Referring to Erin Brockovich (2000), a biographical film featuring Julia Roberts, this presentation reviews the respective contributions that stakeholder analysis, conflict of interest analysis, cost–benefit analysis, case study analysis, and ethical decision-making frameworks can make to the exploration of business ethics.

1. Ethics at the Movies: Erin Brockovich (2000) Olivier Serrat
2020

2. Erin Brockovich: Summary
Movie Poster Erin Brokovich (Julia
Roberts)
Ed Masry (Albert
Finney)
George (Aaron
Eckhart)
Erin Brockovich (DeVito, Shamberg, & Sher,
2000, 2:11:00) is a biographical film of
Universal Pictures, directed by Steven
Soderbergh and written by Susannah
Grant. The film dramatizes the true story
of the eponymous character, portrayed by
Julia Roberts, who while employed as a
legal clerk almost single-handedly fought
and won a class action against a multi-
billion-dollar power company.
In 2000, Julia Roberts won the Academy
Award for Best Actress for her performance
in Erin Brockovich.

3. Erin Brockovich: Critic Reviews
The most memorable David vs. Goliath courtroom showdown in recent
memory—Marjorie Baumgarten
Takes the raw truth and makes it jubilantly, terrifically entertaining—
Michael Wilmington
Surely one of the canniest and most accurate films about American
working-class life ever—Charles Taylor
Source: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/erin_brockovich. (n.d).

4. Erin Brockovich: Synopsis
After losing a personal injury lawsuit, Erin Brockovich browbeats her lawyer into
giving her a job. While filing papers, Erin is perplexed to find medical records
among the real estate transactions of the small community of Hinkley, San Bernardino
County, California; on a whim, she investigates the Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
Erin discovers that PG&E has been quietly buying land contaminated with hexavalent
chromium—a carcinogenic toxic waste it had been dumping—thereby poisoning
residents via groundwater. To conceal its wrongdoings, PG&E had also been
supplying doctors at company expense. In the end, Erin pits 634 residents of Hinkley
against PG&E in one of the biggest class action lawsuits in American history, settled in
1996 for $333 million.
Note: From 1952 to 1966, PG&E had used hexavalent chromium to cool a compressor station on
the natural gas pipeline near Hinkley. Wastewater had been disposed of in unlined spreading
ponds, allowing it to percolate into groundwater and so contaminate soils and water wells in the
surroundings.

5. Teaching Methodologies on Ethics
Five "teaching"
methodologies
have been used
to help students
analyze cases in
business ethics
(Sacred Heart
University, n.d.).
• Ethical Decision-Making Frameworks invite reference to
common sources of ethical standards.
• Case Study Analysis helps investigate a problem, examine
alternatives, and propose the most effective solution.
• Stakeholder Analysis means to identify all relevant parties;
group them by level of participation, interest, and influence in a
project; and determine how best to involve each group
throughout.
• Conflict of Interest Analysis entails examining situations in
which a person or organization holds multiple interests, thereby
running the risk that serving one interest might work against
another, typically to the detriment of a third party.
• Cost–Benefit Analysis sums the benefits of an action and then
subtracts the costs associated with taking it.

6. Erin Brockovich: Relevance of Teaching Methodologies on
Ethics
Stakeholder analysis, conflict of interest analysis, and cost–benefit analysis cannot shine much
light on ethical concerns in Erin Brockovich.
• Stakeholder Analysis means to identify stakeholders, gain early alignment on goals and
plans, and address conflicts or issues ex-ante: and so, the technique is used before, not
after, an intervention.
• Conflict of Interest Analysis is likewise futile in this case: the methodology would uncover
the obvious, namely, that PG&E stuck to its financial imperatives, and that the inhabitants
of Hinkley were unaware of the cause of cancers or did not know what to do (and so
could not display conflicts of interest).
• Cost–Benefit Analysis is also to be used ex-ante, not ex-post: pursuant to groundwater
contamination, but before the class action, PG&E evidently found it cheaper to pay the
medical bills of the affected parties in Hinkley than to remediate water damage.
• Case Study Analysis could cast light on ethical concerns: but, the methodology is about
up-close, in-depth examination of a particular situation, with limited generalizability from
"no theory first" research design.

7. Erin Brockovich: Relevant Ethical Principles
• The Principle of the Common Good invites recognition of situations in which the pursuit
of self-interest by an organization can lead to outcomes that harm the interests of many.
• The Principle of Responsible Stewardship addresses the substantive content and
effects of action relating water management to public health, including responsibility for
environmental remediation.
• The Precautionary Principle emphasizes caution, pausing, and review before
introducing solutions that may prove disastrous.
• The Principle of Respect for Human Dignity calls for the meeting of basic needs
including the promotion of human health and well-being.
• The Principle of Equity and Proportionality requires that priority attention be given to
the most immediately at risk, the least well-off, and the vulnerable.
• The Principle of Inclusive and Deliberative Participation necessitates ex-ante a
deliberative and participatory process marked by transparency, universal access to
information, inclusiveness, and individual and community empowerment.
Ethical Decision-Making Frameworks can help identify the moral concerns of Erin
Brockovich.

8. Annex: References
DeVito, D., Shamberg, M., & Sher, S. (Producers), & Soderbergh, S. (Director). (2000). Erin
Brockovich [Motion Picture]. United States: Universal Pictures.
Rotten Tomatoes. (n.d.). Rotten Tomatoes: Erin Brockovich. Retrieved from
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/erin_brockovich
Sacred Heart University. (n.d.). Integrating ethics in the business classroom.

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