Ethics of the Sale of Body Parts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Ethics of the Sale of Body Parts - Essay Example So, what is the cross-section where these two areas meet? Is it ever ethical to, in effect, â€Å"sell† body parts? Blood and semen are bodily fluids that are donated for money—so what would make donating body parts that much more different? For one thing, the sale of body parts in the U.S.—or anywhere else, as a matter of fact—is ethically questionable, at best. According to Wilkinson (2003), â€Å"Many of the arguments [we will] address†¦apply equally to all body parts and, indeed, to all body products† (pp. 101). Legally speaking, the sale of body parts is strictly forbidden in the United States. According to Gunning and Holm (2007), â€Å"For example, property right in human body or body parts is forbidden in the United States† (pp. 169). This is for many reasons, one of them being that the idea of trading body parts for cash could lead to the poor and disadvantaged selling their body parts for money. Also, people might sell these bo dy parts wholesale, making the black market for body parts even greater. Section II. Five Ethical Issues Associated With the Sale of Body Parts Five ethical issues with regard to the sale of body parts—outside of the biomedical ethical standpoint—is that such a practice would be morally wrong, it would take away the human dignity of the sellers, it would take away the human dignity of the person whose body part would be taken, it would take away from the dignity of the doctors, and also create greed within the buyers. The mere practice of selling body parts would be wrong—not to mention the donation of an organ—in Judaism and Islam. The importance of the body being whole is emphasized due to the fact that going to the afterlife depends upon how one took care of one’s body. According to Holland and Johnson (1998), â€Å"For it may be thought that the human body has a significance that is incompatible with treating its parts as items for sale in a b ody shop or that such treatment is an affront to human dignity and respect for self† (pp. 192). Sellers’, doctors’, and recipients’ dignity would also be compromised. The dignity of the person whose body part would be taken would definitely be diminished by donating a body part for cash. According to Miller (2010), â€Å"It doesn't follow, though, that the sale of body parts is good for the parties or for the rest of us. Such sales—or gifts—might unduly alienate the seller from parts of his or her body that are and should remain so integral to [oneself]† (pp. 235). Section III. The Position of a Biomedical Products Engineer on the Sale of Body Parts, Using Two Ethical Theories (Utilitarianism and the Golden Rule) The two ethical theories that were selected were utilitarianism and the Golden Rule. Both of these ethical theories could both be applied to the pro as well as the con sides of the argument. With regard to utilitarianism, biom edical products can be used expediently for the greatest good of all. That may seem to endorse the sale of organs or body parts, but actually it doesn’t, therefore it shouldn’t be allowed. The sale of organs is actually prohibited for the good of everyone, because such sales would ultimately create a larger black market for body parts, and murders would skyrocket in number. Utilitarianism is generally regarded as â€Å"the greatest good for the greatest number.† Of course, utilitarianism does not always end up being the best deal out fo the bunch. According to Brandt (1992), â€Å"

SWOT Analysis on Chase Bank Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

SWOT Analysis on Chase Bank - Research Paper Example (Funding Universe, 2011) The merger in 2000 cemented the creation of one of the world’s biggest financial concerns. The company’s mission statement is (Company Statements and Slogans, 2011): "At JPMorgan Chase, we want to be the best financial services company in the world. Because of our great heritage and excellent platform, we believe this is within our reach." II. Strengths and Weaknesses One of the greatest strengths of the J. P. Morgan Chase banking line is the vast consumer base. J. P. Morgan Chase is the biggest bank in the United States. (Tully, 2009) The iterative mergers of banks to form this financial behemoth have meant that the infrastructure and access of the J. P. Morgan Chase enterprise is huge. The bank sports total assets of some $2 trillion while the total equity has been placed at $176 billion. (Forbes, 2011) Currently Forbes has declared J P. Morgan Chase as the world’s largest public company. (Forbes, 2011) These facts point to the bankâ₠¬â„¢s stability as a premier finance institution which ensures that it can deal with fiscal shocks in the short and long term. Currently, J. P. Morgan Chase sports branches as well as ATM facilities around the globe. Moreover, J. P. Morgan Chase is effectively present in over 60 countries globally. The number of employees is well over 200,000 globally. This ensures that the bank is connected to multiple markets. Problems in one market cannot force the bank into a corner as it has other outlets. One of the reasons that J. P. Morgan Chase fared better than the competition during the recent economic crunch was because it was present globally. Markets with internal consumption patterns helped J. P. Morgan through the worst. (J. P. Morgan Chase, 2011) On the downside, J. P. Morgan Chase has damaged its reputation over the years. A number of scandals have tarnished the bank’s reputation. In 2002 J. P. Morgan Chase had to pay the United States government some $80 million as fines fo r deceiving investors through biased market research. Similarly, the J. P. Morgan Chase hand in financing Enron caused heavy losses as well as $2 billion in compensation and legal settlements. (Market Watch, 2002) Another instance of consumer’s breach of trust occurred when J. P. Morgan Chase admitted to having overcharged military personnel’s mortgages. Families that had been overcharged and foreclosed were compensated through payments totalling $27 million in 2011. (Mui, 2011) These failures to protect the customers have been repeated over and over and may erode customer base in the longer run. J. P. Morgan Chase needs to review its policies constantly and should rely on consumer feedback extensively to judge the reputation and consequences of policies. Another weakness displayed by J. P. Morgan Chase has been their IT infrastructure. The system has proved to be inadequate to sustain business operations. The cancellation of an outsourcing agreement with IBM caused qu ite a stir. Employees were transferred to IBM’s payrolls which cause massive employee dissatisfaction. New consultants were hired to take the outsourcing bid forward but this caused additional expense and lost time. Productivity at J. P. Morgan Chase was seen to have decreased as well due to IT problems. (Kawamoto, 2004) This problem could be relieved by letting a large IT corporation such as IBM, Microsoft etc. deal