Corporate Ethics in the Health Care Marketplace

San Diego Legal Studies Research Paper No. 06-07

Seattle Journal for Social Justice, Vol. 3, No. 1, Fall/Winter 2004

11 Pages Posted: 4 May 2005

See all articles by Lynne Dallas

Lynne Dallas

University of San Diego School of Law

Abstract

Consider three examples of problematic corporate decision making: first, in 2002, employees were less likely to have employer-provided insurance than thirty years ago and the price of health care for those who do receive it is ever increasing. Second, while many employees are without health insurance, the compensation for chief executive officers and other executive officers has increased dramatically. Third, consider the well-publicized examples of corporate decisions to engage in fraudulent and unethical business practices.

These problems will not be solved by glib references to market ideology that claims markets alone adequately regulate corporate behavior. Nor will these problems be solved by assuming that a few bad apples were responsible. Indeed, only by examining the environmental context in which decision making occurs will corporate ethics in the health care marketplace be furthered.

This article is a brief overview of the importance of an organization's structure, policies and practices in the establishment of an ethical climate. An organization's climate affects whether individual employees, as well as the leaders of the organization, make ethical or unethical decisions. Part II of this article begins by defining ethical climates and describes how they are ascertained. Part III discusses two contextual factors in more detail: workplace leadership and reward structures. Finally, this article concludes with some basic recommendations for motivating organizations to work toward creating ethical climates.

Keywords: corporations, corporate decision making, corporate ethics

JEL Classification: K00, K10, K42

Suggested Citation

Dallas, Lynne, Corporate Ethics in the Health Care Marketplace. San Diego Legal Studies Research Paper No. 06-07, Seattle Journal for Social Justice, Vol. 3, No. 1, Fall/Winter 2004, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=716963

Lynne Dallas (Contact Author)

University of San Diego School of Law ( email )

5998 Alcala Park
San Diego, CA 92110-2492
United States

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