Quiz 3: Business Ethics, Social Forces, and the Law

Marty Mankamyer, the president of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), resigned in early February 2003 following reports in The Denver Post that indicated she had demanded a commission from a fellow real estate broker in the Colorado Springs area, the home of the USOC, who had sold property to Lloyd Ward, the CEO of the USOC. Mr. Ward had purchased a 1.3-acre lot in Colorado Springs for $475,000 and had paid the listing broker, Brigette Ruskin, a commission. Ms. Mankamyer allegedly demanded a portion of the commission from Ms. Ruskin, and Ms. Ruskin sent her a check. Ms. Mankamyer had shown Mr.Ward and his wife properties in the area when they were being considered for the job and when he was considering taking the job. However, Mrs. Ward indicated that Ms. Mankamyer did not identify herself as a real estate agent and that she assumed that Ms. Mankamyer was showing the properties as a "goodwill gesture."15 What conflicts of interest do you see here

Ann Elkin, who works for Brill Co., has been sent out to conduct two customer evaluations, which have gone much more quickly than Ann anticipated. Her supervisor does not expect Ann back until after lunch. It is now 10:30 A.M., and Ann would like to run some personal errands and then go to lunch before returning to work at 1:00 P.M. Should Ann take the time Would you Why or why not Be sure to consider the categories of ethical values and apply one or two models before reaching your conclusion.

Fred Sanguine is a New York City produce broker. Ned Santini is a 19-year-old college student who works for Sanguine from 4:00 A.M. until 7:00 A.M. each weekday before he attends classes at Pace University. Fred has instructed Ned on the proper packing of produce as follows: "Look, put the bad and small cherries at the bottom. Do the same with the strawberries and blueberries. Put the best fruit on top and hide the bad stuff at the bottom. This way I get top dollar on all that I sell." Ned is uncomfortable about the instructions, but, as he explains to his roommate, "It's not me doing it. I'm just following orders. Besides, I need the job." Should Ned just follow instructions Is the manner in which the fruit is packed unethical Would you do it Why or why not Is anyone really harmed by the practice

Alan Gellen is the facilities manager for the city of Milwaukee and makes all final decisions on purchasing items such as chairs, lights, and other supplies and materials. Alan also makes the final decisions for the award of contracts to food vendors at event sites. Grand Beef Franks has submitted a bid to be one of the city 's vendors. Alan went to school with Grand Beef 's owner, Steve Grand, who phones Alan and explains that Grand Beef owns a condominium in Maui that Alan could use. Steve's offer to Alan is: "All it would cost you for a vacation is your airfare. The condo is fully stocked with food. Just let me know." Should Alan take the offer Would you Be sure to determine which category of ethical values this situation involves and to apply several models as you resolve the question of whether Alan should accept the invitation.

A Dillard's customer brought in a pair of moderately expensive dress shoes, expressing a desire to return them because they just weren't quite right. As the manager processed the order she checked inside the box to be sure that the shoes in the box were the shoes that matched the box - past experience dictated that follow-up on returns. The shoes were the correct ones for the box, but there was another issue. The shoes had masking tape on the bottom - masking tape that was dirty. When the manager returned to the customer she said, "You forgot to remove the masking tape from your shoes." The customer responded, "I only wore them once. That's all I needed them for." From Neiman Marcus to Saks to Dillard's, managers have to stay one step ahead of customers, or lessees, who buy, or lease for free, dresses and now shoes for one use with premeditated intent to return the merchandise. Stores now place tags strategically so that the dresses cannot be worn without cutting them off and there are no returns if the tags are cut off on formal wear. Ace Hardware and Home Depot have customers who "buy" a special tool, try to use it once, and then return it. The hardware/home improvement stores are left with opened packaging and used goods by buy-it-temporarily customers. List some consequences for this behavior by customers.

Adam Smith wrote the following in The Theory of Moral Sentiments: In the practice of the other virtues, our conduct should rather be directed by a certain idea of propriety, by a certain taste for a particular tenor of conduct, than by any regard to a precise maxim or rule; and we should consider the end and foundation of the rule, more than the rule itself. 16 Do you think Adam Smith adhered to positive law as his ethical standard Was he a moral relativist Does his quote match stakeholder analysis What would his ethical posture be on violating the law

A new phenomenon for admissions to MBA programs is hiring consultants to help applicants hone their applications. About 20 percent of those who apply to the top MBA programs have hired consultants at a cost of $150 to $200 per hour to help them say and do the right things to be admitted. The total cost for most who use a consultant is $5,000. The consultants help with personal essays and applications. One admissions officer points out that one function of the consultant is to draw out and emphasize skills that the applicant may not see as important. For example, playing the piano is looked upon favorably because it shows discipline and focus. However, admissions committees are becoming adept at spotting the applications via consultant because, as the faculty describe it, these essays and applications have a certain "sameness" to them. The Fuqua School at North Carolina suggests that students simply call the admissions office and get comparable advice for free. Is it ethical to use an admissions consultant When would you cross a line in using the consultant on the essay

"I was very upset that there's that many dishonest people," said Andrea Reuland, the owner of Trigs Shell Station in Minocqua, Wisconsin. She lost $3 per gallon on 586 gallons of gas sold during a 45-minute period when local residents phoned others to come and get gas because an employee had made a mistake and entered the price at 32.9 cents vs. $3.299 per gallon. Eighty-seven percent of the people who responded to a survey about the incident said they would have done the same thing as the Minocqua residents. Describe who is affected by what buyers did by not paying the correct price for the gas. Describe a simple test for resolving an ethical dilemma such as this where you can get something for free or very little.

The state of Arizona mandates emissions testing for cars before drivers can obtain updated registrations. The state hires a contractor to conduct the emissions tests in the various emissions-testing facilities around the state. In October 1999, the Arizona attorney general announced the arrest of 13 workers at one of the emissions-testing facilities for allegedly taking payoffs of between $50 and $200 from car owners to pass their cars on the emissions tests when those cars fell below emissions standards and would not have been registered. Nearly half of the staff at the emissions facility were arrested. Why is it a crime for someone working in a government-sponsored facility to accept a payment for a desired outcome Do the payoffs to the workers really harm anyone

The president and athletic director at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) fired the school's basketball coach because an expense form he had submitted for reimbursement had the names of two students he said had joined him for a recruiting dinner. The students had not been to the dinner. The coach was stunned because he had been at UCLA for eight years and had established a winning program. He said, "And to throw it all away on a meal " Do you agree with the coach's assessment Was it too harsh to fire him for one inaccurate expense form Did the coach commit an ethical breach

When some runners in the New York City Marathon hit the Queensboro Bridge, temptation sets in and, rather than finishing the last 10 miles through Harlem and the Bronx, they hop a ride on the subway and head toward the finish line at Central Park. A total of 46 runners used the subway solution to finish the race in the 2008 NYC Marathon. When one runner was questioned about his unusual time, he admitted to using the subway and said, "So I skipped a few boroughs. I didn't do anything illegal." How would you respond to his point that he did not break the law Why should we worry about some runners

David A. Vise, a Pulitzer Prize winner and a reporter for the Washington Post , wrote the book The Bureau and the Mole. When the book hit the market, Mr. Vise purchased 20,000 copies via Barnes Noble.com, taking advantage of both free shipping offered by the publisher and a discounted initial price. Mr. Vise's book had already hit the New York Times' bestseller list in the week before the purchases. He used the books he purchased to conduct online sales of autographed copies of the books, and then returned 17,500 books and asked for his money back. However, that return of 17,500 books represented more books than a publisher generally runs for a book. Mr. Vise said that he did not intend to manipulate the market or profit from the transactions. He said his only intent was to "increase awareness of The Bureau and the Mole." Mr. Vise's editor offered to pay Barnes Noble for any expenses it incurred. Was it ethical to do what Mr. Vise did Was he within his rights to return the books What are his remedies Does Barnes Noble have any rights

Former Enron Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow, in his testimony against his former bosses at their criminal trial for fraud, said, "I thought I was being a hero for Enron. At the time, I thought I was helping myself and helping Enron to make its numbers." Mr. Fastow also added, however, "I lost my moral compass." Are you able to classify Mr. Fastow into a particular ethical standard or principle

Piper High School in Piper, Kansas, a town located about 20 miles west of Kansas City, experienced national attention because of questions about students and their term papers for a botany class. Christine Pelton, a high school science teacher, had warned students in her sophomore class not to use papers posted on the Internet for their projects. When their projects were turned in, Ms. Pelton noticed that the writing in some of the papers was well above the students' usual quality and ability. She found that 28 of her 118 students had taken substantial portions of their papers from the Internet. She gave these students a zero grade on their term paper projects with the result that many of the students were going to fail the course for that semester. The students' parents protested, and the school board ordered Ms. Pelton to raise the grades. She resigned in protest. She received a substantial number of job offers from around the country following her resignation. Nearly half of the high school faculty as well as its principal announced their plans to resign at the end of the year. Several of the parents pointed to the fact that there was no explanation in the Piper High School handbook on plagiarism. They also said that the students were unclear about what could be used, when they had to reword, and when quotations marks were necessary. The annual Rutgers University survey on academic cheating has revealed that 15 percent of college papers turned in for grades are completely copied from the Internet. Do you think such copying is unethical Why do we worry about such conduct Isn't this conduct just a function of the Internet Isn't it accepted behavior

Pharmaceutical companies, faced with the uphill battle of getting doctors to take a look at their new products, have created complex systems and programs for enticing doctors to come, sit, and absorb information about the new products. Following is a list of the various type of benefits and gifts that drug companies have given doctors over the past few years to entice them to consider prescribing their new offerings: •An event called "Why Cook " in which doctors were given the chance to review drug studies and product information at a restaurant as their meals were being prepared-they could leave as soon as their meals were ready, and they were treated to appetizers and drinks as they waited •Events at Christmas tree lots where doctors can come and review materials and pick up a free Christmas tree • Flowers sent to doctors' offices on Valentine's Day with materials attached • Manicures as they study materials on new drugs • Pedicures as they study materials on new drugs l Free car washes during which they study materials • Free books with materials enclosed • Free CDs with materials attached • Bottles of wine with materials attached • Events at Barnes Noble where doctors can browse and pick out a book for themselves for free as long as they also take some materials on a new drug Some doctors say that they can enjoy dinner on a drug company as often as five times per week. The American Medical Association (AMA) frowns on the "dine-and-dash" format because its rules provide that dinners are acceptable only as long as the doctors sit and learn something from a featured speaker. The AMA also limits gifts to those of a "minimal value" that should be related to their patients, such as note pads and pens with the new drug's name imprinted on them. The chairman of the AMA Committee on Ethics says the following about gifts, "There are doctors who say, 'I always do what's best for my patients, and these gifts and dinners and trips do not influence me.' They are wrong." 17 In which category of ethical issues do these gifts fall Do you think doctors act ethically in accepting gifts, meals, and favors The Food and Drug Administration recently issued rules about such favors and perks. Why