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Ethics for Board Members of Clean Power

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Write a recommendation for both the Energy Cooperative and the Clean Power Company. Your recommendations should include:

1. A statement of the ethical concerns in each case
2. How it will affect the stakeholders in each case
3. At least 3 specific references to material to support each recommendation.

This should be in APA style format.

Energy Cooperative:

The Energy Cooperative is headquartered in Chicago and holds colleague luncheons and public conferences at affiliate locations throughout the U.S. and in three cities abroad: Copenhagen, Milan and New Delhi. They are all united via the web. There are currently 400,000 members worldwide (professionals in the energy field and non-professionals who have interests in the field) who pay yearly dues to their affiliate Cooperative. A portion of the annual dues is sent to the home office to pay for upkeep of the website, the yearly international conference etc.

Members vote on initiatives, policy changes, purchases over $100, and other matters that will affect the larger membership.

There is a board of directors that meets by conference call once each month. These board members are self employed consultants with no allegiance to any particular company. They must sign a statement to that effect before they are appointed. They receive a nominal fee for directing their affiliate and being on the board of directors.

You are a consultant and member of the board of directors. One of the directors has asked approval for the directors, when calling their personal potential clients, to be able to state, 'I am calling as director of the Energy Cooperative'. The board has asked you to preview this proposal before the board meeting. Please answer the following questions in response to this proposal by filling in the graph with complete sentences addressing the questions in the boxes in grey at the top of the graph:

The directors in case 1 are independent consultants to the cooperative. But they all have regular careers outside the cooperative with clients of their own.

The Clean Power Company:

The Clean Power Company, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, has been in operation for 5 years. The company produces an energy regulating device that automatically regulates the use of power sources in homes and businesses. Recently, they have realized that in order to stay in business, they will have to move their operations out of the country. They have purchased approximately 500 acres next to the Chavon River in the southeastern part the Dominican Republic.

The land is totally undeveloped. However, it is located across the river from the Altos de Chavon complex that has shops, restaurants, and other commercial attractions. This land looks like a tropical paradise with palm trees and access to the sea via the Chavon River.

As part of the sales agreement, the seller, Teltac Corporation, has agreed to put in roads, septic systems, and water lines. However, electrical power and sewer lines will be up to Clean Power. Clean Power Company plans to be self sustaining by using solar power. Teltec has informed them that there should be no problems running sewer lines directly into the river as the Chavon River is clean and large and can absorb the waste.

You are the Director of Corporate Development in charge of spearheading the development of this new site. In addition, you are responsible for transitioning US employees to the new location and hiring local employees. You will need to decide which Cincinnati employees will go to the new Dominican Republic location or if the company should rely solely on local Dominican workers.

Clean Power also plans to build a new school for local children to address overcrowding and the lack of basic necessities, technology, and space for the students. Clean Power desires to be a good corporate partner in this community, which has many dirt roads and undeveloped areas.

Management knows that the initial capital outlay in this initiative will drive the price of the stock down, thereby upsetting the shareholders. However, management believes it will prove a sound investment in the long run.

The directors in case 1 are independent consultants to the cooperative. But they all have regular careers outside the cooperative with clients of their own.

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Solution Summary

This case discussion provides an overview of the ethical considerations and conflicts that board members may face in the activities surrounding the energy cooperative that Clean Power Company is a member of. It looks at the various activities that board members may be involved in outside of the organization and makes suggestions on which activities ought to be avoided.

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Energy Cooperative

1. The ethical dilemmas in this case have to do with conflict of interest. Each member of the board of directors has signed an agreement that, while serving on the board, they will act without prejudice, with no allegiance to any specific corporation. "Such codes of conduct, and the consequences of breaking them, then need to be communicated frequently to staff members" (Gardyn, 2003). The cooperative should make it clear what the repercussions are for not holding to the agreement.

The first issue is one of misrepresentation. If each director announces he is calling as a director of the cooperative, he is misrepresenting his position to clients. The cooperative has no business dealings with the personal clients of the board members. Personal clients may wrongly perceive that the cooperative supports their interests.

The second issue is one of conflict of interest. As each director on the board acts as a consultant, they should not be mixing one organization with another, as in announcing to personal clients that they are on the board of the cooperative. This information should not be made known to personal clients. Personal clients are not connected to the cooperative. Each separate entity or position the board members hold should be kept separate. Otherwise, it will be hard to draw the line as to what ...

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