Ethics

The purpose of the reflective journal for the ethics game simulation is to define and defend decisions made in the simulation, describe the relationship between concepts of virtue, values, and morals in the simulation, provide examples of how concepts in this simulation relate to my workplace, and explain ways in which external social pressures influence business ethics in the simulation. The first step in the simulation was to figure out the problem and the issue. My analysis of the problem was whether to warn consumers and what information to provide consumers about the contaminant. Accurately defining the issue makes analysis of the problem easier. Having to decide questions which are not clear cut is the most difficult task we face. We have now determined that the question we will answer is what information or warning you should give the consumers. We have also identified the primary stakeholders whose interests will have to be considered as you decide what to do. The Rights/Responsibilities Lens helps you identify your obligations—your duties—as well as your rights in this situation. The idea is that as we think carefully about our choices we will know our rights and responsibilities, no matter what anyone else says. The first step is to identify your duties to the various stakeholders. This lens requires that we treat people the way they have agreed to be treated . . . either because of our stated agreements (contracts) or our implied agreements. Below is a list of the duties that you might owe the stakeholders. Three of the six of them are actually your responsibility. Considering your leadership role in the company, check those which you believe apply to you in this situation. Who are the primary stakeholders in this problem' The Shareholders (Correct) The stakeholder theory acknowledges the importance of shareholders and that maximizing shareholder value is one of the company's primary purposes. The shareholders are always stakeholders, but they are no longer considered the only stakeholders of any consequence. The Board of Directors (Incorrect) Excluding the Board of Directors may seem odd. However, they have delegated the responsibility for managing the company to the CEO and other officers. Therefore, they are not directly involved in this problem. Carson Nelson, Chief Executive Officer (Correct) Often the CEO is excluded because he has delegated his authority - and responsibility - to others. In this case, however, the dilemma poses implications for the reputation of the company, as well as the possible need to explain the decision to the Board of Directors. Cary Bryant, Chief Legal Officer (Incorrect) Because the risk of harm from the contaminant is so low, any decision involves only a hypothetical risk of litigation at this point. Thus, the CLO is not a primary stakeholder in this situation. HELEN, Quality Control Manager (Correct) Many people forget that whatever decision they make will affect them as well. Your skills and reputation are both demonstrated and impacted by the decisions you make. Elaine Shields, Operations Director (Correct) Because she is responsible for your professional life, your decisions and their consequences impact her job as well as your own. Judy Birch, Director of Public Relations (Correct) She will be responsible for issuing any recall notice and dealing with media fallout if anyone is harmed by the contaminated product or if public opinion deems the company's action an inadequate response to the problem. Her job will be directly impacted by your decision. Consumers of G-BioSport products (Correct) If you disclose information about the contaminant and the risk, they will have to determine whether to return the product. If you recall the product, they will be inconvenienced. Even if you do nothing, they are stakeholders because they may be at risk of harm. Defining your duties can be difficult. Are you surprised by the answers' People who find the focus of this lens appealing are often called idealists: 1. Each person is supposed to work to be the very best that they can be. 2. As individuals use reason, they identify the principles that all people should follow. 3. People often do not live up to the ideals and so need rules. 4. Punishment or the threat of punishment keeps people in line. As before, I have marked your responses: • A appears before any stakeholder you selected as being directly involved. • An appears before those stakeholders that you did not select. • If I disagree with your choice, these symbols are marked as and . • For answers on which we agree, the text is highlighted in blue. • For answers on which we disagree, the text is highlighted in yellow. Now, let's review your duties. Which duties do you owe the stakeholders' Duty to ensure that ingredient labels provide accurate and meaningful information. (Correct) Labels that are inaccurate or do not disclose meaningful product information do not satisfy the duty of truthfulness, also known as the duty of fidelity. Duty to refund or replace defective product. (Correct) The duty of reparation, or righting wrongs, is common to all. If the company sells a defective product, it has inconvenienced consumers or worse and has a responsibility to either provide consumers with the product they paid for or to refund their purchase price. Duty to keep unpleasant information from the Board of Diretors. (Incorrect) No one likes to be the bearer of bad tidings. However, both mitigating harm - the duty of non-maleficence - and reducing liability require at times that 'unpleasant information' be shared with those responsible for taking action. Duty to prevent unfavorable product information from reaching the press. (Incorrect) Duties that focus on protecting reputation are always false duties. This lens focuses on the need to maintain integrity. Doing so and accepting the consequences is typically the best way to maintain reputation as well. The goal should always be integrity, not the appearance of integrity. Duty to maximize product sales and minimize waste. (Incorrect) You certainly have a duty to do your job, and as Quality Control Manager, that involves minimizing waste. However, framing a connection between maximizing sales - which is not actually your responsibility - and minimizing waste could tempt you to act unethically. Duty to warn consumers of known potential dangers. (Correct) Both the duty of truth-telling and the duty of non-maleficence are reflected in this statement. Whenever a company is aware of a danger, they have an obligation to tell the truth about the danger as well as a duty not to harm others. Just to review . . . we've determined that you have the following duties owed your stakeholders in this problem: • Duty to ensure that ingredient labels provide accurate and meaningful information. • Duty to refund or replace defective product. • Duty to warn consumers of known potential dangers. Just to review . . . we've determined that you have the following duties owed your stakeholders in this problem: • Duty to ensure that ingredient labels provide accurate and meaningful information. • Duty to refund or replace defective product. • Duty to warn consumers of known potential dangers. Now let's take a look at your options. I've made a list of what I think are the possible choices in this situation. Considering your duties to your stakeholders, choose the option that you think is the most ethical. Which option best fulfills the duties owed the stakeholders' Based on the duties you owe the stakeholders, you chose the following option: Disseminate information broadly about increased risk for specific groups. Offer to replace tainted product or to refund purchase price. eople who find the focus of this lens appealing are often called realists: • Each person is basically good but sometimes misguided. • As individuals follow their hearts and seek happiness, they will know how to behave ethically. • People need role models and encouragement to do the right thing. • Relationships and respect keep people in line. Here's how I marked up your response: • appears wherever you noted a low impact on a stakeholder. • appears wherever you noted a medium impact on a stakeholder. • appears wherever you noted a high impact on a stakeholder. • If I disagree, the annotations are marked as , , and . • For answers on which we agree, the text is highlighted in blue. • For answers on which we disagree, the text is highlighted in yellow. So, let's look at your assessments. How much will each stakeholder be affected by your decision' The Shareholders The impact is HIGH . . . The company has the most to lose or gain from your decision about what to do with the tainted product. The potential consequences include loss of revenue if the product is not sold or negative media attention if the product is sold and the company is seen as money-grubbing. Carson Nelson, Chief Executive Officer The impact is HIGH . . . The CEO will be the one in the hot seat having to explain how the company managed to sell a product that did not meet its own internal standards and why it has taken the action it has in response. HELEN, Quality Control Manager The impact is MEDIUM . . . Your business acumen is on the line in this case and how you resolve the problem will likely affect your future with the company. However, your job is probably not on the line because the problem of contaminated product being sold was not caused by you. Elaine Shields, Site Operations Director The impact is LOW . . . Your immediate supervisor will almost always be impacted by a decision of this magnitude. However, her job is not on the line as a result of your decision here. Judy Birch, Public Relations Director The impact is LOW . . . Although she, like your supervisor, will be impacted by your decision, managing the company's image is part of her job. Yours is not the only issue likely to impact her day's work. Consumers of G-BioSport products The impact is MEDIUM . . . Consumers will certainly be impacted by your decision. They will probably be more affected by a decision to recall the product than to provide an extra warning, because the risk of harm from the contaminant is so low. I am awarding you 150 points for your analysis. While you had difficulty discerning the impact of your decision on the stakeholders, your effort was appreciated. Before continuing, please review my explanations to see where your assessment of impact was amiss. If my reasoning doesn't seem to make sense, check the notes posted on the Ethics Coach page. he Shareholders—who want to maximize their profit, are happy in this situation if . . . Management acts consistently to maximize the company's value. The company does not act in ways that generate negative publicity or reduce the value of their stock holdings. Management does not engage in illegal or harmful actions in order to maximize the company's revenue. Avoiding illegal behavior and acting consistently with the company's core values might generate negative publicity in the short run, but in the long run it is the only option. Carson Nelson—the CEO, who is responsible for everything that goes on in the organization and potentially liable for any legal violations, is happy in this situation if... Management acts consistently with the company's core values and risk management protocols. He is informed of product problems before they become public knowledge. He does not have to give the Board of Directors bad news. As the saying goes, 'If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.' The CEO who can't give the Board of Directors bad news creates unnecessary liability. Hopefully, that CEO is also looking for a job with someone else's company, not yours. You—as you have to make and implement the decision, are happy in this situation if . . . You are not asked to violate your conscience in order to do your job. Management supports decisions that protect the public. You are never asked to do anything unpleasant. What were we just saying about heat and the kitchen' There are few if any jobs in which one never has to do anything unpleasant, certainly not any that require a demonstration of ethical maturity. Elaine Shields—the Site Operations Director and your immediate supervisor, is happy in this situation if... The actions you take are consistent with the company's core values and risk management protocols. You don't make any mistakes that impact her career negatively. You give her timely information about potential problems. Everyone hopes they make good hiring choices, but despite the best intentions, people sometimes make mistakes. A good supervisor uses mistakes as teaching opportunities, and doing so will impact her career positively. Judy Birch—who is responsible for the company's image, is happy in this situation if . . . She is informed of product problems that could result in bad publicity. The company delivers the promises made in her press releases. Employees don't do anything that creates bad publicity for the company. Oh, if only we all lived in perfect world - there would be nothing to do. Here is another area of shared responsibilities: employees have a responsibility to do their best and the PR Director's job is to maintain the company's good reputation even when there are problems. Current and future customers—who use, or may use, the company's products, are happy in this situation if . . . They are not put at unreasonable risk of harm simply so the company can make a profit. They are given enough information to make informed product choices. They can rely on the company to know what supplements they need. The company bears a responsibility to provide meaningful and accurate information so that consumers can make informed choices. The consumer then bears responsibility to make such choices Option 1 Recall all products containing tainted Fibranafren in order to avoid any possibility of a lawsuit. Option 2 Disseminate information broadly about increased risk for specific groups. Offer to replace tainted product or to refund purchase price. Option 3 Disclose the problem on company website. Provide contact information for complaints/problems. Option 4 Do nothing. If there are problems deal with them individually. Option 5 Target risk information to highest risk groups to limit liability. Option 6 Disseminate information on increased risk. Allow consumers to make informed choice. In this lens, you have determined the impact that your decision will have on the stakeholders. You have also assessed which option should make each stakeholder the happiest. A summary of your analysis is provided below: Impact Happy with… Stakeholder HIGH Option 6 The Shareholders HIGH Option 6 Carson Nelson, Chief Executive Officer MEDIUM Option 6 HELEN, Quality Control Manager MEDIUM Option 6 Consumers of G-BioSport products LOW Option 6 Elaine Shields, Site Operations Director LOW Option 6 Judy Birch, Public Relations Director By trying to create the greatest good for the greatest number of stakeholders, you chose the following option: Disseminate information on increased risk. Allow consumers to make informed choice. Communicating your Decision Bonus Points Total: 2,500 (out of 5,000) As you come to the end of the process, you have made the following decision: Disseminate information broadly about increased risk for specific groups. Offer to replace tainted product or to refund purchase price. Game Simulation that helps to have a view on new threats and opportunities. Many companies lack of unethical acts and behaviors, which results in the loss of stakeholders shares. Rethinking a company’s purpose in terms of societal needs can help to differentiate from competition, promote public trust, and increase stakeholder value. A company needs to have their mind set to do “good”, not just to do “well”. This leads to the decision, which the simulation experience changes the existing shelved products that contain the harmful substance in protecting the company of any legal lawsuits. Values and morals are the existence of everybody’s daily life. At the extent of services to others our values are tested daily based on the circumstances. This ... imulation was useful to see how hard it is to consider many others and what all needs to be considered. Furthermore, considering external influences it was hard to make easy decisions sometimes. In the first scenario the main outside influences were the customer’s health and the reputation. Since there was an issue that could have created severe health problems the social pressure from the customers was a big issue. In the second scenario the law and regulations were the outside influence. Would the company just ignore the new FDA standards or did not research the foreign country’s ethics; it could have caused many problems. So those social pressures are always a main point with a company https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/classroom/ic/classroom.aspx http://www.ethicsgame.com/Exec/CorpGame/DilemmaA.aspx