ETHICAL DECISIONS MOD 4 Start by reading and following these instructions: 1. Quickly skim the questions or assignment below and the assignment rubric to help you focus. 2. Read the required chapter(s) of the textbook and any additional recommended resources. Some answers may require you to do additional research on the Internet or in other reference sources. Choose your sources carefully. 3. Consider the discussions and any insights gained from it. 4. Create your Assignment submission and be sure to cite your sources, use APA style as required, check your spelling. Assignment: 1. Identify a company or organization in the media or with which you are familiar that operates ethically. What are the reasons this company/organization is ethical? (You may refer to the leadership, management, products, or services of the organization.) 2. Do you believe the covenantal ethic and social contract views are realistic for large organizations like Bank of America, JPMorgan, ExxonMobil, and Citibank, or federal agencies like the FTC and the Department of Defense? Why or why not? Explain. 3. Outline some steps you would recommend for preventing future corporate scandals like Enron, WorldCom, and the subprime lending crisis based on the contents of this module. 4. My job requires that I lie every day I go to work. I work for a private investigation agency called XRT. Most of the work I do involves undercover operations, mobile surveillances, and groundwork searches to determine the whereabouts of manufacturers that produce counterfeit merchandise. Each assignment I take requires some deception on my part. Recently I have become very conscious of the fact that I frequently have to lie to obtain concrete evidence for a client. I sometimes dig myself so deeply into a lie that I naturally take it to the next level, without ever accomplishing the core purpose of the investigation. Working for an investigative agency engages me in assignments that vary on a day-to-day basis. I choose to work for XRT because it is not a routine 9-to-5 desk job. But to continue working for the agency means I will constantly be developing new untruthful stories. And the longer I decide to stay at XRT, the more involved the assignments will be. To leave would probably force me into a job photocopying and fling paperwork once I graduate from college. Recently I was given an assignment that I believed would lead me to entrap a subject to obtain evidence for a client. The subject had applied for disability on workers’ compensation after being hit by a truck. Because the subject refused to partake in any strenuous activity because of the accident, I was instructed to fake a flat tire and videotape the subject changing it for me. Although I did not feel comfortable engaging in this type of act, my supervisors assured me that it was ethical practice and not entrapment. Coworkers and other supervisors assured me that this was a standard “industry practice,” and that we would go out of busine ...

1. ETHICAL DECISIONS
MOD 4
Start by reading and following these instructions:
1. Quickly skim the questions or assignment below and the
assignment rubric to help you focus.
2. Read the required chapter(s) of the textbook and any
additional recommended resources. Some answers may require
you to do additional research on the Internet or in other
reference sources. Choose your sources carefully.
3. Consider the discussions and any insights gained from it.
4. Create your Assignment submission and be sure to cite your
sources, use APA style as required, check your spelling.
Assignment:
1. Identify a company or organization in the media or with
which you are familiar that operates ethically. What are the
reasons this company/organization is ethical? (You may refer to
the leadership, management, products, or services of the
organization.)
2. Do you believe the covenantal ethic and social contract views
are realistic for large organizations like Bank of America,
JPMorgan, ExxonMobil, and Citibank, or federal agencies like
the FTC and the Department of Defense? Why or why not?
Explain.
3. Outline some steps you would recommend for preventing
future corporate scandals like Enron, WorldCom, and the
subprime lending crisis based on the contents of this module.
4. My job requires that I lie every day I go to work. I work for a
private investigation agency called XRT. Most of the work I do
involves undercover operations, mobile surveillances, and
groundwork searches to determine the whereabouts
of manufacturers that produce counterfeit merchandise. Each
assignment I take requires some deception on my part. Recently
I have become very conscious of the fact that I frequently have
to lie to obtain concrete evidence for a client. I sometimes dig

2. myself so deeply into a lie that I naturally take it to the next
level, without ever accomplishing the core purpose of the
investigation.
Working for an investigative agency engages me in assignments
that vary on a day-to-day basis. I choose to work for XRT
because it is not a routine 9-to-5 desk job. But to continue
working for the agency means I will constantly be developing
new untruthful stories. And the longer I decide to stay at XRT,
the more involved the assignments will be. To leave would
probably force me into a job photocopying and fling paperwork
once I graduate from college. Recently I was given an
assignment that I believed would lead me to entrap a subject to
obtain evidence for a client. The subject had applied for
disability on workers’ compensation after being hit by a truck.
Because the subject refused to partake in any strenuous activity
because of the accident, I was instructed to fake a flat tire and
videotape the subject changing it for me. Although I did not feel
comfortable engaging in this type of act, my supervisors assured
me that it was ethical practice and not entrapment.
Coworkers and other supervisors assured me that this was a
standard “industry practice,” and that we would go out
of business if we didn’t “fudge” the facts once in a while. I was
told, “Do you think every business does its work and makes
profits in a purely ethical way? Get real. I don’t know what
they’re teaching you in college, but this is the real world.” It
was either do the assignment or find myself on the street— in
an economy with no jobs.
1. What is the dilemma here, or isn’t there one?
2. What would you have done in the writer’s situation? Explain.
3. React to the comment, “Do you think every business does its
work and makes profits in a purely ethical way? Get real. I don’t
know what they’re teaching you in college, but this is the real
world.” Do you agree or disagree? Why?
4. Describe the ethics of this company.
5. Compare and contrast your personal ethics with the company
ethics revealed here?

3. MOD 5
Start by reading and following these instructions:
1. Quickly skim the questions or assignment below and the
assignment rubric to help you focus.
2. Read the required chapter(s) of the textbook and any
additional recommended resources. Some answers may require
you to do additional research on the Internet or in other
reference sources. Choose your sources carefully.
3. Consider the discussions and any insights gained from it.
4. Create your Assignment submission and be sure to cite your
sources, use APA style as required, check your spelling.
Assignment:
1. Where does the liability of a company end and the
responsibility of consumers begin for products? Explain your
answer as you define this question more specifically.
2. Evaluate and comment on this statement: “North American
and European countries have created waste, pollution, and
environmental devastation for decades, even centuries. Is it fair
that countries like China and India, new to these behaviors,
should have the same sanctions now regarding their use of
technologies, fuels, and other polluting devices as North
America and Europe?”
3. Do you believe cigarette, cigar, and pipe smoking should be
banned from all public places where passive smoking can affect
nonsmokers? Explain. Use the following (or other) web sites to
argue your
position: www.cdc.gov; www.tobacco.org; www.thetruth.com;
www.trytostop.org; www.cancer.org; www.getoutraged.com.
4. I am a project manager who supports corporate-citizenship-
funded programs for our large insurance company. I am
responsible for helping choose proposals to support for
environmental, community education, and alumni related
projects. Last year, the division in which I work facilitated 120

4. sponsorships, engaged 100 employees, and provided nearly 25
speakers to various programs. We have a set of criteria to guide
our decision-making process and to help proposals that
demonstrate real need. This focus aligns with the mission of the
company. Still, there are many organizations with proposals that
are high profile, legacy, and/or ones also supported by
executives at our firm.
These executive-backed requests sometimes receive preferential
treatment over the requests that do meet our needs criteria.
Several individuals and groups in the company who are aware
of these exceptions either shrug it off or feel comfortably
conflicted. Executives form close ties with some of the groups
who receive funding without going through our formal process.
A dilemma our group faced last year occurred when one
executive pressured us to fund a non-profit that his
sister founded. It was a small non-profit with an
environmental focus in an unassigned area and community in
which our Program operates. While this is not the only time
executives have bypassed our company policy, it is one that
smacked of nepotism! While I hesitate to judge whether or not
this particular executive was right or wrong, I continue to have
issues with the assumed power and authority that executives in
our firm take to trump our mandated mission and decisions with
regard to funding needy programs. What more should I have
done (should I do) to stand up for my personal and professional
beliefs?
My reasoning to execute the sponsorship of that particular
program was because I was afraid of the backlash if I did not
act. The organization has created a culture where this is
acceptable and even though I am not comfortable with this part
of our culture, I cannot do much to change it at this point. I
cringe at this particular situation and others since I was raised
with an ethic of fairness and acting justly toward others. If all
people cannot act in a certain way, then no one should act that
way. It is difficult managing this process in the real world
because people and organizations inevitably have competing

5. interests, stakes, and power in the hierarchy of a company.
1. What exactly is the conflict of interest here?
2. Is this a serious conflict of interest or just a “business as
usual” situation? Explain.
3. What would you have done in this situation before the
executive took a decision to fund the sister’s program if you had
been this project manager? Explain.
4. Describe the ethical principles (or reasoning) you used in
your answer to question 3.
MOD 6
Start by reading and following these instructions:
1. Quickly skim the questions or assignment below and the
assignment rubric to help you focus.
2. Read the required chapter(s) of the textbook and any
additional recommended resources. Some answers may require
you to do additional research on the Internet or in other
reference sources. Choose your sources carefully.
3. Consider the discussions and any insights gained from it.
4. Create your Assignment submission and be sure to cite your
sources, use APA style as required, check your spelling.
Assignment:
1. Do you believe leaders in large Fortune 500 companies
follow and model their stated visions, missions, and values in
everyday business dealings? Explain. Identify a Fortune 500
company and CEO in the news that demonstrates ethical
behavior. Is there any evidence that his or her company’s
performance is related to ethical leadership behavior? Explain.
2. What clues would you look for in identifying ethical and
unethical activities by evaluating an organization’s structure?
Explain.
3. Draft a brief values statement (or list some major values) of
the ideal company for which you would like to work. Assess a
business you know well using your list. What similarities and

6. differences did you find? Compare your list to the examples in
this chapter. What are the similarities or differences?
4. Which is most effective for organizational stakeholders:
internal self-regulation or government regulation? Explain your
answer.