Questions and Answers of Business Ethics

The global market presents firms with more complex ethical issues than they would experience if operations were limited to one country and one culture. Moral standards vary across cultures. In some
In the early 1980 s, Colombian drug barons, large landowners, industrialists, and bankers, with the cooperation of the Colombian government, began to create private paramilitary units to combat the
The pirate industry has taken hold in Somalia, and with 23,000 ships coming through the Gulf of Aden annually, the operations of pirates appear to be located centrally. There are 18 to 21 ships
PricewaterhouseCoopers (or PwC, as it is known), one of the United States' "Big 4" accounting firms, has had a tax practice in Russia since the time that country changed from Communist rule. One of
NLC issued a report that Liz Claiborne, Walmart, Ann Taylor, Esprit, Ralph Lauren, JCPenney, and Kmart were using subcontractors in China that use Chinese women (between the ages of 17 and 25) to
Bhopal is a city in central India with a population, in 1984 , of 800,000 . Because it was, at that time, home to the largest mosque in India, Bhopal was a major railway junction. Its main industries
Once the Consumer Product Safety Commission prohibits the sale of a particular product in the United States, a manufacturer can no longer sell the product to U.S. wholesalers or retailers. However,
Although the merits and problems of breast-feeding versus using infant formula are debated in the United States and other developed countries, the issue is not so balanced in third-world nations.
Penalties for individuals who have violated the FCPA can run up to $\$ 250,000$ per violation and five years' imprisonment. Corporate fines can be up to $\$ 2$ million per violation. Also, under
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is the world's foremost soccer (or futbol/football) governing body. FIFA's purpose is to regulate and promote soccer around the world.
Siemens is a German conglomerate that has been in business since 1847 with its three divisions of Energy, Health Care, and Industry. Siemens has 428,200 employees and operates in 190 countries,
One in every five new Walmart stores around the world is located in Mexico. With 209,000 employees there, Walmart is the largest private employer in the country. The expansion of the giant retailer
It all began with a raid by Chinese officials on a small travel agency in Shanghai. What the investigators found were fake contracts and travel invoices that were used to cover payments to doctors,
Following a 12-day trial in 2012, Walter Cardin, a safety manager for the Shaw Group, was convicted of eight counts of fraud against the United States, for falsifying injury reports for his company's
For the past five years, Congress has been considering a bill that would require commercial truckers to install electronic recorders, often called "black boxes" on all of their trucks. Currently,
In 2007, Eleazar Torres-Gomez fell into an industrial dryer at the Cintas plant where he worked. He was killed before anyone even noticed that he had fallen into the dryer from the moving conveyor
Aaron Feuerstein was the third generation chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Malden Mills, a privately held company started in Massachusetts that produced fabric and evolved to
Purchasing agent Jim G. Locklear began his career as a retail buyer with Federated Department Stores in Dallas, where he became known for his eye for fashion and ability to negotiate low prices.
Jeffries spent a total of $\$ 1.6$ million on 14 Fidelity traders. ${ }^{16}$The SEC and the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) (now FINRAFinancial Industry Regulatory Authority)
The stock market of the late 1990 s and early 2000 s represented a period of irrational exuberance. Investors invested as they never had, egged on by analysts who could say no evil of the companies
Edward Snowden had an impressive résumé, having worked for Dell and the CIA prior to taking a position with the consulting firm, Booz Allen Hamilton. As part of his work with both Dell and Booz
Darlene Druyun was a lifetime government employee, working her way up through the system to a position of Air Force acquisition officer. In the early 1990s, she was mentioned in an inspector
This tale of a sort of sting operation required participation from business, government, and a professional. John Nicolo was a real property appraiser who did appraisal work for Eastman Kodak, Inc.
English-only policies in the workplace have become the fastest-growing area of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaints as well as litigation under Title VII. In 1996, the EEOC had
Kimberly Cloutier was a member of the Church of Body Modification. In 1997, during her job interview for a position at Costco, Ms. Cloutier sported four tattoos and multiple earrings, but she had no
Called the "Ban the Box" movement, Koch Industries is the latest large U.S. corporation (employing more than 60,000 people in the United States alone) to drop its application question about prior
From Barack and Michele Obama to Bill and Melinda Gates, to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, romance befalls many at work, whether they are working at a law firm or a software company, or making a movie
The policy defined women capable of bearing children as "all women except those whose inability to bear children is medically documented." The policy defined unacceptable lead exposure as the OSHA
Facebook has a policy on removing hate speech from its site. Over the past year, some Facebook employees have been arguing that Donald Trump's posts about banning Muslims from entering the United
Draft FCB cooperated with Walmart by providing copies of the e-mail communications between its employees and Roehm and Womack. However, Draft FCB also released a statement indicating that the
Another problem with the open sites is that the students are posting personal information with the result that they are accessible by a nefarious element. Students' cell phone numbers, addresses,
"Troll Tracker" was a popular blogger in the world of patent litigation. In fact, the blogger confessed to being a patent lawyer. The focus of the blog was "patent trolls," the name patent lawyers
Ms. Suzy Wetlaufer, then-editor of the Harvard Business Review, interviewed former GE CEO and business legend, Jack Welch, for a piece in the business magazine. She asked in December 2001 that the
The "Don't rock the boat" attitude is frequently seen as the virtuous road. Confrontation is messy-there are often hurt feelings. There are embarrassing revelations. There are destroyed careers.
Many employees believe that a good performance evaluation does not translate into more money or benefits. ${ }^{89}$ And many employees are unclear as to what "meets expectations" means. \({
Ann Hopkins was a senior manager in the Management Advisory Services division of the Price Waterhouse Office of Government Services (OGS) in Washington, DC. After earning undergraduate and graduate
Randi W. was a 13-year-old minor who attended the Livingston Middle School where Robert Gadams served as vice principal. On February 1, 1992, while Randi was in Gadams's office, Gadams sexually
T-Mobile's CEO, John Legere, has made T-Mobile the "best wireless carrier," according to consumer reports. At the time of that glowing report, T-Mobile had passed by Sprint to become the third
Chrysler ran an ad featuring Eminem during the Super Bowl in February 2011, and the ad was rated as one of the best for the game. In May 2011, Audi ran an ad at German auto show that had the "feel"
It was advertised as "The Fight of the Century" and the "Battle for Greatness," Manny Pacquiao versus Floyd Mayweather. No one is clear whether the promoters meant the century as the past 100 years
When someone purchased the butter churner or the wagon wheel from a neighbor in the era of wagons and churning, there was no need for the Restatement of the Law of Torts. If the churner or the wheel
The Peanut Corporation of America was a supplier of processed peanuts to some of the largest food-production companies in the United States, including ConAgra, a major producer of peanut butter. The
In 1982, 23-year-old Diane Elsroth died after taking a Tylenol capsule laced with cyanide. Within five days of her death, seven more people died from taking tainted Tylenol purchased from stores in
When competing with Apple, what you don't need is for your new model to be prone to fires. Such was Samsung's fate with its Galaxy Note 7, released just as the new iPhone premiered. Samsung
The Pinto was a rush project. Ordinarily, auto manufacturers work to blend the engineering concerns with the style preferences of consumers that they determine from marketing surveys. As a result,
On January 11, 1993, young Michael Nole and his family ate dinner at a Jack-in-the-Box restaurant in Tacoma, Washington, where Michael enjoyed his $\$ 2.69$ "Kid's Meal." The next day, Michael was
Decades ago, the American Association of Poison Control Centers had concluded that laundry detergent was really not a safety issue for young children. The kids were not interested in the powder, and
Buckyballs and Buckycubes were high-powered, small rare earth magnets that were imported into the United States by Maxfield and Oberton Holdings, LLC, from Ningbo Prosperous Imports \& Exports in
Energy, extra energy for work, for workouts, and we seem to have an insatiable appetite for something that will give us a competitive edge in whatever we are doing. Energy drinks, powders, mixes, and
In banks and investment firms, employees who are guiding customers have a variety of mutual funds products available for those customers. Many banks offer their own mutual funds as potential
Marsh McLennan (MMC) is a multinational insurance broker that, at its peak in 2004, had 43,000 employees at offices around the world. ${ }^{107} \mathrm{MMC}$ 's revenues were $\$ 2$ billion more
Ross Ulbricht, the mastermind behind the creation of the Silk Road website, was convicted of drug conspiracy and other charges for running the website that facilitated drug transactions through the
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has moved to revoke the controlled medication licenses of two pharmacies because the pharmacies were filling prescriptions for oxycodone (the painkiller) in
Tom Moore, president of Coca-Cola's Foodservice and Hospitality Division, was looking at sales in the fountain division, a division responsible for one-third of all of Coke's revenues. The fountain
Lou Gerstner, former CEO of IBM and RJR Nabisco, wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed piece on then-Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf's comment that the bank's employees did not do what Wells' culture
Covenants not to compete take two forms. The first type is found in the sale of a business. To keep the seller of the business from trotting down the street and opening up another business to
Eagle Gate College hired an admission consultant from Stevens-Henager College (Janna Miller). After she was hired, Ms. Miller hired other employees from Steven-Henager, and some of those employees
In 1996, Boeing and Lockheed Martin were in a head-to-head competition for a multibillion-dollar government contract for furnishing the rockets that are used for launching satellites into space (a
Starwood and Hilton are direct, head-to-head competitors. In 2007, the Blackstone Group, a private equity firm, acquired Hilton for over $\$ 20$ billion in a top-of-the-market, highly leveraged
Philosophers have, of late years, considered chiefly the tendency of affections, and have given little attention to the relation which they stand in to the cause which excites them. In common life,
Trinity Industries is the manufacturer of a product you see every day-the guardrails in the middle of highways, freeways, toll ways, and byways around the country. However, Trinity will be paying
When the competition is stiff, the product, service, and price may not be the deciding factor. What the buyer believes about the competitor may be controlling. The following are statements made by
The Wall Street Journal investigated online pricing and discovered that your price may vary indeed. ${ }^{41}$ Using your zip code, online retailers determine the price of your stapler, your saw,
Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. (Leegin), designs, manufactures, and distributes leather goods and accessories under the brand name Brighton. The Brighton brand has now expanded into a full
Powder Corporation runs Park City Mountain. It owns the parking lots, the land at the foot of the mountains, and benefits from the skiers and tourists who visit year-round. It employs 1,200 people
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an antitrust suit against Apple and five of the largest publishers in the United States (Simon \& Schuster, HarperCollins, Hachette, Penguin, and
Macy's had what it believed to be an exclusive merchandising agreement with Martha Stewart, with Ms. Stewart agreeing to provide her name and endorsement to certain Macy's household products. Several
Mattel, Inc., is the world's largest manufacturer and marketer of toys, dolls, games, and stuffed toys and animals. Mattel employed Carter Bryant as a product designer from September 1995 through
Electronic Arts, Inc., a video company, had developed football and college video games. However, many of the players in the video games seemed to be images and likenesses of actual college athletes
As incongruous as it seems, the Hangover movie franchise is a hotbed of intellectual property issues. Last summer, Warner Brothers settled a lawsuit brought by the tattoo artist who did Mike Tyson's
It all began in 2012 when a Tiffany's customer wrote to Tiffany's to complain that the high-end retailer was selling its engagement rings at Costco. That was news to Tiffany's because the company was
Children at camps around the country in the summer of 1996 were not able to dance the "Macarena" except in utter silence. Their usual oldies dances were halted in 1996. The American Society of
Based on your readings in Unit 1, you understand that society recognizes the value of ethics. The cases in Unit 1 focused on individual conduct. But businesses are groups of individuals, and those
Countless sermons have been preached and printed on the ethics of business or the ethics of the businessman. Most have nothing to do with business and little to do with ethics.One main topic is
In the following classic reading, Albert Carr compares business to poker and offers a justification for business bluffing. Mr. Carr provides a different perspective from the previous discussion with
Companies such as Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia, Lehman, New Century Financial, Fannie Mae, MF Global, UBS, Chase, Valeant, Volkswagen, Theranos, and GM (many of these companies that you will study)
A typical form of flawed reasoning that businesses fall into is the either/or conundrum. This flawed analysis finds us reaching a decision, because the pressure is great, the consequences even
The CFA Institute (Certified Financial Analysts) has a saying, $P=f(x)$. For you nonmathematicians out there, the translation is that the probability of an ethical outcome is a direct function of
In June 2006, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission filed a civil complaint against $\mathrm{BP}$, alleging that its brokers tried to manipulate the price of propane by manipulating the
Valeant, a Canadian-based company, had a business model that was bound to attract public attention. Valeant's strategy was to purchase the rights to older prescription drugs, double (or more) the
The issues in ethics cases may change from driving solo in the carpool lane to Wi-Fi piggybacking, to issues of bribery, insider trading, and capitalization of ordinary expenses, but they still hark
Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869 with the humble purpose of being both an originator and a clearinghouse for commercial paper. Marcus Goldman, a German immigrant, founded the company along with his
The Penn State Nittany Lions football team, begun in 1887 , has been a powerhouse. The team has had seven undefeated seasons, two national titles, two Big Ten conference titles, and five other
The United States was abuzz for three weeks in January 2015 because one of the teams headed to the championship game (Super Bowl XLIX) for the National Football League (NFL) was under investigation
The problems of those online reviews. The number of stars, or lack thereof, can make or break a business. Consider Joe Hadeed's carpet cleaning business. A slew of negative reviews about his work
When I hear businessmen speak eloquently about the "social responsibilities of business in a free-enterprise system," I am reminded of the wonderful line about the Frenchman who discovered at the age
Stakeholder theory is unique because it crosses over so many areas of business: the fields of business ethics, management and corporation law have all focused on stakeholder theory. While there is
"Rain-forest chic" is a label coined in the popular business press for the increasingly popular corporate branding strategy of capitalizing on consumer use of environmental issues as a screen for
The problem in today's era of corporate pseudo-ethics is that the pendulum has shifted too far. From genuine philanthropy "corporate responsibility" has mutated into a dangerous form of political
John Mackey, the founder and CEO of Whole Foods, has taken a sort of blended position on the role of business in society. He begins his analysis by asking the purpose of hospitals and schools and
Marjorie Kelly challenges the notion that stockholders fund the corporation by pointing out that only the initial shareholders of a corporation actually fund the corporation. When shares change hands
The prescription drug Daraprim is used to treat toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease that generally occurs in patients with weakened immune systems, such as pregnant women or people suffering from
Walmart obtained approval after a long regulatory battle to build five stores in the Washington, DC, area. After the company had obtained the approvals, Washington, DC, approved a ballot measure and
Chipotle disclosed in January 2016 in an 8-K, an SEC filing that publicly traded companies must make when there are material business developments, that it had received a subpoena from the federal
The manufacture and sale of guns continue to be issues of social responsibility. Although the issues surrounding guns are complex, they are emotionally charged. Over the years, there have been a
Craigslist, referred to as the world's largest classified advertising, came into the public spotlight after medical school student Philip H. Markoff was charged with the murder of a young woman he
Planned Parenthood is a controversial organization that has an impact on any organization from which it obtains support and also from those organizations that withhold their support.Dayton-Hudson
Some years ago, when he was serving as the CEO for Motorola, before going on to become Kodak's CEO, George Fisher spoke to a group of our master's students from both engineering and business. One of
Simultaneously, the federal government anticipated pushback from lenders who would point out that these were high-risk loans and required greater returns. However, lenders were evaluated for their
The song set off a storm of protest from law enforcement groups. At the annual meeting of Time Warner at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, 1,100 shareholders as well as police representatives and their

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