Ethical Policies Essay Example for Free

Ethical Policies Essay The first one I have chosen is technically referred to as â€Å"Bribery or 18 USC  § 201-Type Violations† is a law implemented to any individual who puts forward, pledges, or gives anything to a â€Å"public official† to pressure, manipulate, or persuade any â€Å"official act† (Department of Defense, 2006, n. p. ). It is a law which prohibits any â€Å"public official† to insist, ask for, or accept anything in exchange of performing an â€Å"official act† (Department of Defense, 2006, n. p. ). The second is technically known as â€Å"Conflict of Interest or 18 USC  § 208-Type Violations†, which prohibits any person working for the â€Å"executive branch of the United States Government† or any â€Å"independent agency of the United States† to play a part in the endorsement, authorization, censure, rendering of advice, arrest, contract, wherein he or she has a financial interest in (Department of Defense, 2006, n. p. ). Last but not least is technically referred to as â€Å"Misuse of Government-Owned Vehicles or 31 U. S. C.  § 1349†, which disallows the use of government-owned vehicles in â€Å"unofficial business†, meaning, transactions/travels/etcetera which are not authorized by the government (Department of Defense, 2006, n. p. ). Examples An example of â€Å"Bribery or 18 USC  § 201-Type Violations† is this: â€Å"A man who wanted to his visa to another country be approved as soon as possible and so he offered money and jewelries to the officer in charge of the approval and issuance of visa and because the officer in charge accepted it, he was charged with bribery† (Department of Defense, 2006, n. p. ). On the other hand, an example of â€Å"Conflict of Interest or 18 USC  § 208-Type Violations† is this: â€Å"A caterer, who is the wife of the mayor’s secretary, has been allowed to cater for the dinner meeting at the mayor’s office; the secretary ought to be charged here because he used the office the mayor to enter into contract with his wife, which apparently shows conflict of interest† (Department of Defense, 2006, n. p. ). Finally, an example for the â€Å"Misuse of Government-Owned Vehicles or 31 U. S. C.  § 1349† is this: â€Å"A regional director uses the government vehicle even after office hours to go to the casino, meet with realtors, or attend Rotary Club meetings† (Department of Defense, 2006, n. p. ). Possible Fines/Punishment for the Violation Meanwhile, if an individual is proven guilty with the first violation that I have chosen first, which is technically referred to as â€Å"Bribery or 18 USC  § 201-Type Violations†, the person may be obliged to pay a fine or he or she may be sent to prison for two (2) years or less, or he or she could be made to pay for the fine and at the same time may also be sent to prison (Cornell University Law School, n. d. , n. p. ). Similarly, if an individual is proven guilty with the second violation that I have discussed briefly, which is technically known as â€Å"Conflict of Interest or 18 USC  § 208-Type Violations†, the person may be obliged to pay a fine or he or she may be sent to prison for one (1) year or less, or he or she could be made to pay for the fine and at the same time may also be sent to prison (Department of Defense, 2006, n. p. ). With the last violation discussed, â€Å"Misuse of Government-Owned Vehicles or 31 U. S. C.  § 1349†, if an individual is proven guilty of it, he or she is given one (1) month suspension or more depending on how bad one’s case is (Department of Defense, 2006, n. p. ). A person proven guilty of the aforementioned may also be â€Å"removed from office† (Department of Defense, 2006, n. p. ). One Ethical Policy that I would Like to Change If given the opportunity I would like to make some changes with regards to the policy on the â€Å"Misuse of Government-Owned Vehicles or 31 U. S. C.  § 1349†. Since money is scarce nowadays, everyone should be obliged to save; including those in the government and one way to save is not to use government vehicles in unofficial businesses. The punishment should not be just suspension or being fired from work, guilty individuals should also be sent to prison so that they will serve as examples because if the punishment is as â€Å"light† or â€Å"easy† as getting fired or suspended then most employees will not really be prevented to violated this law. References Cornell University Law School. (n. d. ).  § 201. Bribery of Public Officials and Witnesses.Retrieved July 22, 2008 from http://www4. law. cornell. edu/uscode/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00000201-000-. html Department of Interior (2006). Department Manual. Retrieved July 22, 2008 from http://elips. doi. gov/elips/release/3712. htm Department of Defense. (2006). Encyclopedia of Ethical Failure. Retrieved July 22, 2008 from http://209. 85. 175. 104/search? q=cache:REUtRKuChKEJ:www. dod. mil/dodgc/defense_ethics/dod_oge/Encyclopedia_of_Ethical_Failures_2006_Full_Version. doc+Encyclopedia+of+Ethical+Failure. hl=enct=clnkcd=1gl=phclient=firefox-a