1. Ethics and Professional Responsibility
Case Question 2-3, page 58
Manufacture shoes in Indonesia
You are a high level shoe manager. You know you could increase profit margin by having shoes produced in Indonesia where you could pay women $40 a month to assemble the shoes. You also know that human rights activists have recently accused a competing shoe manufacturer of engaging in exploitative labor practices for doing that. You do not personally believe that paying the women $40 a month is unethical because that is a better than average wage in Indonesia. What do you do? What do you think about?

2. Do you manufacture the shoes in Indonesia?

3. Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure Helps
Corporations are perceived to hold duties to the following groups, duties that often come into conflict:
Consumers
Shareholders
Duty
Employees
Community
Society

4. No Women of Child Bearing Age
Duty to Employees
Employers have numerous legal duties to employees, including providing employees with a safe workplace and refraining from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, or disability.
These duties often come into conflict.
Many believe that employers hold ethical duties to their employees that go beyond those prescribed by law.
UAS v. Johnson Controls
Not in Book
Battery Division
Lead Exposure
No Women of Child Bearing Age

5. Duty to Shareholders
Because the shareholders are the owners of the corporation, directors and officers have a duty to act in the shareholders’ interest (maximize profits).
Google IPO example
Is profit maximization an ethical goal?
Milton Friedman – On “greed”
What is corporate social responsibility?
Corporate philanthropy?

6. Profit maximization, ethical?

7. Approach to Making Ethical Decisions:
Open and full disclosure reduces ethical breaches
Duty to Consumers
Corporate directors and officers have a legal duty to the users of their products.
Most feel that corporations also have an ethical duty that goes beyond what the law requires.
Controversy exists over the point at which corporate responsibility for consumer safety ends and consumer responsibility begins.
Died from Inhaling Butane. Twenty-year-old Stephen Pavlik died from intentionally inhaling the contents of Zeus brand butane lighter. His father filed suit, claiming there was not an adequate warning on the can Pavlik v. Lane Ltd./Tobacco Exporters International

8. Duty to the Community/Society
Most people believe a corporation has a duty to the community in which it operates.
The corporation should consider the needs of the community when making decisions that substantially affect the welfare of the community.
Remsburg v. Docusearch, Inc. (2003)
(Sold employer name address to stalker).
Wal-Mart – Impact on small communities

9. Ethical Responsibilities of Firms
Do firms have a duty to prevent criminal misuses of their products? In a Colorado case, a man bought a cupful of gasoline at a gas station, threw it on a woman, and set her on fire. The woman argued that the gas station was negligent for selling him the gasoline.
The Colorado Appellate Court stated that knowing a customer buying gasoline was going to intentionally throw it on a victim and set the victim on fire was not reasonably foreseeable.

10. Ethics In The Global Context
Hypothetical – US Developed Drug
U.S. drug laws are among the toughest in the world. Therefore, companies with products banned from sale in the U.S. will naturally look elsewhere for potential customers—particularly in developing countries that do not have such extensive restrictions on consumer products.
Despite the cultural and religious differences among nations, the most important ethical precepts are common to virtually all countries.

11. Ethics in the Global Context
US Jail for Thailand Bribery
$1.8 Million Bribe. Two Hollywood producers paid $1.8 million in bribes to secure a $13.5 million contract for the Bangkok International Film Festival.
Festival Financial Success. The government made a lot of money on the festival and overall it was a success.
6 Months Prison. They got 6 months in prison and 6 months home suspension (prosecution wanted 10 years – even though one defendant was 78 years old with health problems). Plus $250,000 in restitution. Aug 16, 2010 National Law Journal
Two notable differences relate to:
The role of women in society.
The practice of giving side payments to foreign officials to secure favorable contracts.
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA), prohibits the bribery of foreign officials through such side payments.
Michael Douglas, Actor
Jail

12. The Nature Of Business Ethics
Law does not codify all ethical responsibility
Business ethics are created from moral values
The law reflects society’s convictions on what constitutes right or wrong behavior.
Start here thursday

13. Sources of Ethical Standards
Outcome-based ethics:
Ethics based on philosophical reasoning.
Example: utilitarianism Cost/Benefit
Rights Based ethics:
Ethics based on human/individual rights.
Duty-based
ethics:
Ends never justify means
Ethics based on religious beliefs and philosophical reasoning.
What if everyone acted that way
Example: Ten Commandments

14. Obstacles To Ethical Business Behavior
SCSU Employee Code of Ethics
Cell Phone Use.
Gifts
Nepotism
Influence staff/students
Frequent Flyer Miles
Use of SCSU name
Discussion of values, policy, law….
Obstacles To Ethical Business Behavior
The corporate structure:
Collective decision making tends to deter individual ethical assertiveness.
The corporate structure tends to shield corporate actors from personal responsibility and accountability.
Management:
Uncertainty on the part of employees as to what kind of behavior is expected of them makes it difficult for them to behave ethically.
Unethical conduct by management shows employees that ethical behavior is not a priority.

15. End-of-Chapter Q 2-8, p. 59 Enron
Enron asked Merrill Lynch to participate in a bogus sale of three barges. Sale/buy back deal. Ethical for Enron to do this? Is it unethical for Merrill Lynch to play along?

16. Review Difference between illegal and unethical Origins of ethics
Duty Based - Religion
Rights Based-- Individuals
Outcome Based – Utilitarianism
Corporate Responsibility
Shareholders
Employees
Society
Community
Consumers

17. Extra Slides

18. Ethics In The Global Context
Hypothetical – Women in Business
Assume you are the executive of an international company, Widgets International. After a lot of work, you finally received approval to give a sales presentation before a buying committee of a Saudi Arabian based company, Arabia, Inc. If successful this opportunity will increase your overall sales by 20% (a very much needed 20% given that your other sales are slipping in an overall poor economy).
You explain to your contact at Arabia that Amanda Smith, your Vice President of Marketing, will give the presentation. The contact immediately tells you that the key members of the committee do not welcome women in business leadership roles and bringing Amanda will reflect badly on your company.
Although you do have others you could send, you know that Amanda is the best person you have for the presentation, she is the person with the job title to give it and that she will question the ethics of sending a man to do her job.
WORK IN GROUPS

19. Do you send Amanda?