Complete all work according to relevant and accepted business ethics and within the scope of corporate responsibility.

The Big Furniture Store Co. was founded in 1999 in Brampton, Ontario. Over the years the company expanded and now it is present in 3 cities. The Company specializes in budget furniture, low-quality low-price furniture which is usually imported from abroad. The company has 30 stores all over the GTA and neighbouring cities. The company employees around 1,000 sales associates on full-time/part-time basis.

Vanessa works at the Big Furniture Store as a sales associate. She specializes in selling bedroom furniture. She likes her job because she generates a lot of sales and is well compensated. Vanessa learned the art of selling from her manager Grace. When Vanessa first joined The Big Furniture Store as a fresh graduate she did not know anything about selling. She was shy, and was afraid to talk about money. Over the first couple of months her sales were so low that she was considering quitting the job. Her manager at that time decided to transfer her to Grace, a top producer at that time.

Grace taught Vanessa the art of selling. Grace explained to Vanessa that most clients do not know what they need, and sometimes you should take the decision instead of the client. With a little push, you could sell the client. Grace also explained to Vanessa aggressive selling. She told Vanessa to tell the client what they want to hear, to make the deal. As grace explained "It does not matter if they like it, just make sure they want it". Vanessa learned all these strategies, and in a couple of years became the top producer at the company. Vanessa will do anything to seal the deal. One time a client asked her if the products are manufactured in Canada, and she said partially, the product contains domestic and imported material, even though the domestic material is only the label on the product. At another instance a client asked her if these products are made from sustainable materials. Vanessa's answer was yes, despite the fact that these products are made from petrochemicals.

Nowadays, profit oriented businesses should be considerate of all stakeholders, rather than simply concentrating on profit maximization. Corporate Social Responsibility is a corner stone of modern businesses, and it cannot be ignored, so it is important to complete all work according to relevant and accepted business ethics and within the scope of corporate responsibility. Employees should be prudent and always act in the best interests of their employer regardless of their personal circumstances. Acting in an unethical manner undermines your career and could lead to litigation from the employer.

Your task is to analyze the above case and cite any unethical behaviours, how these behaviours affect the employers and the employee. What are the consequences of these behaviours to the employer and employee? What should be changed to make sure the employer/employee act in an ethical manner?

Evaluation

Which unethical practices are likely to affect the company's "Corporate Social Responsibility" image (2%).

Identifying the effects of this unethical behavior on the employee (2%).

Suggesting an alternative action plan which will be in line with the company's "Corporate Social Responsibility" (1%).