Look up this company's code of ethics. Also, find some news articles on the company. See if you can find any information that would dispute this position in the passage below (i.e. if it says they think Facebook touts customer confidentiality - see if you can fine a news article that might dispute that, we all know that wouldn't be hard.) Debate the position in the passage below regarding whether you think the assessment of the company is correct. The goal is not to trash the company, but for you to truly think about what it means to be an ethical company and why.

Eaton Background

Eaton is an Industrial Manufacturing company in the Fortune 500 and a 12-time honoree on Ethispherefor most ethical companies. They have 85,000 employees worldwide and generate an annual revenue of $20.8 billion. Eaton manufactures a variety of products including actuators, cylinders, electrical circuit protection and EV charging.

Quote From CEO and Chairman - Craig Arnold

At Eaton, we make what matters work. By making power safe, efficient and reliable, we improve the quality of life for those who experience our products and services. We have the power to make a difference and we do every day.

Eaton Vision

A company's culture is represented by its unique purpose, beliefs, behaviors and attitudes

Our shared purpose is perfectly illustrated in our vision - it reinforces the importance we place on our deepening impact on the world as the need for power continues to grow. We know that to achieve this vision we need to:

• Develop our employees by helping them succeed not just at work, but in life as well
• Delight our customers by understanding their challenges and delivering real solutions, proactively
• Deliver for our shareholders by doing what's right
• Support our communities by offering our time and talent to meet social and economic needs where we work and live.

Consistent with our values and desire to improve the quality of life for people and our environment, our brand promisewe make what matters workexpresses the spirit of what we do and, more importantly, why we do it. The work that we do improves safety, reliability, efficiency and sustainability in ways that matter to our employees, customers, shareholders and communities.

Our vision has its foundation in our aspirational goals and leadership attributes. Together they guide every aspect of our businessfrom the people we hire, to our products and services, to our business partners and customers.

Eaton Goals

Achieving our aspirational goals is as important as meeting our financial ones. We've set these aspirational goals to unify the organization around our shared purpose, around who we are as a company. We aspire to:

• Be the preferred supplier to our customers and channel partners
• Make work exciting, engaging and meaningful for our employees
• Make communities stronger
• Ensure health, wellness and safety for our employees
• Be a model for inclusion and diversity in our industry
• Be active stewards of the environment

Eaton Values

Our leadership attributes represent our culture and values. They are what we expect of every Eaton employee and what we believe will help us continue to lead in our markets.

• We are ethical
• We are passionate
• We are accountable
• We are efficient
• We are transparent
• We learn

Eaton Code of Ethics

https://www.eaton.com/content/dam/eaton/company/ethics-compliance/code-of-ethics/English.pdf

Source

https://www.eaton.com/us/en-us/company/about-us/vision-goals.html

Additional Articles

https://www.crainscleveland.com/manufacturing/eaton-units-ordered-pay-293-million-dispute-related-claims-brought-pepsi

https://www.theoaklandpress.com/2023/06/28/eaton-corp-expanding-creating-jobs-in-southfield-other-cities/

Review of Eaton

Given that Eaton is a 12 time honoree on Ethisphere it is safe to say that they have a sustained history of ethical decision making . The first bullet in their code of ethics is obeying the law indicating that acting legally is a top priority for them. They also focus heavily on being ethical, accountable, and learning from mistakes as shown in their value statement. There are several cases where Eaton demonstrates their adherence to their values and goals including in the article with the Oakland press where they are creating over 100 jobs in line with their goal of making communities stronger. While overall I believe that Eaton's code of ethics has transferred into a conforming code of ethics there are always exceptions that can lead to legal action. A good example is with Eaton's acquisition of Cooper Industries in 2012 which led to a lawsuit with Pepsi. Thes result of the lawsuit was a settlement where Eaton paid Pepsi 293 million dollars demonstrated the importance of ethical decision making. I believe this lawsuit shows that even top tier ethical companies need to remain vigilant in ensuring that ethical behavior is engrained across the entire organizational culture.