Moral Leadership and Business Ethics

Moral Leadership and Business Ethics Business Ethics Morality Morality entails the application of opinion, principles and laws of good behavior in any specific society. Although morality is hinged on the intrinsic aspects of society, some principles are applicable in a universal manner.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Moral Leadership and Business Ethics specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Permissibility of conduct is dependent on the moral standing of the parties involved in judging the conduct, the timing and other factors. As a result, what is morally acceptable in one location may be unacceptable elsewhere. Poulton (2006) observed that morals are determined on a limited geographical, social, political and cultural setting, thereby inculcating the uniqueness of the standards. Pup (2010) morality is fundamental to human existence, considering that moral dilemmas rarely exist. The intrinsic nature of humanity confers a clear understanding what is morally acceptable and solutions are automatically identifiable. According to Gini (1996), â€Å"John Dewey argued that at the pre-critical, pre-rational, pre-autonomous level, morality starts as a set of culturally defined goals and rules which are external to the individual and are imposed or inculcated as habits†. Human beings form a major component in the business, and every entity is part of business. As a result, morality still remains a major concern for any business place, since it is impossible to separate the three elements. Ethics As a branch of philosophy, ethics is concerned with the conceptual, logical and rational determination of right from wrong. Ethics play a major role in determination of good from bad, morality from immorality and justice from injustices.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In most cases, ethical conduct is intrinsic, with the outcom e of judgments founded on the conduct of the subject of the actions. As a result, ethical conduct is mostly hinged on ‘preaching and drinking water’ and walking the talk. The underlying motives for ethical conduct are what determine the morality of the conclusions by the individuals. Over the past, standard codes of ethics have been developed, with these standards playing a major role in guiding decisions (Poulton, 2005). There are an amorphous number of dimensions of ethics, based on normative, descriptive and comparative foundations. With regard to the business place, ethics are the applicable and moral principles which guide conduct in the business place. Due to the pluralistic and ultra-egoist nature of ethics, the fact that it relates to the conduct of one person with regard to others elevates its importance in the business place. According to Poulton (2005, p. 1), â€Å"Business ethics, pertains to human in ­teractions when sourcing, producing and marketing goo ds and services for profit, and include the relationships between business management and their employ ­ees, the firm and its primary stakehold ­ers, the business and its relationships to the community, government and society in general†. In the determination of what is right or wrong in the business setting, it is important to take into consideration the nature of the activities and the stakeholders to be affected by the decisions. In the pursuit of generating wealth for the investors and satisfying consumer expectations, businesses are expected to certain scenarios with conflicting implications of outcomes. The principles of business ethics are considered fulfilled if the outcome is just, fair and equitable with regard to the wellbeing of human beings. The social construction of business implies that it is impossible to disengage business entities from society, since they are interrelated.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Moral Leadership and Bus iness Ethics specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Moral Responsibility According to Poulton (2005), this describes the status where a person, natural or legal, serves acknowledgement in the form of praise or reprimand, primarily due to their actions or omissions. As a primary concern of ethics, moral responsibility is hinged on the actions, intentions and omissions of the moral agents, or individuals who are responsible in any capacity in society. The magnitude and nature of moral responsibility is dependent on the status of an individual in society, and the rationale behind the expectations by society. The foundation of moral responsibility is the existence of determined and tangible moral standards in the specific society. Moral responsibility exists in two dimensions. The first dimension is associated with obligation or compulsion. In this accord, an individual is morally responsible for outcomes which he had control over, was knowledgeable a nd failure to avert the outcomes (Velthouse and Kandogan, 2005). Moral responsibility can also originate from actions that are unintentional, but involve injurious outcomes, either to a person, or to according to existing legal provisions. It is thus necessary for an individual to display reasonable skill and care in their action in order to avoid moral responsibility from obligations and culpability. Corporate Responsibility Also referred to as corporate social responsibility, this approach to self-regulation is incorporated into business in order to ensure that entities comply with the norms on an international level, existing and expectations of the wide range of stakeholders (Phillips, 1996). Organizations have found it necessary to establish corporate social responsibility standards in order to support other efforts in achievement of organizational goals.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In addition to enhancing appeal across society, organizations have found it beneficial to establish intricate social responsibility approaches aimed at enhancing the positive effects of its activities on the ecological set up, society, consumer groups, jurisdictions and other forms of stakeholders. Poulton (2005) noted that the entry of the multinational form of operations widened the importance of corporate responsibility. As a strategic imperative across all industries, social responsibility has played a wide range of functions to complement and supplement core functions of businesses including window dressing, pre-empting regulatory actions and distracting stakeholders from focusing on the economic functions of a business. Corporate social responsibility has risen to the top echelon among the non-financial goals for any business wishing to succeed in the highly competitive world. Organizations at all scales of operations have found it necessary to go the extra mile in ensuring th at the stakeholders’ expectations are met. This is regardless of the fact that such efforts actually entail costs and expenses which are not directly linked to revenue-generating capabilities. As a result, corporate social responsibility exists as a unique aspect in acquisition of competitive advantage in the market place. Ethical Principles Professional Responsibility and Competence Professional responsibility arises from acquisition of certain competencies in a specific area of knowledge. Responsibility in professional circles originates from expertise and ability to comprehend intrinsic aspects of the subject. Phillips (1996) directed that the ability to understand and conceptualize the code of conduct, how to overcome conflict of interest and act in a professional manner can only be achieved through an intricate appreciation of the primary and secondary principles in the specific areas. Professional responsibility is determined depending on the specific professions and th e extent to which the individual qualifies as a professional. Competence on the other hand relates to the ability to conceptualize aspects of a specific discipline. Competence originates from actions directed towards acquiring knowledge and experience in a specific field. Competence is not necessary academic in nature, which is a basis of professional responsibility. Ethical standards are closely linked to professional responsibility and competence. Professionals and competent Learning and Development According to Phillips (1996), learning and development provides employees with an opportunity to acquire custom designed and unique approaches to understanding the needs of consumers. In most cases, learning and development provides organizations with the necessary inputs in capturing the interests of the society in which it lives in. Acquisition of professional competencies is based on widely practices principles, which are not specific to the internal and external environment facing the organization (Poulton, 2005). As a result, ethical operations can only be established through learning and development programs. The design and contents of the learning and development programs have to be objective and tangible. Responsibility to the Organization Responsibility to the organization originates from the fact that the people running the organization are not necessarily the owners (Phillips, 1996). Managers are expected to play a role in the achievement of the organizational goals. Successful organizations are based on identification of ways to satisfy a certain category of needs and wants. In most cases, these organizations represent an important aspect of any society, since the goods they provide are primary to survival. As a result, if such organizations fail, the society is bound to suffer from the lack of the specific goods and services from the market. For example, failure of a banking institution is bound to result to loss of life savings and trust in the fina ncial system, thereby propagating domino effect across the globe. As a result, ethical and moral standards are primary features in the responsibility to the organization, for people who have decision-making and operational powers. Responsibility to the Society According to Boatright (2009) businesses are expected to be responsible to the society, primarily due to the fact that all resources available for production are drawn from the society itself. Right from skilled and unskilled employees to the inputs for production, businesses have no option but to recognize the input of society. The end-result of the production cycle is destined for society as well, since these are the individuals who provide the consumers with life sustaining products and services. Training Training provides organizations with the capability of understanding the best approach to achieve the organizational goals. The training programs are aimed at ensuring that the organization has the employees with the neces sary skills and competencies to handle their roles. Knowledgeable employees are able to appreciate what is good from bad. In addition, the employees will appreciate the expectations of society, making them capable of conducting themselves in a morally upright manner. Trainings are designed to cater for diversity, sexual harassment, mentoring and cultural training. Diversity Training in diversity provides organizations with the ability to understand the differences in cultures and social set ups across the globe. Training on diversity normalizes the expectations based on morals, ethics and legal requirements. As a result, employees are able to appreciate the exact reason why customers and other stakeholders have differing demands. In addition, employees will be able to understand the differences in needs and wants among consumers across the organization. This will play a major role in appreciating the best approach to delivering services, products and other aspects such as corporate social responsibility. Ethical standards vary from place to the other, making training in diversity an important aspect in the maintenance of ethical standards. Sexual Harassment Sexual harassment is a gender based form of discrimination, influencing the ability of individuals to co-exist (Boatright, 2009). Morality issues are closely linked to sexual harassment, making it necessary for employees to understand what entails sexual harassment in the workplace. Different cultures have varying perceptions regarding what sexual harassment is. In addition, employee strained in sexual harassment is able to increase productivity by eliminating the challenges originating from sexual harassment. In most cases, sexual harassment exists between employees and rarely between employees and other stakeholders. As a result, it is necessary for the company to appreciate the aspects of sexual harassment in the workplace. Cultural Training Cultural training is an important part of ensuring that organiz ations working in multicultural training are able to understand the intrinsic requirements for each culture. Appreciating cultural implications provides organizations with the ability to determine the expectations of the stakeholders, who are drawn from different cultures. As indicated in the definition of ethics and morals, it is important to understand the expectations of individuals in order to find a common ground. Individuals working for organizations are expected to possess moral and professional responsibility, which is only possible through a clear understanding of cultures. Mentoring According r to Velasquez, M. (2006), mentors play a significant role in ensuring that organizational culture is maintained across generations. Mentors provide formal and informal avenues through which training and development of new employees can be achieved without the need for outlay of resources. In most cases, mentors perform development of employees in a unique and custom-designed approach . This approach depends on the mentor and the person being mentored. Mentoring is also possible for ethical and moral standards. Individuals who are well-versed with these aspects stand an opportunity to promote the knowledge standards among other employees for the betterment of the organization. Conclusion Businesses have no option but to align objectives with goals. Financial and non-financial performance is hinged on the ability of the organization to appeal in totality. Comprehensive appeals entail performing according to expectations, and going the extra mile. In the spirit of seeking competitive advantage, most organizations have found it necessary to establish ethical and moral standards. Although such morals are hard to achieve, organizations have no option but to invest in training and development, training on diversity in the workplace, develop corporate social responsibility and ensure that all its actions are ethical. On a personal level, each employee has to ensure that they are aware of the dimensions of diversity through mentoring and cultural training, ensure that their actions exude responsibility to society and the organization, and avoid actions which are considered repugnant to society at large. References Boatright, J. (2009). Ethics and the conduct of business (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ : Prentice Hall. Gini, A. (1996). Moral Leadership and Business Ethics. Loyola University Chicago In Ethics and Leadership Working Papers. Web. Phillips, M. J. (1996). Corporate Moral responsibility: When It Might matter. Business Ethics Quarterly, 5(3). Poulton, M. S. (2005). Organizational Storytelling, Ethics and Morality: How Stories Frame Limits of Behavior in Organizations. Electronic Journal of Business Ethics and Organization Studies, 10(2). Pup, A. (2010). An agenda of Morality for Business Ethics. Annals of the University of Petrosani, Economics, 10(1). Velasquez, M. (2006). Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River : Pearson Prentice Hall. (F.I.M. 2003- 2008), First impression management. Web. Velthouse, B. and Kandogan, Y. (2005). Ethics in Practice: What Are Managers Really Doing? Web.

The role of the concepts of the seduced & repressed Essay

The role of the concepts of the seduced & repressed - Essay Example This part will discuss how the society is build up. It describes the modern life of the people living in UK and how their streets have improved over time. It will also show how the ways in life have changed due to existence of material. Every day people are faced with various kinds of goods but choice really matters. It also depends on placements for example the young, old, employed and unemployed that describes a consumer society. There are various kinds of inequalities present in a society which include people with differing lifestyles and abilities. Consumer society tries to define people by the way they consume in terms of class or knowledge. Consumption is where goods and services reach the end user and the satisfaction that comes with the process. People consume for many reasons for example for fun, other consume to be different from the rest, to represent a type of group or for pleasure. To study the contemporary consumer society it is important to examine material things that surround consumers for example luxuries that represent an individual’s status. According to Jackson (1998) today’s society for example people really choose on where to shop as shopping activities are seen as leisure unlike 20 years ago where people use to shop in order to have essentials. The shopping centers have developed as more malls are coming up and due to migrants in various parts of the world; there has been diversification of products to cater for all the needs of customers. The society has now changed in qualities and features where infrastructure has been improved thus making it easy to get what consumers needed. One description of a street in New York includes Broadway located near Manhattan and with various kinds of shopping centers for example the central mall. Others include art galleries, boutiques, designer stores and jewelry shops. It is therefore necessary to consider certain social factors in the process

Human Performance in Running a Multi-Division Form Company Essay

Human Performance in Running a Multi-Division Form Company - Essay Example These semi-autonomous units are guided and controlled by various financial and performance targets that together form core objective of the organization. These units therefore, operate as their own separate entities. Each unit plays a vital role in the organization in areas of conflict management, customer service, employee retention, overall productivity and profitability (Rohlander & Snell, 2009). Multi-divisional form of business is usually adopted by organizations to facilitate prudent changes without encountering an extensive chain of approval. Human performance is therefore a vital factor in ensuring efficiency and effectiveness with regards to productivity of the organization. It is for this reason that firms, both public and private must seek to quantify the value of their human performance. In the process of measuring this performance, several challenges are likely to arise, some intended while others unplanned. Measures must therefore be put in place to minimize the consequ ences of measuring human performance that were not planned. Since there are multiple divisions in these organizations it is of great significance to know both the performance and contribution of each division to the overall performance of the enterprise. Human performance Human performance is at the core of an organization’s well being; it incorporates total quality management, improvement of processes, appropriate employee behavior and sound instructional systems all under the banner of human resource management. In as much as employees are not listed in the balance sheet, they are such an essential asset to an enterprise and their contribution is a vital factor that should not only be quantified but also harnessed for the achievement of the set objectives. Multi-divisional private companies are not listed in the stock markets and therefore the effects of their human performance do not translate into a drop or rise in the prices of their stocks. This is however not the case for public traded companies that have their shares not only affected by financial but also human performance (Rohlander & Snell, 2009). Effectively, when there is news or even a feeling of inefficiency in a public company the ripple effects will be immediately felt at the stock market. This has the dire consequence of insolvency if drastic measures are not taken to make the necessary corrections. Measuring human performance begins with putting in place targets that must be achieved within specific timelines. Each unit (division) is given its overall targets that are then broken down to individual targets. With the kind of autonomy enjoyed by divisions in most M-form businesses, it is very easy for the individual units to then come with performance strategies and the best ways of evaluating the set targets. Multi divisional forms of business therefore help in meeting the needs of employees by enabling managers to delegate various responsibilities leaving them with ample time to monit or and make sure that everything is done for the achievement of an organization’s objectives (Wang &King 2009). This model makes communication between units more effective, problem solving manageable and team work is encouraged. The ways and means of achieving the set

User Centered Design Essay Example for Free

User Centered Design Essay The Liveperson website communicate their purpose very well because the website shows important elements that a website needs to make the website efficient. There are five key elements in order to that may be identified: The Liveperson website shows their company brandmark on the upper-left corner of the website in a normal size very easy to see by the human eye. In the same way the website has in the middle of the page an explicit tagline that reads: â€Å" Liveperson creates meaningful, realtime customer connections that help businesses increase conversions and improve consumers experience,† which summarizes what the company does. Also, the website shows in the middle of the page a photo slider, with their news and more important services to offer. Then, the website shows at the top and at the bottom of the page the main navigation bar, which includes links to other information found on the website. To finalize this point, the home page is different from the other pages on the site but maintains the same font, color palette and design, making the website very consistent. Communicating Information about the company. The second point of this analysis talks about the communicating of information about the company. The website communicate very well their information too. As the first point, the website shows many of the important elements of this point, which makes a website efficient. Among this point we have: The website homepage has a link called â€Å"About Liveperson,† which includes information elements such as: â€Å"our culture, our partner, investor relations, careers and contacts us.† In the same way, at the end of the website we can see the same link with the same information elements. Then, the website has in their main navigation bar a press room link, used for press purposes, showing the most important company headlines. Also, the website, has a privacy policy link at the bottom of the homepage, which include the privacy policy of the company, but does not include internal company information. Content Writing. The writing content of the website is very effective and doesn’t use clever phrases and marketing lingo, making the writing content very readable and easy to understand. Also, all the writing content is written in sentence case and uses a consistent capitalization. Archives and Accessing Past Content. The website doesn’t have an access to past content. Links. The links work perfectly, are different one from each other, and are very scannable. Also the site doesn’t use the word â€Å"link† to indicate links on the page. Navigation. The primary navigation is located in a highly noticeable place, grouping items for the same category link, and doesn’t use made-up words for category navigation choices. Search. The website doesn’t have a search box. Tools and task shortcuts. The website offer direct access to high priority tasks. It includes a chat room, that offers the opportunity to chat with a company representative. Graphic and animations. The website shows the graphic elements in an appropriate way. For example, it shows graphics with real content and displays them ina good size, avoiding watermarks and animation of critical elements of the page such as logo or tag line. Graphic Design. In the graphic design part, the website is very consistent, using the same color palette and two different fonts which works very well. Additionally, the background color and the font color make a highly contrast, making the content very readable and not over loaded for the human eye. The most critical elements of the website are very visible, using their brandmark in a judicious way. The website is presented in vertical scrolling. UI Widgets. The website shows widgets for print and to connect to social network sites such as facebook, twitter, youtube, google, and linkedln. Window Titles. In the windows titles, the website includes a short description of the site, and the windows titles on the website are less than eight words. URLs. The URL is shown in a good way, showing as http://www.liveperson.com. News and Press releases. The News and Press releases section shows the headlines in a succinct and descriptive way. It includes a summary of the headline story, and at the bottom of the story shows a link that reads, â€Å"For more information visit www.websitename.com,† to show the complete story headline. Pop up windows and staging pages. The website only allows one pop up window for the chat room. The chat room pop up window appears once, then users have the opportunity to close or leave open. Advertising. The website only make advertises of their products, making the website more professional. Welcomes. The website doesn’t use welcome messages on the site. Credits. The website doesn’t have a credit link, which makes references to the designers of the website. It only shows the awards that the site has won in the Press releases link. Page Reload and Refresh. The website doesn’t refresh the pages automatically. Customization. The website doesn’t offer customizations. Gathering Customer Data. The website only gather customer data in the chat room section. Fostering community. The website offers a link called customer community, which allows users to post in a blog comments and questions. Dates and Times. The website doesn’t show date and time. Stock Quotes and Displaying Numbers. The website doesn’t show stock quotes and or display numbers. Align decimal points when showing columns of numbers. The website doesn’t show columns of numbers.

Revealing a Characters True Nature During a Moment of Crisis Essay

In literature, there are many examples of people who are placed in â€Å"fantastic† situations, which served to reveal much about themselves, as Dostoevsky suggests. There are also many instances in which people break down and do something completely uncharacteristic in these same situations, as a result of extreme suffering. One such example, is Gretchen, from Goethe's Faust. She was an ingà ©nue and thus revealed her true character at a crucial point in her life. She was not a murderer, yet she murdered. When all her misdeeds began to drive her mad, she became the most lucid in her discernment of good and evil. â€Å"Her last remarks saved her, as she cried out to God in repentance, she was forgiven. Receiving a spiritual awakening, though out of her mind with grief, she still recognized the devil. She sensed evil in Faust and finally realized that there was no love between them† (RoseDeClementi 3.2). Gretchen's deeds were just as despicable as his, but there was a difference; in her moment of truth, she repented and was redeemed. Faust knew that he was condemned to spend eternity in hell. In this instance, I believe that Dostoevsky was correct because Gretchen was portrayed as a victim of manipulation. Another example in literature of someone who revealed her true character, in crisis, was Antigone, from a story of the same name. â€Å"In the story of Antigone, (who was the daughter of Oedipus), more tragedy awaited her. Taking a stand for what she believed to be an injustice and offense against her god, she buried her dead brother which violated the law, thereby sentencing her to her own death; she was to be placed in a tomb alive and left for dead† (Rose-DeClementi 1.2). Her strong beliefs shaped her character which dictated her ac... ...his into consideration, I behaved responsibly. Even when I began to lose my composure with the hospital workers, who refused to take my friend in right away, my true character was revealed. Generally, crisis situations have a tendency to bring out the worst in me, as with most people. This disputes Dostoevsky's theory, which holds that the true nature of a person will be revealed during moments of crisis. My account, as well as the examples taken from literature, prove that Dostoevsky's theory, although valid, is not indisputable. Works Cited Rose-DeClementi, Theresa. Personal journal 1.1. 4 Sept. 2010. Rose-DeClementi, Theresa. Personal journal 1.2. 10 Sept. 2010. Rose-DeClementi, Theresa. Personal journal 3.2. 20 Oct. 2010. Rose-DeClementi, Theresa. Personal journal 4.1. 25 Oct. 2010. Rose-DeClementi, Theresa. Personal journal 4.2. 6 Nov. 2010.

Ethics of Online Air Ticket Reservations Systems Essay

Ethical issue is the belief in right or wrong with a particular area or system. In any organization ethical issue should be followed for the achievement of business objectives. Precision air reservation system, ethical issues are being considered for the achievement of company goal. The following are ethical issues relating to airline reservation system Security; Information’s which are being provided by users should be secure. The system will ensure the safety of customers. All transaction activities will be secured. Nobody will be able to gain access to see bank accounts and other relevant information’s. Privacy issue; Personal information should not be sold to third parties (other people apart from administrator and end-user) for their benefit. All booking information collected in the booking form, payment form should be kept confidential according to how privacy policy of the system claims. Equality of Access in the system; All people are allowed to use the system anytime they want for booking purpose only. Security; by providing the best and stable system to make customer’s information secure from unauthorized people to gain it. Through creation of administrator account who will be the only person who has access to view this kind of information in the system. This will make system secure especially for transaction. Privacy policy; through providing privacy policy page in the system, Customers will be aware of how their information are being used in an organization. And make sure that customer’s information is not released to other organization without customers consent. Equality of accessing system and performing regular functions such as book for flight, viewing schedule etc. anybody can be able to view the system and make book for flight. Equality will be for only unregistered members. Registered member will be given priority and offers.

Big Brother Little Sister

Euthanasia is a type of assisted suicide (where one person helps another person to take their own life). There are a number of reasons why people choose Euthanasia; if they have a very serious debilitating illness, which stops them having a reasonable quality of life, if they are terminally ill with something which will cause a very slow and painful death, they may wish to end their lives peacefully, and in the manner of their own choosing. Recently the parents of a young man helped him to end his own life because he had been paralyzed from the neck down and he felt he could not face life anymore.Euthanasia is NOT the same as suicide, for it to be euthanasia the person who dies must have had a very poor quality of life, or be unable to live with dignity. Euthanasia is about ending the suffering of an individual who WILL NEVER GET BETTER. (Someone who is depressed for example may have a very poor quality of life and want to commit suicide, but depression is generally only a temporary, treatable condition). EUTHANASIA IS ILLEGAL in most countries, AS IS ANY FORM OF ASSISTED SUICIDE.In the Netherlands, where their attitude towards life and death is far more enlightened; they have ‘euthanasia clinics' where you can end your life with peace and dignity. The legality of euthanasia in the Netherlands is causing many individuals to travel their in order to take their own lives, in a calm and peaceful manner. Since their own countries deny them any right to do so. Since many people may suffer accidents which leave them in a coma, or paralyzed, perhaps unable to communicate, many people are now choosing to make ‘living wills'.These are similar to the legal documents used to divide up your property after you die, but a ‘living will' states what you want to be done if you are ever terminally ill, permanently suffering, but unable to communicate your wishes (or if doctors are unable to act on what you say because they think you may not be in your right min d). Euthanasia can be in many forms, by painless lethal injection, tablets, or just ‘pulling the plug' on a life support machine. Only ‘voluntary euthanasia' is euthanasia. There is arguably no such thing as ‘involuntary' euthanasia. Involuntary' euthanasia would almost always be regarded as murder (or at least manslaughter), even in countries where euthanasia is legal. Always consult somebody who knows the laws of your country well whenever the law is concerned. Don't make any sort of decision based on what a stranger on the internet has said. Don't trust wikipedia, unless you have the time to check all the sources and citations yourself. User generated content should never be taken as a matter-of-fact, especially on such a serious topic as this one. P/S: The thing about ‘euthanasia' being the name of the drug they use to put animals to sleep is nonsense.Similarly, there is no drug called ‘euthanasia' which is used to euthanize people, this is further nonsense. Also; killing an animal which is terminally ill or in great suffering may be considered ‘euthanasia' but killing an animal just to make room at the pound is DEFINITELY NOT EUTHANASIA. This is just a very cruel system which many animal rescue centers have little choice but to implement. Thanks. Hope this info is useful to you. This website (BBC) has some very good legal information and moral discussions on the topic. Good reading if you still want to know more.