4 topics please respond with at least 1-2 paragraphs per topic. Answer all questions within each topic. Cite sources in APA style and include relative links.
Topic Background and Question:
I suppose this begs the question: Should a company decide to be ethical? Texts give the following reasons for unethical behavior:
1. Overzealous Pursuit of Personal Gain, Wealth, and Selfish Interests Greed?
2. Heavy Pressures on Company Managers to Meet or Beat Earnings Targets
3. Company Culture Places Profits and Good Performance Ahead of Ethical Behavior
4. A Few Other Drivers of Unethical Behavior (Dilemmas)
Conflict of Interest
Loyalty versus Truth: Employees form a culture
Honesty and Integrity: Ethical employees tell the truth
Whistle Blowing
Fear?
Question
Assume you have a job which requires you to travel. Your employer has the following per diem policy regarding meals: $15 for breakfast; $20 for lunch; $30 for dinner. There is a space for each meal to be filled in on the expense account form. No receipt is required. If you put down $15 for breakfast, you will be paid $15; no questions ever have been or ever will ever be asked. But you are not a breakfast-eater; you simply don’t care for breakfast. Do you still put down $15 for breakfast on your expense account? Your fellow workers tell you they claim the $15 whether they eat breakfast or not, and they have never been questioned.
Topic Quotation:
Before tackling this topic you might check out the following clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF_iorX_MAw (Wall Street)
Now, assume you have a sales job for a company (The company and product are irrelevant). One of your customers has given you the specifications and a Request for Quotation (RFQ) for a product they plan to purchase. After a couple days of work, you estimate the cost of this product (materials, labor, overhead, development, design, etc.) will be $100,000. The product is shipped to the customer. They pay for shipping and are responsible for installation, set-up, etc. If they require assistance or training they understand it will be extra.
You get paid entirely on commission; you receive 20% of the profit. Profit is defined as the selling price minus the cost (cost in this case = $100,000).
Question 1: What price would you quote the customer? What are some of the considerations that affect your decision?
Note: An unacceptable answer is something along the lines of, “I would survey the market to determine what competitive firms are charging and quote accordingly.” That would be a cop-out; what price would you charge? This is a simple question. Don’t read anything in that is not there.
Question 2: Before you send in the quotation, you reconsider the above price and decide to increase it 5%. Does this make you a “greedy” person?
Topic Friedman and the Student:
Although it took place back in the 70s, the Ford Pinto gas tank case is a classic.
Before considering the Main Topics, view this clip on the Internet:
Friedman (Pinto): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jltnBOrCB7I
Question 1: Comment on the exchange between Milton Friedman and the student regarding the Ford Pinto. What about Friedman’s claim that the student wasn’t arguing on “principle?”
Question 2: What about Ford’s decision making process?
Question 3: What value should be placed on a human life? Please understand that this is not a literal question. Example: If the EPA is considering a regulation that will cost US businesses $20 million a year, how many lives should it save to justify the regulation?
Topic Apple and the FBI
Do you think Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, should have cooperated with the FBI and unlock the iPhone of the San Bernardino murderers? Also, is this an ethical question?
