Business Ethics Activity (Quiz # 2)
Case study 1
A manufacturing company provides jobs for many people in a small town where employment is not easy to find. The
company has stayed in the town even though it could find cheaper workers elsewhere, because workers are loyal to
the company due to the jobs it provides. Over the years, the company has developed a reputation in the town for
taking care of its employees and being a responsible corporate citizen.
The manufacturing process used by the company produces a by-product that for years has flown into the town river.
The by-product has been considered harmless but some people who live near the river have reported illnesses. The by-
product does not currently violate any anti-pollution laws.
What are the issues of integrity, ethics and law posed in the case study? What options does the company have, and
what should it do and why?
Case study 2
A woman died recently, after a short, unhappy life. She wanted her ashes to be scattered in the ocean near a place she
lived during one of the brief happy times of her adult life. Her parents and immediate family had already passed away,
so she discussed her wishes with her mother-in-law, who said she would comply with her daughter-in-law's wishes. In
her will, the woman gave control of her estate to the mother-in-law. The will stated that the woman's ashes should be
scattered in the ocean, as described above. Instead, her mother-in-law buried the ashes in a family plot near her home,
because she wanted to keep the ashes close to her because of her own grief.
Assume that the mother-in-law is legally required to follow the wishes stated in the will, but that no one will check and
it is very unlikely that the mother-in-law will have any problem with the law. What are the issues of integrity, ethics
and law posed in the case study? What options does the mother-in-law have, and what should she do and why?
(Adapted from an article in the New York Times.)
Case study 4
A woman is sexually harassed by a top-level senior executive in a large company. She sues the company, and during
settlement discussions she is offered an extremely large monetary settlement. In the agreement, the woman is
required to confirm that the executive did nothing wrong, and after the agreement is signed the woman is prohibited
from discussing anything about the incident publicly. Before the date scheduled to sign the settlement agreement, the
woman's lawyer mentions that she has heard the executive has done this before, and the settlement amount is very
large because the company probably had a legal obligation to dismiss the executive previously. The company however
wants to keep the executive because he is a big money maker for the company.
What are the issues of integrity, ethics and law posed in the case study? What options does the woman have, and what
should she do and why?
