Dilenma in the Work Place

Dilemma in the Workplace Draft

Lori Laws, Sade' M. Perkins, Elleena Heidelberg, ShenitaFrith

PHL/323

January 31, 2011

Chuck Thompson

Dilemma in the WorkplaceDraft

I. Introduction: Write a summary of the expected moral obligations a family owned business should have to its employees and customers

A. Describe the impact Adelphia had on the cable industry

1. Adelphia was the fifth largest cable company before filing bankruptcy

2. Adelphia provided long distance telephone service to 110,000 customers in 27 states

B. Describe the impact Adelphia had on the sports industry

1. In 1990, Adelphia launched a regional sports network

2. In 1997, Adelphia purchased NHL’s Buffalo Sabres

3. In 1999, Adelphia purchased the naming rights to a football stadium

C. Describe the impact Adelphia had on the stock market

1. Adelphia’s stock price plummeted after it was delisted from the NASDAQ after failure to file its 2001 10K

2. Adelphia filed for bankruptcy soon afterwards

D. Thesis: Adelphia, being a family-owned business, made it easy to hide the illegal and unethical transactions occurring within the company. The ramifications of the decisions this family made was felt by many people across the nation

II. What went wrong ethically?

A. This was a family-owned business where no accountabilitywas in check so fraud was occurring throughout the company

1. Adelphia backed $2.3 billion personal loans to purchase vacation homes, private jets, construction of an 18-hole golf course, and a $700,000 membership to an exclusive golf club

2. To meet the analyst’s expectations and inflate the stock prices, Adelphia manipulated the books

3. The Rigas family created private partnerships through Adelphia as a tool for their self-dealing schemes

4. The Rigas family used Adelphia’s line of credit for personal usage

5. Rigas Management co-mingled family funds with Adelphia funds causing Adelphia to fund...