Post on 08-Jan-2023
CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN THE
WORKPLACE
A SEMINAR PAPER PRESENTED BY
SHODIPE, OLUWAFUNMILAYO ABIMBOLA
RUN 10-11/3119
ON THE 8TH OF OCTOBER 2013
AT THE FOURTH CHRISTIAN WRITER’S
WORKSHOP ORGANISED AT THE
DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMUNICATION
REDEEMER’S UNIVERSITY
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I want to sincerely give thanks to the Almighty God, for His
grace and the ability He gave to me to carry out the necessary
research for this seminar paper despite the long list of
activities I am occupied with.
I wish to acknowledge Mr. Emmanuel Ifeduba for giving me insights
on how to explore the paper, to Miss Dami Adedeji for her
assistance offered in proof reading of this seminar paper, to Mr
Dayo for his assistance and allowing use the internet facility in
his office.
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TABLE OF CONTENT
Cover page…………………………………………………………………………Pg 1
Acknowledgement……………………………………………………….................Pg 2
Table of content…………………………………………………………………….Pg 3
Section one:
Introduction……………………………………………………………......................Pg4
Ethical standards that relate to conflict of interest
Integrity………………………………………………………………………Pg 6
Fidelity…………………………………………………………………….....Pg 6-7
Objectivity……………………………………………………………………Pg 7
Honesty………………………………………………………………………Pg 8-9
Accountability………………………………………………………………..Pg 9
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Questions that relate to conflict of interest in the
workplace………………………..Pg 9
Section two…………………………………………………………………………..Pg 10-12
Section three…………………………………………………………………………Pg 13-15
Section four ……………………………………………………………………….....Pg16-17
References……………………………………………………………………………Pg18-20
SECTION ONE
INTRODUCTION
Defining Interest
An interest may be defined as a commitment, goal, or value held
by an individual or an institution.
Examples include a research project to be completed, gaining
status through promotion or recognition, and protecting the
environment.
Defining Conflict of Interest
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“A conflict of interest (COI) occurs when an individual or
organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which
could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in another.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_of_interest (accessed on 12
Sept. 2013)
“A conflict of interest is a set of circumstances that creates a
risk that professional judgement or actions regarding a primary
interest will be unduly influenced by a secondary interest.”
(Thompson, Dennis (1993). "Understanding financial conflicts of
interest" New England Journal of Medicine 329 [8])
“The circumstance of a public officeholder, business executive, o
r the like, whose personal interest
might benefit from his or her official actions or influence: The s
enator placed his stocks in trust to avoid possible conflict of interest.”
(www.dictionary.com//browse/conflict+of+interest accessed 1st
Oct. 2013)
“A definition of a conflict of interest is any activity,
financial investment, interest, association, or relationship,
(including relationships with family members, relatives, friends,
and social acquaintances), that conflicts with an employee’s
independent exercise of judgment concerning their employment.”
(www.securityinfowatch.com/conflictsofinterestandtheworkplace)
A conflict of interest exists when two or more contradictory
interests relate to an activity by an individual or an
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institution. The conflict lies in the situation, not in any
behavior or lack of behavior of the individual.
With the various definitions of conflict of interest mentioned
above it is easy to point out that conflict of interest is a
situation that can influence an employee from taking a right
decision which should be in the best interest of his/her
organisation.
Since it is now clear what conflict of interest is let’s now
briefly study some ethical standards that relate to conflict of
interest.
An example of a conflict of interest situation “An HR director
decides to investigate a charge of sexual harassment, using
internal resources she controls, against a fellow corporate
executive whom she has known and worked with professionally for
years.”
According to the Canadian Council for International Co-operation
(CCIC) (2008) accessed on
http://www.peopleinaid.org/pool/files/pubs/Managing-Conflict-of-
Interest.pdf, Conflict of interest may occur in various forms,
they include:
• Self-dealing, for example when a person uses his staff or Board
position to make, or influence, a decision to provide funding to
an organization in which he has an interest. Or, the person goes
outside normal, objective hiring processes to give a job to a
friend or family member.
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• Influence peddling, which means that a person solicits or
accepts some form of benefit in return for influencing activities
or promoting someone else’s interests. For example, an employee
obtains a sponsorship from a travel agency for the soccer team
she coaches, in return for the travel agency receiving business
from the organization that employs her.
• Misuse of information or property, when an individual uses
information or property to which he has access because of his job
or volunteer work, and to which others would not have had access,
for some personal benefit. For example, an individual may learn
that a branch of his organization plans to issue an
importantrequest for tenders, and tell a friend so the friend’s
consulting company has more time than its competitors to prepare
to submit a bid. Misuse of property could involve, for example,
using one of your organization’s vehicles for personal purposes,
or using the organization’s photocopier to copy documents for
your own small business, without first obtaining permission to do
so.
• Taking some form of employment or other activity that one’s
employer could possibly see as conflicting with the employer’s
interests. An example might be if an employee owns a business
that sells pesticides when her employer, a health organization,
has a public position against pesticide use.
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• Accepting undue benefits, such as significant gifts (e.g. the
person responsible for purchasing equipment in your organization
accepts tickets to a hockey game from a supplier).
Ethical Standards That Relate To Conflict Of Interest
Integrity
“Integrity is a concept of consistency of actions, values,
methods, measures, principles, expectations, and outcomes.
In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty
and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions. Integrity can be
regarded as the opposite of hypocrisy, in that integrity regards
internal consistency as a virtue, and suggests that parties
holding apparently conflicting values should account for the
discrepancy or alter their beliefs.”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrity accessed on the 4th of
October, 2013)
If we can be men of integrity indeed then when the ethical
dilemma of conflict of interest arises we would know how to
tackle it.
Fidelity
“The definition of fidelity is truth and honesty. If you are
trying to get someone to hire you for a job, close a business
deal or start a strong relationship, fidelity is a key quality
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that you must possess. Many people closely associate fidelity
with faith (a belief in a higher power). In many faiths, fidelity
is one of the most important attributes that a person must have.
In fact, in some cases, faith is considered to be equivalent to
fidelity. Infidelity is considered to be a serious sin”
(http://www.ehow.com/about_5419060_definition-fidelity.htmlaccessed on 1st of Oct. 2013)
Fidelity refers to faithfulness whether to a person, cause, or
belief, which is usually portrayed by continuing loyalty and
support to that cause, belief or person, and it is mostly used by
those in relationships. Being faithful or loyal to an
organization requires belief in what that organization
represents. Employees should not divulge sensitive information
about their organization to outsiders. For instance, an employee
having discussions with friends from other companies must not
give out information about the company that is classified.
We should be like Ruth who was loyal to Naomi even after her sons
were dead and nothing was binding them together anymore, and her
loyalty paid off because she became the great grandmother of King
David and her name was not left out in the genealogy of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
It is written in the bible precisely in Colossians 3 verse 22-24,
that slaves should obey their master wholeheartedly in everything
and do it with the sincerity of the heart so that they can
receive their rewards in heaven. It is to be noted that fidelity
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pays off at the end and helps to form a stronger bond in the
workplace because everyone believes in the mission of the
organization.
Objectivity
“The state or quality of being objective”
(http://www.thefreedictionary.com/objectivity accessed on the 4th
of October, 2013). The opposite of the word objective is
Subjective.
Objectivity refers to the state, or condition of being fair, or
free from bias or injustice. Objectivity is recognizing and
accepting “what is,” without projecting our mental models,
background, culture, experiences and responding thoughtfully,
deliberately and effectively.” (www.principlesofobjectivity.com
accessed on the 4th of October, 2013)
If as Christian Writers we can be objective we would do what is
right and when a conflict of interest situation arises we would
tackle it appropriately.
Honesty
According to Jagg Xaxx, an eHow contributing writer, honesty is
an important foundation for the professional success of an
organization or an individual (www.eHow.com, accessed on 30th of
September 2013).
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Honesty has already been defined as being trustworthy, loyal and
sincere. Being honest starts with you, being Honesty as an
ethical standard is one of the virtues people have to live by.
Are we truly sincere and loyal to the company we work for or its
just our profit that we are concerned about?
Employees must avoid time theft. Employees should be honest about
how the office time is spent. For instance, employees should not
be making personal phone calls during office hours or take time
out to deal with personal or home situations. Employees should
also not be sending or checking emails that are not related to
work during work period rather they should do it during break.
Many organizations have internet access and employees should not
use it for personal gains or spend time on social networking
sites during office hours. Also employees should endeavor to
return properties to the appropriate personnel when clients leave
them behind.
Honesty in the workplace would help to maintain a moral course in
the workplace especially in turbulent times and help promote
strong teamwork and productivity among employees.
Honesty also promotes trust in the workplace. A person that has
been tested over time and found to be honest in all his dealings
would be trusted more than others. He/she would be more relied
upon by his superior and sensitive information can be given to
him making him feel like part owner of the company. Such a man
would work more so that he would not disappoint his superiors. In
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conclusion, like the bible says in Proverbs 12verse 22, “the Lord
detests lying lips, but delights in men who are truthful”. We
should always strive to be honest in all our dealings and this
can only be achieved if the superiors are honest and take the
remaining employees along.
Accountability
“In ethics and governance, accountability is
answerability, blameworthiness, liability, and the expectation of
account-giving.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accountability
accessed on 6th of Oct. 2013)
“It is a check and balance system to protect us from harm from
ourselves and others. We do this by being open to what we are
thinking and doing so we can receive encouragement and reproof,
when needed. Christian accountability is accounting for what we
are up to. It is the realization that we are liable, responsible,
and answerable for our actions in life to God (Matt. 12:36; Rom.
2:16; 14:2; 1 Cor. 3:10-15; 4:5; 2 Cor. 5:10), as well as to key
Christians in our life (John 13:34 Gal. 6:1-2; Philip. 2:4; Heb.
10:23-24; James 5:16). Thus, we need to hold to our beliefs and
keep in line with what we believe so it does not distract us from
God's path for us or discourage others from their path.”
(http://www.discipleshiptools.org/pages.asp?pageid=60401 accessed
on the 6th of Oct. 2013)
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He who is accountable would deal appropriately with conflict of
interest situations.
QUESTIONS THAT RELATE TO CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN THE WORKPLACE
1. Why do we have conflict of interest in the workplace?
2. Why do employers place a high value in fidelity & honesty?
3. As Christian writers when we are faced with issues that
relate with conflict of interest how are to handle it?
SECTION TWO
Why do we have conflict of interest in the workplace?
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Conflict of interest cannot be absolutely absent in an
organization however it does not mean it should be tolerated.
The expectation of employers over their employees is for them to
make decisions that are ethical and are in the best interest of
the organisation.
For some organisations, there is an absence of a system to
appropriately take care of the need of their employees and so
when their employees are faced with situations that are conflict
of interest related they compromise thereby making conflict of
interest problematic in the workplace. For instance, As a
reporter, you have been sent to cover an event, and you have not
received your salary for 3 months, you are in need financially,
however when you finished your report, the senator gives you a
financial reward 3 times of your one month salary. Are to collect
the money having it in mind that if you do it would influence
your story against your company’s in-house policy? Or do you
refuse to collect such financial reward and rather borrow money
from friends? The company has therefore put the employee in a
difficult situation of conflict of interest where it becomes very
likely that the employee compromises.
However, compromise is not our watch word as Christian Writers it
is expected that at all time we do what is right because we are
heirs of the Father who knows no sin. We should also remember
that our God sees all and whatever He allows to happen to us he
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has allowed for reason, so let’s walk in His will always, and
deal with conflict of interest matters honestly and objectively
like asking yourself “would the action I am about to take be of
benefit to this organisation?
As Christians we are Pacesetters because the scriptures say “Ye
are The Light of the World” we are a city set on a hill that
cannot be hidden, so let’s endeavor to do what is right always.
The operation of some organisations is very dynamic and the
changes made are not or are not adequately communicated to the
employees and so when employees are faced with situations as such
they make uninformed decisions to the detriment of the
organisation. For instance an HR person in an organisation might
not be aware of the company’s improved policy on the issue of
employing family or close relative, and so such a person when
his/her company is recruiting staff would recruit family and
close relative even when he/she knows that they may not be the
best for the job.
In some situations the employers are not considerate of the fact
that asides work their employees have a life they live and care
about, all such employers think about is their organization
alone. For instance, Henry’s new job at J & R Machine Shop was
very unpredictable, some nights were extremely busy. Between
rushed repairs, he and his co-workers barely had time for breaks
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and dinner. Most nights, however, were calm. The employees took
turns making repairs as they slowly filtered in.
Most of Henry’s fellow employees had been at J & R machine shop
for many years. As Henry sat some nights anxiously waiting for
repair to come through, he noticed that many of the other
employees would work on their own broken lawn mower or tractor
parts.
One evening before Henry went into work, the drive shaft on his
own lawn mower broke. He knew it would be a slow night at work,
and he would definitely have time to fix the drive shaft.
Henry checked to see if urgent repairs needed to be made before
he started working on his drive shaft. Focused on his repair, he
didn’t notice when his boss walked into the shop. When his boss
approached him and asked what he was working on, Henry had to
tell him the truth. His boss lectured him, pointing out that he
was not paying Henry to make personal repairs.
Now Henry’s boss is very right when he said that He was not
paying Henry to make personal repairs, however he failed to be
realistic that in some circumstances his employees would not do
what is required of them. I am of the opinion that if Henry’s
boss had been in his shoes he would have done the exact same
thing. When Google had the same problem J & R machine shop is
having (employees doing personal jobs at work) the strategy
Google put in place was to create a time asides from lunch break
for employees to do personal stuff with the internet like reply
mails, have video calls, chat, and attend to other personal
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duties. I believe the same strategy is what the J & R machine
shop need to put in place to solve the problem of employees doing
personal work during work hours. However same advice might not
apply to other organisations.
Another reason why there’s the presence of conflict of interest
in the workplace is that some employees are unable to balance
their work life with their other activities and so a conflict of
interest problem occurs.
Employees should learn to handle situations that are conflict of
interest related effectively. Why do employers place a high value in fidelity & honesty?
Employers place a high value in fidelity & honesty because they
understand that if all of their employees could embrace these two
moral principles (Fidelity & Honesty) the company would indeed
prosper and things would be done appropriately.
Employers also place a high value on fidelity and honesty because
most vices and problematic situations that surface in the
workplace are as a result of the absence of Fidelity and Honesty.
For instance bribery and corruption would not be a problem if
employees could but embrace fidelity and honesty.
Employers place a high value in fidelity and honesty because they
can employ them as vital guides to resolving conflicts of
interest in the workplace.
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As Christian writers when we are faced with issues that relate
with conflict of interest how are we to handle it?
Workplace conflicts of interest must be dealt with fairly and
openly to avoid poor decision making and breakdown in trust.
As Christian writers we should treat conflict of interest
situations with objectivity and no form of bias at all. We can
ask ourselves questions like would the action I am about to take
be to the profit of my organisation or is it just my own
profiting I am worried about?
We can also handle workplace conflict of interest by empathy, see
yourself as the manager of the organisation would you still make
the same decision you are about to make? If you are true to
yourself in answering the question then you can correctly handle
conflict of interest situations.
We can also handle workplace conflict of interest by being loyal
and devoted.
Workplace conflict of interest can be handled with discipline and
integrity.
Workplace conflict of interest can be handled with honesty.
SECTION THREEApplications and examples of conflict of interest in the workplace
Employers quite rightly get very angry when they discover that
their employees have been conducting private businesses during18 | P a g e
working hours and/or in conflict with the best interests of the
employer. A key obligation of the employee is to serve the best
interests of the employer. Therefore, conflict of interest is
seen by many managements as gross misconduct meriting dismissal.
Examples of scenarios of conflict of interest at the workplace
are identified below;
In the case of Steven Vs Crown National (Pty) Ltd (2002, 5
BALR 546) the employee was guilty of planning, together
with a colleague, to set up a spice business in competition
with her employer. After she was dismissed for conflict of
interest she referred an unfair dismissal dispute to
the CCMA. The arbitrator found that the dismissal had been
unfair because the employee had only contemplated the
opening of her own business and had not actually competed
with her employer. The employer was ordered to pay the
employee compensation equal to six months' pay.
In Devine Vs SA Breweries and another (2003, 2 BALR 130)
the employee was dismissed for being involved in a private
business selling computers to colleagues. The CCMA found
that the dismissal was unfair because the computer business
was so different to the employer's business that it did not
constitute a conflict of interests. The employee was
reinstated with full back pay.
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Carter has just been promoted to assistant manager at
therapy, Inc. her boss, Ms. Wong, asked her to prepare 1000
bottles of lavender therapeutic oil.
First, Carter needed to find the cheapest rate for bulk
grape seed oil in order to make the bottles of lavender
oil; carter calculated that the company would need
approximately 32 gallons of grape seed oil to produce 1000
bottles of lavender oil.
As she began researching and making phone calls, she
remembered her long time friend, Ali, sold grape seed oil.
Carter was also aware that Ali and her family were
struggling financially. As carter finished her research and
began to compare prices, she realized that Ali was selling
her grape seed oil at a more expensive price than most other
competitors.
Ms. Wong asked for the best deal on grape seed oil, but
Carter felt obligated to help Ali’s family. After
considering the matter carefully, when Ms. Wong asked for
Carter’s results, Carter gave her the address and phone
number for Valley Grape seed Oil Company, which sold the oil
at the lowest price. Carter also made a point to suggest to
Ali that she may have her grape seed oil priced a little too
high, based on her recent research.
An employee starts a company that provides similar services
to similar clients as those of her full time employer.
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The 'Judge' for a custody hearing on a minor child is
related to one of the parents of the child. This judge
would be considered to have a conflict of interest because
they were related to one of the parents and may pass
judgment for the parent they are related to, regardless of
the evidence in the case.
Your lawyer is a member of the board of directors of a
business, or owns stock in the business, which you are
filing a lawsuit against. This lawyer would have a conflict
of interest because they are tied to the business and may
or may not do certain things that could affect the outcome
of the lawsuit.
As a sound mixer at a large recording studio in San
Francisco, Pascal works with state-of-the-art recording
equipment on million-dollar contracts with famous musical
acts. Though his job is glamorous and fun, Pascal struggles
to pay the bills and feed his family.
Pascal’s modest yearly salary increases are no match for the
rising cost of living in San Francisco. Ever since his wife,
Pru gave up her teaching position to pursue a music career,
Pascal has been the sole breadwinner for his family.
Lately, Pru has been gaining recognition as a local singer
and songwriter. Hillel, a talent scout from a major record
label, has expressed interest in her work.21 | P a g e
The problem is, Hillel must return to his office in New York
by the end of the month, and he can only take five recording
of Pru’s work by the end of the month in order to convince
his supervisors to sign her a deal- a deal that could bring
in hundreds of thousands of dollars to the family.
The poorly mastered home recordings Pru has will not be
sufficient. Pascal and Pru know that this is an opportunity
of a lifetime, but their limited budget will not allow them
to pay a professional studio to do the job.
Though the solution seems painfully clear, Pascal is worried
about using company time and equipment to work on a personal
project. He is working on several major CDs with tight
deadlines-big money, advertised release dates, and the
company’s reputation are at stake.
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SECTION FOURConclusion
A summary of all the information in this seminar paper is that
conflict of interest in the workplace challenges will surface but
how we approach and treat it as Christian writers is what
matters.
Employees are expected to make decisions that are in the best
interest of the company. Sometimes, however, a decision that is
in the best interest of your company is not going to be in your
best interest.
Employees can uphold Honesty and Fidelity which in turn can be
used as effective framework for understanding how to resolve
conflict of interest situations. Loyal employees typically make
decisions based on what’s best for the company-rather than on
what’s best for themselves.
We should remember that we are accountable to God and always have
the scripture “do unto others what you want others to do unto
you” in mind, if you know that a decision you are about to make
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is detrimental or bad business for your organisation then do not
make such decision because you have to remain loyal and devoted
to your organanisation.
Do only what is right in the sight of God and for your
organisation.
Recommendation
An organizational culture that makes it clear that conflict of
interest situations are part of life
and should be dealt with, can help empower all employees and
volunteers to take responsibility for ethical behaviour and
decision-making within the organization.
Creating a culture in which people are comfortable taking
responsibility to “self-declare”
Conflicts of interest will help avoid the development of a
culture of accusations and finger-pointing
However in the a circumstance where our organizations are yet to
adopt employee friendly policy that helps the employee deal the
conflict of interest situations easily then as Christian writers
we should ensure with conflict of interest situations,
I. Openly and fairly
II. Be objective
III. Have it in mind that you are accountable not just to God but
also your organisation so do what is right.
IV. Be disciplined
V. Continue in loyalty
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VI. In circumstances where it’s so hard not to compromise then
pray and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
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REFERENCES
Categories/Examples of conflict of interest (2013) accessed on
http://www.peopleinaid.org/pool/files/pubs/Managing-Conflict-of-
Interest.pdf on the 6th of Oct. 2013.
Chase, K.R.: 2004, ‘Christian Perspectives on Business Ethics:
Faith, Profit, and Decision Making’, Business & Professional
Ethics Journal 23 (4)
Code of Ethics for Nigerian Journalists (2013) accessed on
www.nigerianpresscouncil.com on the 1st of Oct. 2013.
Conflict of Interest (2013)
www.dictionary.com//browse/conflict+of+interest accessed 1st Oct.
2013
Conflict of Interest (2013)
www.securityinfowatch.com/conflictsofinterestandtheworkplace
accessed on the 1st Oct, 2013
Conflict of Interest (2013)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_of_interest accessed on 12
Sept. 2013
Encyclopedia Britannica
Examples of conflict of interest (2013) accessed on
http://www.labourguide.co.za/workplace-discipline/complicated-
cases-of-conflict-of-interest-211 on the 6th of Oct. 2013
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Examples of Potential Workplace Conflicts of Interest (2013)
accessed on
http://humanresources.about.com/od/glossaryc/qt/conflict-of-
interest.htm on the 6th of Oct. 2013
Fidelity (2013) http://www.ehow.com/about_5419060_definition-
fidelity.html accessed on 1st of Oct. 2013
Honesty (2013) www.wikipedia.com accessed on the 30th of
September 2013.
Honesty (2013) www.eHow.com accessed on 30th of September 2013
Jagg Xaxx (2013) Honesty accessed atwww.eHow.com, on the 30th of
September 2013.
Integrity (2013) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrity accessed
on the 4th of October, 2013
Objectivity (2013) http://www.thefreedictionary.com/objectivity
accessed on the 1st of Oct. 2013
Objectivity (2013) www.principlesofobjectivity.com accessed on
the 4th of October, 2013
Objectivity (2013) http://www.thefreedictionary.com/objectivity
accessed on the 1st of October, 2013
Rossouw, G.J.: 1994, ‘Business Ethics: Where have All the
Christians Gone?’ Journal of Business Ethics 13 (7)
The Student Bible, New international version.
Thompson, Dennis (1993) "Understanding financial conflicts of
interest" New England Journal of Medicine 329 [8]
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