Consider the readings for this unit and do some of your own research to address the following:

One of the constant dilemmas being faced by organizations is dealing with employees’ Conflicts of Interest.  Some Conflicts of Interest (COI) are severe enough to require laws to deal with them, others are dealt with more internally through organizational policies.   COIs fall into certain categories including, financial, relational, and competitive/confidentiality and others depending on the nature of the organization.   

Examples of COIs in the workplace:

For this paper:

Pick an organization (public or private) and then choose a particular type of COI that is associated with this type of organization.  

• Locate and describe any laws that are designed to discourage or prevent this type of COI in your country.  If there are no laws particular to the type of COI you chose, discuss why this is the case.  
• Locate examples of organizational policies used to also discourage the particular COI and discuss how the main features of the policy around the particular COI.
• Discuss ways that managers can use both policy and the existing laws in your home country to discourage employees seeking their own interests over that of the employer.
• In your estimation, do laws and policies help promote ethical behavior?  Do you feel that the laws, as they are currently, are sufficient and effective?
• Finally, suggest ways that the laws and/or policies could be improved to both motivate employees to pursue the interests of their employers, as well as to minimize the costs of employers complying with or enforcing the laws.

Submit a written paper which is 3-4 pages in length exclusive of the reference page. The paper should cite sources to support your ideas.  Be sure to review the assessment criteria below before beginning your paper. 

Be sure to use APA formatting in your paper. Purdue University’s Online Writing LAB (OWL) is a free website that provides excellent information and resources for understanding and using the APA format and style. The OWL website can be accessed here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

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Papers will be assessed on the following criteria:

• An organization is chosen and a particular conflict of interest is identified
• Laws pertaining to the particular COI have been located and described.  If no laws are described, reasons are provided. 
• Organizational policies pertaining to the COI are discussed, particularly the main features of the policy.
• Ways that managers can use both policy and the existing laws in your home country to discourage employees seeking their own interests over that of the employer are discussed
• The paper addresses the questions: do laws and policies help promote ethical behavior?  Do you feel that the laws, as they are currently, are sufficient and effective?
• The paper suggests ways that the laws and/or policies could be improved to both motivate employees to pursue the interests of their employers, as well as to minimize the costs of employers complying with or enforcing the laws.
• Writing Organization and Clarity – the ideas are arranged logically to support the purpose or argument. Ideas presented flow smoothly from one to another and are clearly linked to each other.  Writing is clear and it is of high-quality.
• Written Assignment conforms to the structural requirements including APA style guidelines for References.