Question: Under Indian custom, many families pay a staggering dowry when their daugh- ters marry. To...

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Question: Under Indian custom, many families pay a staggering dowry when their daugh- ters marry. To avoid this burdensome debt, hundreds of thousands of pregnant women each year pay for an ultrasound to determine the gender of their fetus and then abort females. This practice has become such a problem that Indian law prohibits doctors from revealing a fetus's gender but many doctors violate the law. In some areas of India, fewer than 800 girls are born for every 1,000 boys. General Electric Co. is the largest seller of ultrasound machines in the Indian market. Indeed, there is some evidence that GE targets doctors in small towns where this problem is most severe. If you were the head of the Ultrasound Division of GE, what would you do? Strategy: Begin by reviewing the ethics checklist. Stakeholders include GE shareholders and citizens of India. Are there alternatives? What could GE do to ensure that its machines are not used improperly? What are the consequences? Thousands of young men without mates could lead to an increase in prostitution and perhaps even lead to social unrest, with worldwide implications. Is GE being a responsible member of the world community? Do managers want to live in a world in which female fetuses are aborted because of their gender? Are some values in conflict? If so, which values are most important?