David Henry
Benji's dilemma involves the decisionwhether to sign a potentially lucrative contract with a company called New Gen, or pass on the offer. At first glance, it appears as New Gen operated with stellar business practices as evidenced by articles praising the company's effort to travel the world in search of natural health remedies and quoting the CEO's comments about raising the bar as for as ethical business practices. The first red flags that caught Benji's attention were reports that the founder of the company built up businesses, sold them at a profit, and then went onto other enterprises. Benji went on an all-expense paid meet and greet session at the company where he was given gifts. The recruiter told Benji's about the opportunities for advancement within the company as well as the potential to make s handsome salary. Benji asked about the reports of the company's practice of sending researchers all over the world. The recruiter dismissed the reports as publicity, when in fact the company actually develops their products in the lab.
This admission by the recruiter is poses the first ethical concern. At the most basic level, the company is being dishonest in the way it advertises itself to the public. In addition, by the open manner in which the recruiter made the comment, it appears that dishonesty is an accepted part of the corporate culture. The question should arise in Benji's mind, "If this is that way the act towards the public, what is to prevent the company from acting this way towards me?"
In Dobson's critique of virtue ethics, he discusses that a business can appear to be ethical and virtuous in the community, but, in reality, the company only gives this impression to create goodwill within the community (Dobson, nd). For example, some companies advertise that they engage in environmentally conscious business practices, when in actuality they damage the environment. This practice is known as green washing. Not only does this practice violate real ethical behavior, it also violates strategic ethical practices. With strategic ethical practices, the company culture acts in a manner that demonstrates fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders. Dishonest acts and a corporate culture that is devoid of integrity can jeopardize the both the business as a whole, as well as the financial interests of the stakeholder. The consequences of failing to act according to strategically ethical business practices are demonstrated by the failures in the 2000's of Enron, Arthur Anderson, and HealthSouth (Carroll, 2004). Further evidence of failing to act with integrity is the CEO stating his care and concern for others, and then abruptly telling the mother of a crying infant to leave the room to show consideration for the other people who were attending the conference.
The CEO then demonstrated a complete lack of integrity by referring to the company's customers as "fat, lazy, lethargic Americans" in the frame of leading a religious revival. Additionally, this attitude toward customer violates the premise of strategy of good corporate governance in that it fails to put the customer first (Davidson, 2003). Moreover, this type of behavior appears to indoctrinate potential employees in a corporate culture that denigrates the very customers that the business relies upon to make a profit. The consequences of this behavior is demonstrated by the failure of Enron when emails and phone messages were released that referred to customers in an unflattering and degrading manner.
If one was to look at the company's attitudes and actions, there seems to be an agreement to work cooperative to make a profit through any means possible, whether the action is virtuous or not. Despite the fact that there is this
implied