Module 6 and 7

Module 6 and 7

Name:

Institution:

Module 6 and 7

First Essay

A cheating scandal among teachers had gone unnoticed for 15 years in Memphis. Since 1995, this activity had spread in Memphis and was spearheaded by 59 year old, Mumford Clarence. Mr. Mumford had created a cheating ring whereby low performing teachers could get their Praxis exam done by other people at a fee (Resmovits, 2012). Eventually, on June 2009, his illegal activities were discovered by examination proctors in Arkansas State University where a supervisor took notice of a teacher who had taken an exam twice in the same day but with different names. Dishonest scandals within institutions cause harm to the relevant stakeholders involved in the field. It has a negative impact on the education structure.

The students are the most affected because they end up being taught by teachers who are not qualified for the job. Unqualified teachers lack the necessary techniques on how to impart students with knowledge in their respective studies. This is evident because a mother accused Mumford for abusing his son, which is against teaching ethics. The examination board also faces challenges due to deceitful scandals such as parents’ loose trust in the teachers (Berk, 2006). Exceptionally high grades in exams that are not reflected in class activities and class assignments should be the first sign to raise suspicion on cases of cheating in exams. Supervisors should have confirmed the names in their lists with the teachers doing exams.

Since this activity has been going on, 68 district and public schools have reported low grades over the years (Resmovits, 2012). Therefore, these schools are rated lower in academic performance hence parents avoid enrolling their children in such institutions. The punishment allocated to Mr. Mumford was just according to the law and his experience serves as an example to other teachers who cheat in exams. Educational testing service should take more precaution on issues related to cheating in exams.

References

Berk, R. A. (2006). Thirteen strategies to measure college teaching: A consumer’s guide to rating scale construction, assessment, and decision making for faculty, administrators, and clinicians. Sterling, Va: Stylus Pub.

Resmovits, J. (2012). Teacher Cheating Ring Investigation in Memphis Points to Broader Licencing Issues. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/27/teacher-cheating-ring-memphis_n_2199740.html

Second Essay

Standard and Poor (S&P) agency is responsible for rating mortgage facilities in different parts of the U.S. However, from 2007, the agency was perceived to have resulted to fiscal crisis in the country. Through various ethical issues, the agency has resulted to poor mortgage facilities. On February 5 2013, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against S&P agency (Sandmeyer & Leving, 2013). This is because it had failed to establish the right standards for their ratings. In 2004, the executives of S&P had resolved to upgrade their ratings, which they had considered lenient. They even made an effort and informed their clients about their switch. However, after several meetings, they decided not to upgrade their rates because it would be costly for them and they would not get any profits in the end. This was an ethical issue because they did not put their clients’ needs into consideration first but their own benefits. In order for a company to function properly and attain their goals, they have to fulfill the clients’ needs first (Kolb & Sage, 2008).

Initially, S&P had resolved to put 770 of their mortgages up for credit because Wall Street had given early warnings that it would pull out from its mortgage loans (Sandmeyer & Leving, 2013). This would have resulted to the collapse of the agency because of loses they would have received. As an alternative method, the company decided to put only 18 bonds for downgrade. This is an ethical issue because the company would be forced to rate poor mortgages as being of good quality. In order to solve their issues, they consider hiring an outside public relations officer instead of going by the appropriate procedure. S&P has even declared that DOJ is suing them because they downgraded the government’s recognition ratings, which is an act of revenge.

References

Kolb, R. W., & Sage Publications. (2008). Encyclopedia of business ethics and society. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Sandmeyer, E. & Leving, M. (2013). WCJ Pushes Myth That Lawsuit Against S&P Is Political Payback. Media Matters for America. Retrieved from http://mediamatters.org/research/2013/09/09/wsj-pushes-myth-that-doj-lawsuit-against-sampp/195784