Is the release of negative research information by a company that is actively shorting the shares of that company an unethical business practice? Why or why not?
> Mycoskie designed the TOMS model from the ground up. Could an established company improve its ethical standards by launching a model like TOMS? How?
> Is it ethical for covered entities to be excused from getting patient permission to use their private information for routine purposes? Why or why not?
> Why would customers pay such a high price for a simple linen shoe or pair of sunglasses?
> If patients lack the language skills or education to understand the significance of informed consent or the use of a placebo, is it ethical to allow them to participate in the drug trial? Why or why not?
> What regulations are in place to oversee the professional and ethical management of these trials?
> Identify three factors that are driving pharmaceutical companies to host clinical drug trials overseas.
> If Apple is committed to addressing working conditions at Foxconn factories, should “no worse than any other factory in China” be an acceptable benchmark? Why or why not?
> Review the CSR policies of a Fortune 100 company of your choice. Would you classify its policies as ethical, altruistic, strategic, or a combination of all three? Provide examples to support your answer.
> What proposals would you offer to make the offshoring of clinical drug trials a more ethical process for all the stakeholders involved?
> Divide into two teams. One team must prepare a presentation advocating for the development of a standardized global code of conduct. The other team must prepare a presentation arguing for the development of a more flexible local code of conduct that take
> Divide into two groups and prepare arguments for and against the following behavior: You have been sent to investigate a fraud claim made against your company by the Customs [department] in one of the countries where you do business. On arrival, an offic
> Divide into two groups and prepare arguments for and against the following behavior: Your American company operates manufacturing plants throughout Asia, with a combined staff of 20,000 employees. In 2003, after Asia was hit with the severe acute respira
> Divide into two teams. One team must defend the employer position on employee monitoring. The other team must defend the employee position. Draw on the policies and experiences you have gathered from your own jobs.
> Divide into groups of three or four. Each group must map out its proposal for restoring the ethical reputation of a multinational corporation that has been fined for one of the following transgressions: bribery, pollution, operating sweatshops, or employ
> Do you think global businesses would be willing to subscribe to a global code of conduct? Explain your answer.
> How would the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) that we reviewed in Chapter 6 come into play here?
> Would it be easier to just follow the business practices and customs of the country in which you’re doing business? Why or why not?
> Which offers greater guidance to international businesses, the UN Global Compact or the OECD guidelines? Explain your answer.
> Are there more stakeholders for an international or global company than a domestic one? Explain your answer.
> Does the SEC bear any responsibility in the event of the Madoff Scheme? In what way?
> Charles Ponzi was a working-class Italian immigrant who was eager to find success in America. Bernard Madoff was already a multimillionaire before he started his scheme. Does that make one more unethical than the other? Why or why not?
> How could this apparently endemic problem be approached differently?
> Your company is a major fruit processor that maintains long-term contracts with plantation owners in Central America to guarantee supplies of high quality produce. Many of those plantations are in politically unstable areas and your U.S.-based teams trav
> Review the annual report of a Fortune 100 company of your choice. What evidence can you find of triple bottom-line reporting in the report? Provide examples to support your answer.
> Divide into two teams. One team must defend the introduction of Sarbanes-Oxley as a federal deterrent to corporate malfeasance. The other team must criticize the legislation as being ineffective and an administrative burden.
> You are a midlevel manager for the government of a small African nation that relies heavily on oil revenues to run the country’s budget. The recent increase in the price of oil has improved your country’s budget significantly and, as a result, many new i
> Divide into groups of three or four. Distribute the 11 sections of SOX reviewed in this chapter. Each group must prepare a brief presentation outlining the relative importance of its section to the overall impact of SOX and the prohibition of unethical b
> Do you think the requirement that CEOs and CFOs sign off on their company accounts will increase investor confidence in those accounts? Why or why not?
> Why may the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 be regarded as one of the most controversial pieces of corporate legislation in recent history?
> What issues prompted the revision of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations in 2004?
> Although Johnson & Johnson took a massive short-term loss as a result of its actions, it was cushioned by the relative wealth of the company. Should it have acted the same way if the survival of the firm were at stake?
> “The FCPA has too many exceptions to be an effective deterrent to unethical business practices.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Explain your answer.
> Which is the most effective piece of legislation for enforcing ethical business practices: FCPA, FSGO, SOX, or Dodd-Frank? Explain your answer.
> Based on the information in this chapter, can the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 prevent “too big to fail”? Explain your answer.
> What is the most ethical way to do business internationally?
> Which piece of legislation would apply to each transgression?
> What would be the penalties for each transgression?
> Identify the ethical transgressions in this case.
> If Universal could prove that it had a compliance program in place, how would that affect the penalties?
> Locate the website for Berlin-based Transparency International (TI). a. What is the stated mission of TI? b. Explain the Corruption Perception Index. c. Which are the least and most corrupt countries on the index? d. Explain the European National Integr
> Using Internet research, review the involvement of Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). a. What was Warren’s involvement in the government response to the collapse of the financial markets? b. How is
> Identify the ethical violations that occurred in this case.
> What could Rupert Murdoch have done differently here?
> What did SocGen do wrong?
> What did Kerviel do wrong?
> What is the right thing to do here?
> What else should Tesco do to restore investor confidence in their business ethics?
> Does PwC bear some responsibility here? Why or why not?
> Does the fact that Citron Research was proven right in its accusations about Valeant validate its short-selling tactics?
> Critics have described the Valeant board of directors as weak. Is that a fair assessment? Why or why not?
> Why do you think Bill Ackman has remained so supportive of Valeant?
> Identify three examples of poor corporate governance in this case.
> What actions could SocGen have taken to prevent such large losses?
> Do you think that the closure of The News of The World represents an appropriate resolution of this scandal? Why or why not?
> Would the outcome have been different if Kerviel’s trades in European futures had worked out?
> What are her options here?
> Divide into two groups and prepare arguments for and against the following behavior: You run your own graphic design company as a one-person show, doing primarily small business projects and subcontracting work for larger graphic design agencies. You hav
> Who are the stakeholders in this case?
> Lewis identified three immediate priorities in turning the Tesco situation around. What are they and will they be enough? Explain.
> Does the fact that the actions that led to the overstatement of profits had been going on for over a year make the lack of governance any worse? Why or why not?
> Were the actions taken by newly appointed chief executive Dave Lewis sufficient to address that lack of governance? Explain.
> In what way does this scandal demonstrate a lack of corporate governance on Tesco’s part?
> How can the newly staffed board of directors begin to restore investor confidence in Valeant?
> You serve on your organization’s compensation committee, and you are meeting to negotiate the retirement package for your CEO who is retiring after a very successful 40-year career with your organization—the last 20 as CEO, during which time the company’
> Divide into two teams. One team must prepare a presentation advocating for the separation of the roles of chairperson and CEO. The other team must prepare a presentation arguing for the continued practice of allowing one corporation executive to be both
> You sit on the board of directors of a major airline that just experienced a horrendous customer service event. A severe snowstorm stranded several of your planes and caused a ripple effect throughout your flight schedule, stranding thousands of passenge
> Why would Andy Coulson feel pressure to resign as head of the government’s media operations only eight months after being appointed to the position?
> Which stakeholders will be affected by Kathy’s decision?
> What is the value of adding “outside directors” to your board?
> Many experienced senior business executives serve on multiple corporate boards. Is this a good thing? Explain your answer.
> Which is more important to effective corporate governance: an audit committee or a compensation committee? Why?
> Why do corporations need a board of directors?
> Many of Enron’s “independent” directors were affiliated with organizations that benefited directly from Enron’s operations. How would you address this clear conflict of interest?
> Was it a good idea to fire them all at the same time with no detailed explanation?
> Give some examples of the kind of ethical misconduct that could have led to the termination of the entire senior leadership of GlobalMutual.
> Who would most likely have intervened to terminate the senior team over issues of conduct?
> How are the stakeholders of GlobalMutual likely to react to this news? Explain your answer.
> Review the website of the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) at www.icgn.org. a. What is the ICGN’s stated mission? b. How can this organization affect corporate governance in the business world? c. The ICGN offers “policy” guidance in se
> Why shouldn’t National just deliver the American version of CFS? If it works here, it should work there.
> If the alleged phone hacking and bribery took place as far back as 2003, how is it possible that the story was not made public until 2009?
> Food scientists argue that Mother nature has been genetically modifying plant species for thousands of years, and that technology now gives them the opportunity to do the same for the welfare of a global population. Explain the ethical position of this a
> Did Japan make the right decision when it banned all imports of U.S. soft wheat?
> Is it ethical to direct company donations to support “pet projects of senior managers or board members”? Why or why not?
> Is it ethical to direct company donations to “nonprofit groups closely aligned with the interests of the corporation’s employees, communities, and business objectives”? Why or why not?
> What is meant by the term sustainable capitalism?
> Was it ethical for Monsanto to settle the litigation with no admission of responsibility or commitment to change any internal practices? Why or why not?
> What should it have done differently?
> Did Monsanto violate any ethical standards in developing genetically modified wheat and planning to sell it as a companion product to Roundup?
> Does the fact that Target and General Mills donate five times more than the minimum 1 percent make them five times more socially responsible? Why or why not?
> Visit the website for the Institute for Global Ethics (IGE) at www.globalethics.org. a. What is IGE’s stated purpose? b. Which five values does the IGE identify in building a code of ethics? c. How could a corporation benefit from the services of the Ins
> The authors of this article claim that “an effectively managed contribution program can deliver strong returns to a corporation.” What might those returns be?
> If you discovered that a colleague at work had lied on her résumé, what would you do?
> Why would budgeting a fixed percentage of pretax profits for corporate philanthropy be seen as a more convincing commitment to CSR than just funding a variety of projects?
> Why would companies choose to inflate the image of their corporate citizenship?
> How would you go about introducing sustainable capitalism in your company?
> What challenges do you foresee in the broader acceptance of sustainable capitalism around the world?
> Based on the information in this case and a review of GenerationIM’s manifesto document, is there any correlation of its proposal to the commonly accepted tenets of CSR?
> On what grounds could the CSR initiatives of a corporation be dismissed as “window-dressing”?
> Why is “people, planet, profits” a more media-friendly message than a triple bottom-line approach to CSR?
> Anti-GMO protesters warn of the creation of “frankenfoods” that have the potential to harm our bodies in ways that we do not yet understand. Explain the ethical position of this argument.
