Plagiarism is considered one of the ultimate ethical violations both in the academic and corporate world. The argument of plagiarism is substantiated based on the context, the expectations of related parties, and the circumstantial evidence (Rosamond, 2017). Most companies and organizations take plagiarism seriously due to the absolutist views concerning the significance of the concept. Many companies have suffered repercussions from both intra-corporate and inter-corporate plagiarism (Arp & Lemanski, 2016). This discussion focuses on Johann Hari, a journalist for The Independent , and how plagiarism affected both him and the organization.
Plagiarism at "The Independent"
Johan Hari was a journalist with The Independent, a magazine in the United Kingdom. He began writing for the Independent in 2002 and continued to do so until 2011 when the company suspended him over plagiarism. The journalist was accused of utilizing other writers’ content in his article without offering credit or reference. This was replicated in his article, where he writes about his interview with Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela (Allen, 2012). Hari’s case created a corporate landmine for The Independent Magazine that had to be navigated only through suspension.
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The Effects of Plagiarism at "The Independent"
Independent Magazine is a private-owned company. The corporation has interests in print and online media through newspapers and magazines. It generated a revenue of $224 million in 2018. The statistics provided provide the general and financial overview of the organization. Hari’s plagiarism accusations were detrimental to the public image of The Independent. Corporate plagiarism significantly affects sales and the company-customer relationship. Besides developing into a public relations nightmare for the Independent, it resulted in the decline of the organization's revenue. The Independent failed to make any profits that year (2011). The company responded by branding and advertising strategy, where they unveiled a new look (Petrova, 2012). Johan Hari and The Independent were again under scrutiny when the Council for Orwell Prize launched an investigation into the journalist.
Conclusion
There exists overall limited research into corporate plagiarism. Most organizations often settle cases of plagiarisms silently through non-disclosure agreements and compensation to avoid prosecution and public outrage. The dynamics of corporate plagiarism can be significantly detrimental to the revenue and growth of an organization. Plagiarism is an ethical violation that limits creativity, innovation, research, and development in business. It must be avoided at all costs.
References
Allen, E. (2012, January 10). Independent 'plunged into profound shock following johann Hari plagiarism scandal' . Mail Online. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2084774/Independent-plunged-profound-shock-Johann-Hari-exposed-plagiarism.html
Arp, F., & Lemański, M. K. (2016). Intra-corporate plagiarism? Conceptualizing antecedents and consequences of negatively perceived mobility of ideas. Journal of Global Mobility: The Home of Expatriate Management Research , 4 (3), 257-275. https://doi.org/10.1108/jgm-05-2016-0020
Elliott, T. L., Marquis, L. M., & Neal, C. S. (2012). Business ethics perspectives: Faculty plagiarism and fraud. Journal of Business Ethics , 112 (1), 91-99. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1234-5
Petrova, M. (2012). Newspapers and parties: How advertising revenues created an independent press. SSRN Electronic Journal . https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.977285
Rosamond, B. (2017). Plagiarism, academic norms, and the governance of the profession. Academic Ethics , 517-524. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315263465-41
