Case Study Questions On Corporate And Personal Obligations

Principles of personal responsibilities and working in a business environment 201 TC2-1 2 4 32 31/12/2013

* Ensure that the well being of the customer is your first priority i.e. a doctor is called, they attend and help the customer

Corporations can be large or small but they all have some sort of ethical impact on their employees, shareholders, customers, community, and surrounding environments. Richard DeGeorge writes, “We can speak of corporations having moral responsibilities to act in certain ways, and they are morally responsible for the consequences of their actions on people.” (p. 200). Large corporations are comprised of the board of directors, management, and their workers. They also deal with suppliers, customers, and have competitors. This essay will examine the moral responsibilities within a corporation.

2. Decide who might be harmed and how, this will involve consideration of everyone in the workplace such as

The needs of customers may sometimes be conflicting (for example, managers want production results and longer working hours whereas employees want more time off and focus on work/life balance).

Please answer the questions posed at the end of each case study in essay form.  Each essay will be judged on your capacity to present strong, logical discussions that support your conclusions.

1) Prepare common-sized balance sheets and income statements for Just for Feet for the period 1996-1998. Also, compute key liquidity, solvency, activity, and profitability ratios for 1997-1998. Given these data, comment on what you believe were the high-risk financial statement items for the 1998 Just for Feet audit.

In the case of Anthony, a New Jersey resident and owner of a waste disposal company in the state of New Jersey, and his two business associates, Paul and Silvio, whom suffered severe injuries due to a motor vehicle accident caused by a negligent truck driver; they have great standing to sue against the neglectful driver and the company associated with the ownership of the vehicle. Regardless of the diversity of their residency/ citizenship, the affected party can proceed to sue the corporation responsible for the damages caused by their staff and property; reason being that they are protected under the Constitution’s diversity of citizenship, and the privileges and immunities clause. Furthermore, these two constitutional clauses in addition to the commerce clause, dictate the court that the matter needs to be brought to.

“Brad is a production engineer at a bicycle company and part of his job includes inspecting broken bikes and drafting the design repairs for their repair” (Bartlett). Brad is considering replacing a broken brake cable with a more durable material, even though the customer did not request it in their order and specifically requested that “No aesthetic changes be made to the bike” (Bartlett). Brad’s manager suggests that his considered actions would go against the company’s policy of “The customer is always right.” Should Brad disobey the manager and the customer to possibly lose his job or go along with

an action can't be right if the people who are made happy by it are outnumbered by the people who are made unhappy by it.

There is very poor customer satisfaction, service and focus. The client realised that the project was in trouble and requested that the division general manager and his entire staff visit the customer’s plant for progress and a ‘get well’ report. Instead the division general manager sent Reichart, the project manager, and four line managers to visit the customer. The situation deteriorated to such an extent that the customer assigned a representative to Reichart’s department to be ‘on site’ and provide constant updates and problem identifications.

Ethical dilemmas are virtually impossible to avoid if you are a participant in the workforce. The definition of an ethical dilemma stands as a situation that challenges two or more “right” values that arise in a conflict (Treviño & Nelson, 2014). As ethical persons, how may we overcome ethical dilemmas and finish on the “right” side? The research mentioned in Trevino’s and Nelson’s book, “Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk About How to Do It Right,” suggests that preparing for specific ethical challenges before a situation occurs can adequately prepare the workforce to better handle real-world applications when an ethical situation transpires. The notion that ethics is teachable inspires the following case analysis. The case analysis involving chemical safety will discuss the facts and issues, stakeholders, decision alternatives, and real-work constraints. Focusing on each of the previously mentioned topics, I will describe the applications using Utilitarian, Kantian Ethics, and Rawlsian Justice Analysis’s.

Kate is the owner of a successful business, selling women’s shoes. Her business is expanding fast and she wants to upgrade her business structure to a more appropriate one. What would be your recommendation to Kate and why? What are the factors that influence you with this advice?

Traits associated to a psychopath include irresponsibility, manipulation, grandioseness, lack of empathy, asocial tendencies, inability to feel remorse, refusal to take responsibility for one's actions and superficial relations with others. Modern day corporations display every one of the previously listed characteristics. Is it right that an institution, whose power now rivals that of the State that once created it to seek the better welfare of its citizens, display the psychological traits of a dangerous personality disorder? Many say no: there is a rising discomfort with the corporation and its pervasion into every sphere of human life and it is this uneasiness that has prompted many academics to further study the corporation and its

This case study was a powerful example to illustrate the presence of ethics within the