Columbia HCA Fraud Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Columbia HCA Fraud Case - Essay Example My goal is to relate the case to the subject of Business Ethics and derive important lessons on how business should be conducted. Reading thru the case study, we can discern the numerous causal factors of the federal investigation of Columbia/ HCA. From what I can understand, the investigation was brought about by a combination of internal and external factors which is presented below: It was started in June 1996 by Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin that the Medicare program will go broke by 2001 with the way funds are being spent. Expenditures were increasing exponentially with $160 billion for the 1994 fiscal year. That's about $440 million per day. By the year 2003, it is projected that it will mushroom to $380 billion or $1 billion per day according to the Congressional Budget Office. As a general observation, any activity that increases or decreases suddenly is subject to the curiosity of other people especially when it involves large amounts of money. This being the case, it only took a matter of time before it caught the attention of government authorities who have become very keen in finding ways to eliminate unnecessary expenditures and catching fraudulent transactions. The arguments used by the managers to justify the large increase in Medicare costs was the increase in efficiency, more expensive equipment and better accounting practices. These arguments alone are enough to stir speculations because Medicare expenditures should rise due to the rise in harder-to-treat diseases requiring more expensive medication. Does it make sense then that there was an increase in acute and chronic disease when the health care service became more efficient Does it mean those doctors in the past misdiagnosed patients and when Columbia/HCA came into the picture, they suddenly became experts in diagnosis (Remember that most of the doctors were still those under the past management) New Legislation Protecting Whistleblowers Whistleblowers are those that expose the anomalies of their employees, partners, and co-employees. Anomalous activities, in this case, refers to fraudulent acts that cheat the government (and consequently the taxpayers) of their money. It may include tax evasion and false claims. In the past, whistleblowers were exposed to retribution by the entities who they claim is engaged in anomalous activities. They could only expect minimal attention from the authorities and if ever they were given such attention, they could only expect minimal legal assistance so why bother being one Unless you have very deep grievances against the person, being a whistleblower was a risky venture. With the new legislation, more legal protection for the whistleblower was provided. Incentives were also offered such as the 30% of the recovered money going to the whistleblower which was mentioned in the reading. With the combination of these two important measures, whistle-blowing became a less risky venture. The focus of Government Authorities in Stemming Corruption.

YOU NEED GIVE A TITLE FOR IT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

YOU NEED GIVE A TITLE FOR IT - Essay Example The paper will focus on brief explanation of international theories such as realism, Marxism, liberalism, internationalization and constructivism. A case study of Referendum in Scotland will be provided, and explain its effects on the political, social and economic status of these countries. Finally, the paper will focus on how political, Economic, Social and Technological (PEST) factors affect the international business. They will be analysed alongside the mentioned international relations theories. In international relations, realism is a complex ideology that refers to a number of important issues. Firstly, it refers to political and economic egocentric tendencies, where states seek to protect their personal interests (Scott, 2003). There is an assumption that there is no international government, hence protecting the sovereignty of nations (Grosse & Behrman, 1994). The realism theory indicates that the failure to subscribe to an international government can be viewed as a state of ‘anarchy’ but it is imperative the pursuit of state’s interests (Devetak, Burke & George, 2013). The presence of an international government can undermine the autonomy and sovereignty of other nations (Buzan & Little, 2003). Under realism ideology, every country, no matter how powerful or inferior it seems, is out to protect its political, social, and economic interests at all costs. In general, realism theory is characterised by power politics, where conflict is also common (Sc ott, 2003). However, conflicts are managed, and when it escalates, diplomacy is perceived to be the best tool. Under realism, the universal moral standards are not always recognizing in every state. Different moral standards and laws will be established depending on the interests a country is trying to pursue. While there is an assumption that all humans are