Questions and Answers of Business Ethics Now

Have you ever been in, or are you familiar with, a conflict of interest situation? How was it resolved? Can you think of any rules or any practices that could have prevented the situation from
In connection with the two previous questions, assume instead that you think something significant is about to be made public because all officers have consistently stayed late, a special board
Modify slightly the facts of the previous question. Assume that you are also privy to the annual forecast of earnings, which assures you that the fundamentals remain strong.Stock analysts and
A press release has a significant negative impact on your firm’s stock price, reducing its value by more than 50 percent in a single day of trading! You gather from conversations in the hallway
You are on the compensation committee of your board and have been asked to propose a compensation structure to be offered to the next CEO. Explore some of the following websites on executive
You are an executive at a large nonprofit organization. Some of your board members suggest that perhaps the company should voluntarily comply with Sarbanes-Oxley.What are some of the reasons the
Scholars have made strong arguments for required representation on boards by stakeholders that go beyond stockholders, such as employees, community members, and others, depending on the industry.
You have been asked to join the board of a large corporation. What are some of the first questions that you should ask and what are the answers that you are seeking?
You have been asked to join the board of a medium-sized charitable organization. What are some of the first questions that you should ask, and what are the answers that you are seeking?
You have been asked by the board of a large corporation to develop a board assessment and effectiveness mechanism, which could be a survey, interviews, an appraisal system, or other technique that
Investigate LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building designs.If possible, arrange a visit to a local building designed according to LEED principles.Should all new buildings be
Do you believe that business has any direct ethical duties to living beings other than humans? Do animals, plants, or ecosystems have rights? What criteria have you used in answering such questions?
Apply the concept of sustainability to a variety of businesses and industries. What would sustainable agriculture require? What are sustainable energy sources? What would sustainable transportation
A movement within the European Union requires that a business take back its products at the end of their useful life. Can you learn the details of such laws? Discuss whether or not you believe such a
Research corporate sustainability reports. How many corporations can you find that issue annual reports on their progress toward sustainability? Can you research a company that does not and explore
Conduct a web search for ecological footprint analysis. You should be able to find a self-administered test to evaluate your own ecological footprint. If everyone on earth lived as you do, how many
As a research project, choose a product with which you are familiar (one with local connections is best) and trace its entire life cycle. From where does this product originate?What resources go into
Many salespeople are compensated predominantly on a commission basis. In other words, though the salesperson receives a small base hourly rate, most of her or his compensation derives from a
Collect several sample prescription drug ads from magazines, newspapers, and television.On the basis of location of the ad, what do you think is the intended target audience? Are the ads in any way
The Federal Trade Commission regulates advertising on the basis of two criteria:deception and unfairness. How can an ad be unfair? Can you think of examples of an unfair ad? Who gets hurt by
Research the case Pelman v. McDonald’s in which it was alleged that McDonald’s was partially responsible for the health problems associated with the obesity of children who eat McDonald’s fast
Conduct a classroom debate on the well-known McDonald’s spilt coffee case. Conduct an Internet search for the case Liebeck v. McDonald’s to find both legal and journalistic comments on the case.
Are some products too dangerous to be marketed in any circumstance? What regulations, if any, would you place on marketing cigarettes? Handguns? Prescription drugs?
As you learned in this chapter, drug testing in the workplace is a somewhat controversial issue in terms of employer responsibilities and employee rights. Using sources from the web, discuss the pros
You work as an accountant at large accounting firm where your job leaves you with a lot of down time at the office in between assignments. You spend this time on your office computer developing a
A college provided its security officers with a locker area in which to store personal items. The security officers occasionally used the area as a dressing room. After incidents of theft from the
Term papers on practically every subject imaginable are available on the Internet.Many of those who post the papers defend their practice in two ways: (1) These papers are posted to assist in
Spam, or spamming, refers to the use of mailing lists to blanket usenets or private e-mail boxes with indiscriminate advertising messages. Some people believe that spamming should be protected as the
The term cybersquatting refers to the practice of registering a large number of website domain names hoping to sell them at huge prices to others who may want the URL or who are prepared to pay to
A customer service representative at an electronics store is surfing the Internet using one of the display computers. She accesses a website that shows graphic images of a crime scene. A customer in
Richard Fraser, an at-will independent insurance agent for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, was terminated by Nationwide and the parties disagree on the reason for Fraser’s termination. Fraser
Marriott Resorts had a formal company party for more than 200 employees. At one point during the party, the company aired a videotape that compiled employees’ and their spouses’ comments about a
Fortune magazine compiles a “Best Companies to Work For” list every year. Go to its website, http://fortune.com/best-companies/, and review the full list. See if you can spot trends or
As a project manager, Kelly is leading a team on an international business trip where she is scheduled to do a presentation on its project and to negotiate a deal. Just a few days before the trip,
You are a senior global human resource manager for a large apparel retailer that purchases goods from all over the world. The media have focused a great deal of attention on the conditions of your
You run a small consulting business that serves a relatively diverse community and have 24 employees in professional positions. You are not subject to Executive Order 11246.You are concerned that, of
As a result of rising health care costs and the challenge to contain them, companies are trying to encourage employees to take better care of themselves, and some are even penalizing employees if
A particular research study provides some evidence that those born between 1979 and 1994 are perceived as “impatient, self-serving, disloyal, unable to delay gratification and, in short, feeling
What is the difference in your mind and in your common usage, between a perception, a generalization, and a stereotype? Can you give an example of each? After doing so, go to the web and find
We can distinguish due process from just cause in the following way: Imagine a company wanted to abandon the arbitrary nature of employment at will and ensure that its employees were treated fairly
Review the earlier discussion regarding global labor challenges. Choose a specific issue, such as child labor or sweatshop labor. Go online and find a news story about a particular company accused of
Maya confides in her friend and colleague, Alicia, “My husband Gene is very sick.I haven’t shared this with anyone else at work because I didn’t want them to think I couldn’t manage my
Make a list of the five products on which you have spent the most money over the past three years. Using the Internet, find corporate sustainability reports for the companies that produced those
Given the significant financial power that a retailer and sponsor like Nike can have in the sports world, does it have any obligation to use that power to do good in connection with its particular
Take another look at the quote earlier in this chapter by Paul Hawken. He seems to be saying that it is not acceptable to use social perception as a way to further one’s own interests
What kind of organization would you like to work for? What would be the best? What would be the most realistic? Think about its structure, physical environment, lines of communication, treatment of
Supermodel Kate Moss appeared in photos in a number of tabloid magazines and elsewhere using illegal drugs. Subsequent to the appearance of the photographs, several of her clients, including Chanel,
In 2005, Nestlé S.A. CEO Peter Braeck-Letmathe explained, “Companies shouldn’t feel obligated to ‘give back’ to communities because they haven’t taken anything away.Companies should only
One of the leading figures in the Enron debacle was company founder Kenneth Lay, who died in 2006 after his conviction for fraud and conspiracy but before he began serving his sentence. Prior to the
This chapter has asked in several ways whether the social responsibility of the companies you patronize has ever made any difference to your purchasing decisions. Will it make any difference in the
Which of the three models of CSR is most persuasive to you and why? Which do you believe is most prevalent among companies that engage in CSR efforts?
What is your overall perspective on CSR after reviewing this chapter? If market forces do not encourage responsibility for social causes, should a firm engage in this behavior? Does social
Identify an industry in which you would like to work, and choose a company for whom you would like to work, ideally. Use the company’s website to learn about its core values and culture in order to
With regard to employee recognition in the workplace, what effects would a program like “employee of the month” have on the corporate culture, and what factors might lead you to recommend it as a
Put yourself in the position of someone who is establishing an organization from the ground up. What type of leader would you want to be? How would you create that image or perception? Do you create
A large U.S.-based corporation has decided to develop a mission statement and then conduct training on a new ethics program. It engages you to assist in these endeavors.What activities would you need
Wasta is the term used in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for favoritism. In the UAE it is a highly valued element of the culture. In fact, while nepotism might be kept under wraps or discussed in
You are aware of inappropriate behavior and violations of your firm’s code of conduct throughout your operation. In an effort to support a collegial and supportive atmosphere, however, you do not
Assume you have a number of suppliers for your global apparel business. You have in place a code of conduct both for your workplace and for your suppliers. Each time you visit a particular supplier,
One element that surely impacts a firm’s culture is its employee population. While a corporate culture can shape an employee’s attitudes and habits, it will do so more easily if people who have
Now that you have an understanding of corporate culture and the variables that impact it, how would you characterize an ethically effective culture, one that would effectively lead to profitable and
You will need to draft a memorandum to your chief executive identifying the value of a triple-bottom-line approach, which would represent an enormous shift from the firm’s current orientation. What
Consider how you evaluate whether a firm is “one of the good guys” or not. What are some of the factors you use to make this determination? Do you actually know the facts behind each of those
To help understand an organizational culture, think about some organization to which you belong. Does your company, school, or fraternity/sorority have its own culture?How would you describe it? How
The right of private property is often described as a “bundle” of rights. What rights are involved in ownership of property? Given this understanding, should shareholders be considered owners of
If the right to autonomy is the right to make your own free and deliberate choices, what limits do you think there must be on that right? Does the right to autonomy literally allow us to do anything
Some political philosophers understand the ethical foundations of legislatures to be utilitarian, while the ethical foundation of the judiciary is deontological. How would you explain this
What makes a decision or issue an ethical one? How would you explain the differences between ethical/nonethical, on one hand, and ethical/unethical, on the other?
What values do you think motivated the engineers at Volkswagen who devised the method for falsifying emissions tests? How do you think their motivation may have evolved over the years that the scheme
Lisa is trying to raise funds to support the creation of a free clinic in a poor neighborhood in her hometown. She has been trying very hard, but she has not been able to raise enough money to get
As a class exercise, write a brief account of any unethical or ethically questionable experience you have witnessed in a work context. Read and discuss the examples in class, keeping the authors
Many people have blamed the global financial crisis of 2008–2009 on a single value or motive, namely, greed. How would you define greed? How common do you think true greed is in the general
How can a global firm best ensure that it is taking into account the perceptual differences that may exist as a result of diverse cultures, religions, ethnicities, and other factors when creating a
Describe the qualities you believe are necessary in an “ethical leader.” Provide support for your point of view and explain why a leader should display these qualities in order to be considered
Your CEO recognizes you as having unusually strong skills in decision making and communications, and so she asks for guidance on how to best communicate her plans for an imminent reduction in your
What one small change do you think would have the biggest impact on the world today?Share it in a brief essay, then convince your reader why it is so important that she or he should also care about
Consider your own personal values and explain where they originated. Can you pinpoint their origins? To what degree have you chosen your own values? To what degree are your own values products of
Think about a situation in which you have witnessed someone engaging in unethical behavior but in which you failed to do anything about it. (If you can’t think of an example from your own
Every year, Ethisphere Magazine publishes a list of the world’s most ethical companies.Go to its website and find and evaluate its rating methodology and criteria. Then engage in an assessment
During the recession of 2008–2009, many reputable companies suffered bankruptcies while others struggled to survive. Of those that did remain, some chose to reduce the size of their workforces
Do “ethical” behaviors need to be grounded in ethical values in order to be considered ethically good? If a business performs a socially beneficial act in order to receive good publicity, or if
Construct a list of all the people who were adversely affected by Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. Who, among these people, would you say had their rights violated? What responsibilities, if any, did
Do an Internet search for recent news stories about oil spills. Do any of those stories report behaviors that seem especially wise or unwise on the part of the oil companies involved? Do you think
As described in this chapter, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires firms to make reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. Consider such conditions as obesity, depression,
Review the distinction between personal morality and matters of social ethics. Can you think of cases in which some decisions would be valuable as a matter of social policy but bad as a matter of
What might be some benefits and costs of acting unethically in business? Distinguish between benefits and harms to the individual and benefits and harms to the firm.
Why might legal rules be insufficient for fulfilling one’s ethical responsibilities? Can you think of cases in which a businessperson has done something that is legally permitted but ethically
Questions of ethics and values obviously arise frequently in certain kinds of university courses—particularly in classes on ethics or social responsibility. Are there other courses in your
Can you think of any reasons why international organizations wouldn’t follow these guidelines? Provide three examples.
Do you think Zach’s company supported his willingness to provide Dr. Green’s “marketing funds”?
1. Is this issue being blown out of proportion? Why or why not?2. Does Nestlé bear any responsibility for not notifying the Forest Service about the expired permit? Why or why not?3. If Governor
List four key items in a code of ethics.
1. Why are DPA’s criticized for bypassing the formal legal system?2. Do the multi-billion-dollar settlements recovered prove that the DPA framework works? Why or why not?3. Using internet research,
Divide into two teams. One team must defend the decision made in the lawsuit against Don Blankenship from Massey Energy. The other team must critique the decision and come up with an alternative
Review the website of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) at https://www.justice.gov/oip/government-transparencya. What was the message of President Obama’s FOIA Memorandum?b. What are
1. Why did VW develop the software in the “defeat devices”?2. Has Müller’s commitment to “maximum transparency” helped or hindered the situation? Explain your answer3. Would you buy a VW
Do you think DeGeorge’s guidelines represent a sufficiently “flexible” solution? Why or why not?
1. Is maximum profit a sufficient rationalization for cutting corners on safety? Why or why not?2. Does the fact that “other coal mining firms play the same game” make a difference? Why or why
What do you think the reaction of Adam’s regional manager was to the initial news of the loss of Dr. Green’s business?
Review the commitment of the Charity Commission (the regulator for charities in England and Wales) at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission/about.a. What are the stated

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