Jackson Grey owns a commercial bakery in Blakely, Georgia that produces a variety of goods sold in grocery stores. Grey is required by law to perform internal tests on food produced at his plant to check for contamination. During one three$-$month period, three tests of food products containing peanut butter were positive for salmonella contamination. Grey was not legally required to report the results to U$.$S$.$ Food and Drug Administration officials, so he did not. Instead, Grey instructed his employees to repeat the tests until the results were negative. Meanwhile, the products that had originally tested positive for salmonella eventually were shipped out to retailers. Five people who ate Grey$$s baked goods that year became seriously ill, and one person died from a salmonella infection.Identifying the Facts and Issues

There are four different aspects of a decision that a business should evaluate in order to maximize profits and be a good corporate citizen. In evaluating the first of the four factors, Grey should determine whether his failure to report the results to the Food and Drug Administration is a violation of

ethics

$.$ In this case, Grey

did

have a legal duty to perform internal tests on food produced at his plant to check for contamination. Grey

did

have a legal duty to report the initial test results to the U$.$S$.$ Food and Drug Administration. Merely complying with the law is known as the

moral minimum

$.$

Assessment question

In evaluating the second factor, Grey should analyze what the

media

might say if the shipped food caused sickness or death. Knowingly or recklessly allowing someone to become sick from the food because the company continued to test the food until the salmonella test was negative

would

be a public relations problem. In evaluating the third factor, Grey would look at the

job security

for consumers and employees. Grey$$s instructions to repeat the tests until the results were negative,

did not

support the health and safety of consumers.

Assessment question

To assess the fourth factor, Grey should evaluate how much it might

cost

the company to continue to test until the salmonella result is negative. Grey$$s approach to profits in making this decision seems to be

short run

profit maximization. In this case, Grey should consider not just the

cost

of testing, but also the

cost

of potential lawsuits or settlements.

Assessment question

In evaluating the four factors, it seems that Grey$$s decision was

unethical

$.$ If Grey had thought through his options as if all food manufacturers would make the same decision, he would be applying

the principle of rights theory

$.$ If Grey had analyzed his options using

select answer

$,$ he would have evaluated the costs and benefits of each option to determine the

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for the

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and most likely

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shipped the food.

Assessment question

What If the Facts Were Different?

To address the widespread and growing concern of contaminated food causing serious injury and death to individuals throughout the United States, Congress passed a law stating that anyone intentionally distributing contaminated food is subject to criminal prosecution, civil fines, or both. Congress included a provision that any company with a corporate food safety compliance policy approved by the U$.$S$.$ Food and Drug Administration $($FDA$)$ would avoid criminal prosecution, but not civil fines. To be approved, the company policy must require the company to report to FDA any test results that indicate salmonella is present and consult with that agency before shipping any possibly contaminated food.

Grey wants to evaluate the outcome for all stakeholders to inform his decision making. Grey first should consider

select answer

to determine the legal and ethical issues related to implementing a corporate food safety compliance policy. After the initial step, Grey should list his possible actions related to the new law and evaluate each option for

select answer

$.$ Using the information from the first two steps, Grey should work with his staff to come to a consensus and develop a plan of action. Because Grey has used the stakeholder theory to inform his decision making, he has evaluated the protentional outcome for:

select answer

$,$

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$,$

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$,$ as well as

select answer