A case study

Is Rsum Inflation and Deception Acceptable?

According to Steven Levitt, author of Freakonomics, a small bit of inflation on one's rsum is universal. Levitt estimates that at least half the people engage in this deception to some degree. Typically, the small edits to one's rsum are done to disguise some unaccounted for time in between jobs. There may be nothing to hide except the fact that unexplained time period looks suspi- cious. On other occasions, the deceptions have been more substantial; for example, claiming an academic degree one almost acquired but didn't: "Well, I was just two courses short!" It has also been said that based on studies, the average American tells one or two lies a day, often at work. A survey of 2,500 hiring managers by Car- eerBuilder found that 30 percent of them find false or mis- leading information on applicants' rsums.

A rsum controversy with significant consequences occurred when the then-Yahoo CEO, Scott Thompson, was questioned about a statement on his company's Web site, which reported that he had a degree in com- puter science. A dissident shareholder went public with the revelation that Thompson couldn't have a degree in computer science because the small college he gradu- ated from didn't have a computer science major until after he graduated. The company's regulatory filing indi- cated that Thompson had a degree in accounting and computer science. Thompson claimed the Web site information was an inadvertent error without providing

more information. According to his college, Thompson graduated with a bachelor's of science in business administration degree.

Days after this information came out, a person close to Yahoo's board reported that in absence of information that Thompson intentionally misled, the company proba- bly would not force him out, indicating that his impor- tance as CEO to the company was more important than whether he had a computer science degree or not. In spite of this, CEO Scott Thompson resigned his position soon thereafter amid the controversy over his rsum discrepancy.

Requirements:

1. Summary: In your own words, summarize your comprehension of the case.

2.Ethical Issues: Identify the issues relating to Ethics as presented in the book and the relevant chapters identified below each case (TextbookBusiness and Society by Caroll, Brown, Buchholtz)

3.Conclusion: Present your conclusion and thoughts about the case and its Ethical issues. Do you have Recommendations and/or solutions?

10th Edition Business & Society Ethics, Sustainability & Stakeholder Management CARROLL BROWN BUCHHOLTZ