A customer service organization and its employees have a duty to identify and avoid potential conflicts of interest in their work and employment. These organizations, such as habitat for humanity, are non-profit, charitable organizations that are designed to serve and give back to their communities. These definitions imply that a community service organization has an obligation and duty to do what is in the best interest of the community it serves.
Legally speaking, as a non-profit, there are stringent requirements that the company must adhere to when spending money, taking donations, and making hires. Because the funding typically comes from federal funding, charitable donations, and similar sources, they cannot use these funds for anything that would be perceived as a conflict of interest. Legally, there would be ramifications for actions like giving away funds to questionable individuals or businesses because they have connections to them or taking kickbacks from other people or organizations. The fact that a large portion of their funding is federal in nature means these organizations could be held legally responsible for these actions in a federal court of law.
Ethically speaking, these organizations have a commitment to their community and have made a pact to serve and care for their community. These ethical obligations stem from their intent to do the best job possible to help the community. It would not serve that community to be giving the funding to employees for their private projects or sending it to another outside community or organization.
There are many potential ethical conflicts that can arise with these organizations, but it is the duty of a community service organization to use their resources strictly to serve the community, not for personal interests or for exterior gain.
if they use these funds inappropriately, there are potential legal ramifications, but even if the organization does something that is not necessarily illegal but is unethical, they are still hindering their ability to serve the community effectively.
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