Contemporary ethical dilemma found in the business world or a topic in Research Paper

Contemporary ethical dilemma found in the business world or a topic in business ethics - Research Paper Example †. It is in this regard that this paper is written to present relevant contemporary issues in business ethics with actual experience and application in a health organization, St. Luke’s Medical Center. St. Lukes Medical Center (SLMC) is located in the Philippines and has provided high-quality healthcare for over a century. Founded in 1903, its mission is to provide outstanding out-patient care. Today it is the foremost and most admired hospital in the Philippines and an acknowledged leader in Asia. SLMC receives patients from around Asia, Micronesia, the Middle East, Europe and the United States. (SLMC About Us 2009 par. 1) A patient had been confined in a private room in this health institution for almost one month due to chronic illness with diverse complications. Due to her long stay and numerous laboratory, diagnostic and therapeutic examinations, her statement of account reached a staggering amount which could not be immediately covered by the funds of the patient and her family. She had been accompanied by her daughter who helps by providing physical, emotional and financial support. However, due to the critical condition that her mother experiences, their account was classified as â€Å"red tag†. Patients with red tags are immediately referred to the Customer Relations Department who monitors their status and closely coordinates with the Accounting and Cashier Department for settlement and collection purposes. Once a patient has been classified as â€Å"red tag†, any procedure (therapeutic, diagnostic, laboratory, etc.) need to be immediately settled prior to the administration of the procedure, regardless of the necessity and the kind of the procedure to be undertaken. The rationale for this is to prevent further increases in the amount due to the hospital which might not be collected nor paid. The patient regularly needs any of

Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 24

Case Study Example The advent of the internet has enabled the book publishers as well as book retail stores like B&N to sell e-books, devices to read them on, and apps that improve the reading experience. The publishing companies have been forced to commence releasing books as apps in addition to physical books. Book apps are adding new features, such as flip through photo albums, image enlargement, listen to music characters within the book, and read instant messages. The online booksellers as well as e-books do not have overhead costs. Following Porters value chain analysis, the primary activities are directly associated with physical creation, sale and support of the product (Porters, 2006). They comprise of: inbound logistics are processes related to receiving, storing and distributing inputs internally. The publishers print the books and store them internally; operations involve the activities that change inputs into outputs sold to consumers. This entails transformation of content to digital form; outbound logistics entails delivering the product to the customer. This is usually attained through apps; marketing and sales of e-books has been very competitive with firms like Amazon and B&N outdoing each other; service involves maintaining the value of the product. The booksellers have ensured that they develop an e-reader, market it, and set manufacturing and retail operations for the device. The publishing industry has been significantly affected by the new market entrants. The major competitors of B&N in the e-selling of books include Google, Amazon and Apple. The publishing companies are investing in resources like Kindle and iPads as delivery platforms for their books. In order to gain market share, a company needs to contend with increased competition. In the case of B&N, for them to gain market share and stay afloat they needed to contend with stiff competition from Apple, Google, and Amazon. Competitors such as Amazon aims at eliminating the publishers