compromising his values:-

Option 1:-
He can approach the NGO’s with similar environmental cause of banning plastic
and get their support is popularizing the idea. Also the social media usage can
give him access to wider audience .This option would make people aware of the
impact of plastic on environment and the need for paper based products.
Option 2:-
Approaching government officials:-
Especially when the government is already moving towards ban on plastic
and states actively promoting the ban, it is the right time to approach the
government officials .For instance startup Biogreen made efforts to make
government officials understand the product and acquired the required
licenses for the same.
Also there is a need to issue a complaint about the nexus of some officials
with plastic manufacturers so that process is transparent and does not affect
businesses adversely.
The same approach can be followed here as well as government is already
encouraging startups. However due to connivance of government officials
and plastic manufacturers the result can be adverse for the startup.
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 This approach can be considered along with mix of some of other options as
well.
Option 3:-
Make people aware by conducting workshops, seminars making students in
schools and colleges aware and gain public support. Once public trusts the
product the sales will increase and automatically the use of plastic will come down.
Option 4:-
It is not possible to make the product popular without necessary support
from the government. Even though his ethical principle of not resorting to
giving bribes is intact his business is fallen. So a work for a good cause is
lost.

2. These days we are witnessing different crimes in schools and colleges across the
globe. These crimes have been perpetrated both by students and teachers alike
on many occasions. What do these incidents reflect on education and society? If
you are an administrator of education institution, what measures will you take to
prevent crimes? Evaluate efficacy of your measures.

Schools should be safe havens for teaching and learning free of crime and violence. Any
instance of crime or violence at school not only affects the individuals involved but also may
disrupt the educational process and affect bystanders, the school itself, and the surrounding
community.

What do these events reflect on education and society :-

School violence is a multi-faceted social ill and may occur for diverse reasons, one of
which is the intake of hard substances such as drugs and alcohol abuse. Students,
school staff or members of society who are intoxicated tend to lose control of their
inhibitions and often act in an irrational manner.
School violence may arise due to the psychological deficiencies created by dysfunctional
homes. Worry, hatred, inferiority complex, anger and other negative emotions which fuel
violent behavior, could develop in people when they are exposed to poor parenting or
disaccord amongst family members. Also, in homes where parents/guardians display
violent behavior, children/wards usually adopt violence as a way of asserting authority.
The impact of violent television programs and video games is largely underestimated in
the society. Children/ teenagers often emulate their favorite television characters in
action movies and this leads to learned violent behavior in schools.
Education is focused more on obtaining marks rather than upholding values.
With technology children are getting more addicted to smart phones and becoming more
isolated and the sessions to bond through sports ,direct communication etc are lacking.

Measures needed to prevent crimes :-

The school and management can give training to teachers about how to create a
friendly and helpful environment in the classroom and school so student are not getting
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 involved in this type of activities. Some of the area on which we can train our teachers
are classes on anger management and conflict management, how to give guidance to
students who get easily affected by this type of activity, how to create cool and
comfortable environment for the students to perform well in studies.
Parent and family based programs can improve family relations and lower the risk for
violence by children especially when started early. These programs provide parents with
education about child development and teach skills to communicate and solve problems
in non violent manner.
Mentoring programs can significantly reduce youth violence. These programs pair
a young person with an adult who can serve as a positive role model and help guide the
young person’s behaviour.
Universal school based prevention programs can significantly lower the rates of
aggression and violent behaviour .These programs are delivered to all the students in
school or grade level. They teach about various topics and develop skills such as
emotional self awareness and control, positive social skills, problem solving ,conflict
resolution and teamwork.
Classmates and other students can play an important role in reducing this type of activity
because they are the persons who are spending more time with each other.
Ensure that educational curriculum include lessons about ethics, morals etc.
The school buildings and school-sponsored events should also be properly guarded in
order to quickly detect any possible threats of violence.
Larger community such as non-governmental organizations should make concerted
efforts to reach out to students and other youth in order to properly address issues of
drug abuse, social anxieties and other forms of mental or affective disorders.

These measures need to be implemented cohesively and together rather than a step by step
approach to uproot the source of the problem and ensuring kids become more ethical and
uphold the true values of education.

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