1. Identify the ethical issues involved in the case from a consequentialist and deontological perspective (refer to Chapter 2).
2. Identify the management issues involved in the case. For example, think about the case in terms of multiple ethical selves, norms, reward systems, diffusion of responsibility, obedience to authority. What factors contributed the most to the alleged unethical conduct on the part of service advisors and mechanics?
3. How would you evaluate Sears’ response to the allegations and the changes the company made? Has Sears resolved its problem? Why or why not?
4. What do you think is the impact of the scandal on Sears’ reputation for quality and service?
5. Respond to Brennan’s comment, ‘‘We have to have some way to measure performance.’’ What can management do to prevent employees from overselling? Propose a management plan (including a compensation system) that allows management to measure performance and encourages auto center employees to behave ethically. Be specific.
6. Should anyone be disciplined? If so, who, and when? What should the discipline be?
7. Think more generally about Sears management’s response to the firm’s financial problems. How else could they have increased auto center sales without providing incentives to employees to sell specific products?

Sears, Roebuck, and Co. began in the late 1800s as a mail-order company that sold farm supplies and other consumer items. Its first retail store opened in the mid-1920s. Responding to changes in American society, such as the move from farms to factories and the presence of the automobile in many homes, hundreds of retail stores opened over the years.