The CEO of Missouri Motor Company, Jason Bell, resigned on November 1, 2014. His resignation had been negotiated with the Board of Directors of Missouri Motor after it was revealed that Mr. Bell violated the company’s corporate ethics policy by having an affair with a subordinate employee. The policy forbids intimate relationships with anyone who “works through his or her management chain.” This resignation essentially forced him into early retirement.

During the next year, the College of Business at Mountain State University hired Mr. Bell as a part-time instructor to teach business strategy courses. The dean of the college suggested that the relationship was a personal matter and that Mr. Bell’s wealth of experience is beneficial to students. Some who supported the hiring pointed out that other faculty members are not questioned about their personal lives. Others suggested that since management ethics is so important, someone who violated a company ethics policy should not be teaching students about the proper management of organizations.

Required:

a. Discuss whether Mr. Bell’s violation of corporate ethics policy affects or reflects the control environment of the company.

b. Since the violation is personal in nature, should Mr. Bell have been forced to resign?

c. Should Mountain State have hired him to teach business strategy courses?