Business Ethics Case Study: The Carlson Company

My recommendation is for the company to stay focused on its main competitive advantage of supplying a

The Cheesecake Factory has been one of the more successful chain restaurants in recent years because they have provided great food and outstanding customer service in a fun atmosphere. The cheesecake factory employs a high standard of general conduct and moral aptitude. As a chief executive officer in today’s society, it is my responsibility to ensure The Cheesecake Factory abides by the laws and ethical duties that are mandated by today’s society. There is a copious amount of benefits to being a chief executive officer, however there is an equal amount of risk as chief executive officers are held liable for almost any action or infraction that their company has induced.

Beginning in 1990, the “Danish Clog” was brought to life in the United States. It began as a small company selling the shoes at horse shows but quickly grew larger than was imagined. Expansion of the product went from a single closed back clog to over 3000 products being sold in over 3,500 retail locations. During the past fifteen years there have been many offers to sell interest in the company. You are now becoming concerned that the company that was such as success all of these years may not be structured appropriately to promote further growth. You are now faced with a decision on how to can move forward. Should you consider a merger that will allow growth and a more conventional way of operations?

The current size of the organisation is not as big as some of the rivals in the area. The chain compromises of 15 stores and has a big head office and

The problem to be investigated is the application of business ethics. In the business world, ethics are extremely important. Ethics are prime elements that help a business to grow and to become more productive. It is by applying proper business ethics that a business can operate in a moral or ethical business environment and managed to conduct all activities in a manner that maximizes profits while not compromising all other non-economic concerns(Schwab, 1996). Businesses have over the years failed to nurture business ethics in order to fulfill shareholders' interests and to have a culture that is oriented towards profit maximization and high performance(Jennings, 2012; Sims & Felton, 2006). This has led business to have gray areas in their activities. Gray areas are those situations or problems that do not fit exactly into any ethical analysis. These are the activities which may be represented to be immoral as a result of lying and false representations on the part of the business.

The Carlson Company wants to build a hotel resort in Papapgayo Costa Rica. The area is known for a high activity of sex trafficking of children. The trafficking normally operates out of hotels therefore, building a hotel complex in this area could increase the activity of sex trafficking. Carlson Company signed a code of ethics that provided tourism and hotel companies with rules in order to prevent child sex trafficking. If Carlson Company decided to move forward with building the hotel complex, they would have to strictly follow the code of ethics that they signed.

ABC Learning Ltd was an Australian provider of early child hood education services, founded in Queensland in 1988, that through its 18 centres was the largest single operator of early childhood education services in Australia by 1997. Led by founder Eddy Groves, ABC Learning Ltd continued to grow, through the opening of new centres and the acquisitions of rivals i.e. peppercorn Childcare in 2004 in which 450 centres were purchased for $340 million. “By 2008, ABC Learning was the largest provider of childcare, holding around 20 per cent of the long day care market and providing care to over 100 000 children” (Senate education, employment workplace relations committee, 2009).

Business ethics refers to the consideration of moral decisions and responsibilities in the process of operating a business. Business ethics, practiced throughout the deepest layers of a company, become the heart and soul of the company 's culture and can mean the difference between success and failure. Values drive behavior and therefore need to be consciously stated, but they also need to be affirmed by actions. Ethical business environments are created with foundations of integrity, accountability and commitment.

When it comes to conducting research, you would need to find which way would be best to inform the customers on the issue that’s presented. You would need to have basic information on how much money this will cost the customer and how cost effective this will be. Research should be done to find out what the city leaders have done unethically and if these individuals should still be employed within the company.

Ethics in the Lockheed Martin Corporation didn’t always have the message it has today. As I read through the book, Ethics at Work: Creating Virtue at an American Corporation, specifically chapter two, I came across some very interesting issues this corporation has had to deal with over the past few decades that go back to the 1920’s and earlier. In the following I’ll go over a few points that led to the development of Lockheed Martine’s current ethics program. Ill cover some ethics issues that were overcame on the way to a great ethics program. First let’s talk about the beginnings that started the Lockheed Martin Corporation so you can get an idea of the foundation of the company itself.

The centre of the debate about the CSR is the nature and extent of corporate obligations that extend beyond the economic and legal responsibilities of the firm. “The idea of social responsibilities supposes that the corporation has not only economic and legal obligations, but also certain responsibilities to society which extend beyond these obligations” (McGuire, 1963: 144). The issue is therefore critical for the firm as it is in the business’s long-term self-interest to be socially responsible. If Chiquita wants to have a healthy climate in which to function in the future, it must take actions now to ensure its long-term viability. Ultimately it will benefit the company by “winning the public” because the public believe firms should take on social responsibility.

a. The Wallace Group suffers from moving back and forth from an entrepreneurial mode to adaptive mode in its decision making. This can be clearly seen from the early days of Harold Wallace running all three businesses, reacting to existing problems as they arise, to the more recent events of settling unresolved disputes between Corporate

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.

Corporate social responsibility has been one the key business buzz words of the 21st century. Consumers' discontent with the corporation has forced it to try and rectify its negative image by associating its name with good deeds. Social responsibility has become one of the corporation's most pressing issues, each company striving to outdo the next with its philanthropic image. People feel that the corporation has done great harm to both the environment and to society and that with all of its wealth and power, it should be leading the fight to save the Earth, to combat poverty and illness and etc. "Corporations are now expected to deliver the good, not just the goods; to pursue

9. The three major phases of a company growth are the entrepreneurial phase, the managerial phase and the consolidation phase. First, in the entrepreneurial phase a company focuses on its core activities and on which market paths it should follow. Moreover, in terms of their facility, its policy can be expected to emphasize on its functional needs rather than expending resources on symbolic features. Additionally, there might be some uncertainty regarding the company future and a lack of access to professional knowledge of space management, which may cause overcrowding and badly chosen timing of relocation.