John and Gloria Weed started a new business in 1986 on the outskirts of Columbus, Ohio. Their original retail store with greenhouse attachment featured fresh-cut flowers, annuals, vegetables, and perennials. The building is on the grounds of Gloria’s family farm, enabling the Weeds to grow some of their retail products from scratch. Gloria’s parents gave the couple several acres of commercially zoned land as a wedding gift in 1982. The building and greenhouse construction were completed by John with a little help from his brothers. This combination of land acquisition and building construction resulted in very low overhead for the business, which contributed to their start-up success. An addition to the building completed in 1991 included several new and related product lines such as garden tools, soils and mulch products, gifts, seeds, and related accessories. Gloria had earned a horticulture degree at the local community college prior to the establishment of the business. In 1997 she was able to fulfill a lifelong dream of starting a landscape design and installation service that became the company’s next and newest product line. Gloria set up a small studio and office in the couple’s nearby home and was able to acquire some new clients. Her timing was good, as the Columbus area experienced a housing boom during that period. New houses and new developments sprang up in every direction from the city. Their garden center was able to supply the plant materials that each new job required. Soon after, the Weeds expanded their product lines to include a new and wider variety of trees, shrubs, landscape terraces, patios, and walkways as a means to generate new sales and to complement Gloria’s new service line. The original start-up business and each expansion project (building addition, new products, design and installation service) have more than covered their costs, but they have generated only fair to moderate profit margins. The Weeds attribute this mostly to the presence of their competition, which always seems to be growing. As a result, they have been reluctant to raise prices even though some product costs have risen. One year later, the Weeds completed the final phase of their original long-range business plan with the addition of another new service—Big John, The Lawn & Garden Doctor. This new product line was added because of its very high profit projections. This new division specializes in the treatment and eradication of lawn and garden pests. Many insects and diseases affect plant life, some of which are fatal. In spite of the fact that the Weeds and other local garden centers offer high-quality plants to consumers, nature has a way of wreaking havoc on lawns, gardens, shrubs, and trees over time. The start-up of this division required a tremendous amount of time, effort, and expense as a result of the environmental and safety-related hazards of some of the products such as insecticides and fungicides. The Weeds were required to train and license two of their employees as certified applications technicians. A custom-built, high-security storage facility was required and built to house all hazardous materials. The building was secured with a locked, barbed-wire fence, an alarm system, and a hazardous material runoff-proof partition. A special liability insurance policy was purchased as well. As expected, the new division turned out to be very profitable. Demand was strong and the technicians’ work was professional and effective. In fact, at the end of its first full year of existence, Big John, The Lawn & Garden Doctor, turned a profit that almost matched that of all other divisions combined. At the company’s monthly staff meeting, it therefore came as quite a surprise to everyone when John announced that he was seriously considering dropping the division entirely. John Weed is a local native of the area. He has very strong family and community values and has always felt responsible for the welfare and happiness of his friends, neighbors, and especially his customers. From the start, he was nervous and apprehensive that something bad would happen as a result of the pesticide or fungicide applications. And then it happened. A customer’s dog became ill, possibly as a result of eating some grass from a recently treated lawn. Big John’s technician had taken every precaution. The area was properly treated, marked, and roped off, and the customer was instructed as to the after-care safety precautions, which included a well-written handout and a signed liability waiver form. Two months later, a lawsuit was filed against the company, claiming that the water runoff from the property of one of their customers had tainted a neighbor’s well. The Weeds were forced to hire an attorney. Following a full and costly investigation, they were found not guilty of the charge. Although the company was clearly not negligent, John was upset. Gloria feels that John is overreacting. She points out that the company is in full compliance with every regulation and that John has gone out of his way to ensure the safety of all. Gloria also noted that no business can control the behavior or be responsible for its customers or the population in general; incidents beyond their control will naturally and always occur. In addition, the high profitability of the division will allow the Weeds to embark on an aggressive advertising campaign aimed at improving the sales and profits of their other divisions. John is losing sleep over all of this and is not sure what to do. He is worried about the image and reputation of his family and their business. He feels that the lawn and garden doctor business provides a useful service, but his conscience is bothering him.

QUESTIONS 

1. Present an argument in favor of retaining the new division that considers and incorporates the ethical conflicts that Mr. Weed is experiencing. 

2. Present an argument in favor of eliminating or changing the new division, and make recommendations to improve overall company profits through means that will be acceptable to Mr. Weed. 

3. Aside from compliance with the law, how much additional responsibility does a business owner have to his or her customer base, employees, suppliers, and the community at large? How do you feel about the old saying “buyer beware”?