Normative Ethics and Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart is the very successful CEO of her self-named business Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Her rise to fame began with the authoring of numerous books, newspaper columns, and magazine articles all having to do with the subject of homemaking. In the mid ‘80s she was given the opportunity to share her talents on several television programs such as The Oprah Winfrey Show. In 1987 she was given the opportunity to become the national spokesperson for K-Mart’s houseware department. This allowed her to eventually release her own line of products with the company. In 1990, she signed with Time Publishing Ventures to develop a new magazine, Martha Stewart Living, for which she served as editor in chief. Her popularity continued to grow as she became a frequent contributor to CBS’s The Early Show and starred in several prime time holiday specials on that network. Her television career continued to prosper as she was given the chance to air her own show based on her magazine. In 1997, she secured the funding to purchase the television, print, and merchandising ventures related to the Martha Stewart brand and consolidated them into a new company called Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. She was named as the president, chairwoman, and CEO of this new company which eventually went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1999. She continues to command 96% control of voting power in the company and on paper the finances rate her as a billionaire (Wikipedia).

Her career was challenged in 2002 when insider trading charges were brought against her concerning the sale of her stock in the pharmaceutical company ImClone. The sale of her stock occurred only days prior to the application for ImClone’s new drug being denied. Her company took a tremendous hit as she was charged with obstruction of justice, securities fraud, conspiracy, and false statements. Ultimately, she received a five-month prison sentence and was forced to step down as her company’s CEO and...