Questions and Answers of Understanding Business Ethics

At the peak of the financial crisis in September 2008, one of the oldest and most established brokerage firms in the world, Lehman Brothers, declared bankruptcy. The collapse of this well-established
The name Tim Berners-Lee may not be well known, but he is in our lives every day. Berners-Lee is the founder and creator of the software that became the basis of the World Wide Web.A graduate of
Analyze the costs and benefits of using e-mail presented in Table 9.3. Why are the employees’ and managers’ responses different? TABLE 9.3. Unethical Practices in the Workplace Action The right
There was a unique buzz at the 2012 South by Southwest Technology Conference. It was not related to the latest video game system, nor was it related to the latest smart phone. No, the unique buzz was
Which of the teleological frameworks most closely match your ethical beliefs? Under what circumstances would you shift toward another of the frameworks? For example, if you were trapped in downtown
In 1938, a 29-year-old English stockholder was invited by a friend to visit Prague when their planned skiing trip to Switzerland was cancelled. Instead, Sir Winton visited refugee camps in
Do you think “Greed Is Good”? Can a free market economic system survive without human greed?
Which of the seven deadly sins do you believe is the most serious to commit? Which of the seven deadly sins do you believe is the least serious to commit? Do you think certain sins have gained or
Using the principles set forth in the Global Business Standards Codex, find an example of a company that does or did not follow one of the principles. Discuss the implications of the company’s
Why do you think that Bono fails to see the inconsistencies of his actions? What could Bono do now to help correct this perceived hypocritical behavior?
In October 2010, a U.S. district judge upheld a decision made by the New York University Stern School of Business to deny an MBA degree to a student who had withheld that he or she had been convicted
Do you agree with the argument that corporations are more powerful than governments? Do you expect corporations to become weaker or more powerful in the future?
Do you think how people view what is ethical has changed over time? How have the ethical values changed from your grandparents’ era? Explain.
Do you believe we live in a cheating culture? Explain your answer.
Why is fair trade an ethical issue? What are the competitive advantages of fair trade? What are the potential problems with fair trade?
In January 2012, the Costa Concordia started its voyage off the coast of Tuscany in Italy. While there are different accounts of the facts and events leading up to the crash and Captain Francesco
Identify all of the different stakeholder groups and comment on their roles in corporations.
Why is a firm’s corporate reputation important? Explain how a company can quickly lose its positive corporate reputation.
Swiss banks have had a long tradition of keeping information about their clients confidential. Is this still the correct strategic focus to take in the 21st century? Should the United States
Why is earnings management considered a trick of the trade? Explain.
In all of the accounting scandals of the past decade, where were the auditors? Explain.
Why do Ponzi schemes continue to work time after time?
In the opening vignette, a top level executive went into a rage over a bag of nuts. What do you think the underlying cause of this behavior is? Do you think a year in prison is the correct sentence
What are some ways in which a board of directors can increase its power? Under what circumstances can its power be decreased?
Do you perceive yourself as a transformational or transactional leader? Explain your answer.
In the opening vignette, why do you think Sanford Weill believed it was important to stay on as chairman of the board after Charles Prince was picked as the new CEO? Why did three top-level employees
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) started an investigation into allegations that Olympic officials from various countries offered to sell tickets for events at the London Olympic Games at
Explain why ethical decision making is so important in the strategic planning process.
Explain corporate culture in light of ethical conduct.
Examine the compliance program of a publicly held company. Does the company have a mission statement related to ethics? Comment on the program.
Describe the similarities and differences between the studies conducted at Yale University and Stanford University.
In December 2011, Sarah Fielder’s company was preparing to lay off some its employees. Sarah, who was 7 months pregnant at the time, wasn’t worried because her friends told her they wouldn’t
Sexual harassment is a critical area for misbehavior in companies. Can a company eliminate sexual harassment? Why or why not?
Diversity is an important issue in all organizations. What is the importance of addressing diversity, and how can diversity be achieved?
The opening vignette is an inspiring example of social entrepreneurship. Why do you think there are not more examples of intertwining social commitment and entrepreneurship?
On December 3, 1984, 40 tons of toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas, a chemical used in pesticides, leaked from a Union Carbide facility in Bhopal, India. The gas killed at least 3,000 people
What role should businesses take in climate change? What should government’s role be in climate change?
Do you believe that a business’s carbon footprint will be an important competitive issue in the future?
In the opening vignette, was it the correct decision for Sony to stop the initial release of The Interview? What message did that action send to the hackers? The movie industry? The actors? How would
How has control of the data collected by firms pertaining to customers changed over the years? What type of government regulations are in place to ensure the data do not go to unauthorized users?
Why do you think Pepsi decided to release the AMP app in the opening vignette? Do you think Pepsi officials were surprised by the response of the public?
In his January 1971 review of the Ford Pinto, New York Times car reviewer John Radosta stated that Ford had finally developed a car to compete with the compact cars coming from Europe and Japan.
Why is there such concern about protecting children from marketing and advertising?
What should consumers demand when companies recall products? What are the ethical considerations for recalls?
Is green marketing just a fad? Explain your view.
Why are poverty and hunger seen as business issues?
In India, the cotton gins are continuously working, with girls—some as young as 10 years old—employed to spin the raw cotton into commercial cotton for a global textile industry that generates
Do corporations have a responsibility to help solve hunger and poverty around the world? Explain.
Why don’t U.S. firms focus on the poor as a potential target market?
Do you think codes of ethics really make a difference in an organization? Explain.
Many companies ignore or overlook differences in translating codes of ethics into other languages. Why is it important to have codes of ethics translated into the native languages of the countries in
On January 28, 1986, at 11:38 a.m., the space shuttle Challenger was launched. The evening before the launch, the temperature at the launch site had dropped to 18 degrees. It was also estimated to be
Find the Code of Ethics for United Health on the Internet. Comment on the topics addressed in United Health’s Code of Ethics. Do you feel the code adequately achieves its purpose?
Released on December 3, 2010, the movie Black Swan, about a ballerina slowly becoming mentally unstable, received great reviews. The star, Natalie Portman, received an Academy Award for Best Actress
Why do you think that many firms establish ethics policies but do not enforce them?
In the 1920s, Charles Ponzi introduced the “Ponzi” scheme to the American public. The scheme’s simplicity is one of its best traits. By promising above-average returns for their investment,
Can a company be ethical without having a formal ethics policy? Explain.
Headquartered in Munich, Germany, Siemens focuses on developing products for electronic and electronic engineering based industries. As with many large global manufacturing conglomerates, Siemens’s
Do you believe that CPAs would be the best group to perform ethics audits? Why or why not?
In 2002, Blake Mycoskie and his sister Paige competed in the CBS reality program The Amazing Race.During their travels in that competition, Blake and Paige travelled through Argentina. Although they
Do you think hotlines for reporting ethical violations work? Explain your answer.
We believe that our efforts to be a good corporate citizen have a direct impact on our financial strength, as well as our reputation as one of the most trusted and admired companies in the world.—
In May 1985, InterNorth Incorporated and Houston Natural Gas announced that they would merge. Their combined value was an estimated $2.3 billion. These firms were two of the largest gas pipeline
Established in 1961 by the United Nations and headquartered in Rome, Italy, the World Food Programme (WFP) is the largest humanitarian organization dedicated to eliminating world hunger. It costs 25
In November 2005, employees of England’s royal family realized that someone was eavesdropping on their voice mail conversations. The communication secretary and the aide to Prince Charles and the
From its start in a garage in Silicon Valley in 1998, Google has become one of the most powerful technologydriven companies in the world. Started by two graduate students at Stanford University as an
On October 29, 2003, Richard Scrushy, the former CEO of HealthSouth, was indicted by the federal government on 85 counts of fraud. He was released on a $10 million bond and a proposed trial date was
This credo drives Interface’s strategic focus as it competes in the highly competitive floor-coverings industry.Interface was started in 1973 by Ray Anderson to fill the need to manufacture
From the time of Facebook’s inception in a Harvard University dorm room, Mark Zuckerberg’s goal was to develop software to share information. His first software allowed Harvard students to see
Mattel has a long-standing relationship with Chinese manufacturers. For decades, Mattel has depended on Chinese suppliers to manufacturer its licensed products. In fact, 65% of all of Mattel’s
A car company builds a car knowing that there is a defect in the design and parts of the car, but after calculating the cost of fixing the problem, the company decides it is more cost efficient to
With the invention of the phonograph by Thomas Edison in 1877, music became available in a unique, new, and different medium. Before the phonograph, music could be listened to only when played live
McWane Corporation has been a fixture in the Birmingham, Alabama, business community since 1921. Started by J. R. McWane and still controlled by the McWane family, McWane Corporation has become an
In the mid-1990s, Merck & Co. was at a crossroads. A number of its best-selling drugs would no longer be protected by patents within a relatively short period, and Merck had not provided a new set of
In the past, Apple marketed that its products were made in the United States. In today’s global marketplace, that is no longer the case. Almost all the products sold by Apple are produced outside
On May 18, 2002, Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski, who had received his degree in accounting and finance from Seton Hall University in 1968, gave the commencement address to St. Anselm’s College in
Based in Ventura, California, Patagonia was founded by Yvon Chouinard. As a 14-year-old boy, he started rock climbing in 1953 as a member of the Southern California Falconry Club. While searching for
On March 11, 2011, at 2:46 p.m., a 9.0 magnitude earthquake shook Japan and created a tsunami of epic proportions. The earthquake was so powerful that it moved the Japanese coastline and made Japan
On October 14, 2011, British-born Michael Woodford, CEO of Olympus, was fired after the firm’s board of directors unanimously voted for his dismissal. Olympus is a Japanese company that is well
Wal-Mart began as a simple dream by its founder, Sam Walton, to provide low prices for customers every day.That philosophy has taken Wal-Mart from one pre-Wal-Mart 5-and-10-cent store in Bentonville,
In a coffee shop in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in 1983, four men, including Bernard Ebbers, decided to form a long-distance telephone company called Long Distance Discount Service (LDDS). Their
This statement by Tony Hayward is just one of the many ironies in an environmental disaster of epic proportions. Not just Hayward, but the unfortunate many thousands of people who resided around the
Based in Yonkers, New York, Greyston Bakery has been baking brownies since 1982. The company was founded by a Zen Buddhist priest, Bernard Glassman. Glassman was a former aerospace engineer with a
Since the 1950s, humans have been able to make synthetic diamonds. Yet, consumers demand “real” diamonds for their jewelry, but at what cost? The diamond industry has been marred with numerous