Rara

Running head: WEEK FOUR ASSIGNMENT

Week Four Assignment

Business Ethics

BS 15

July 10, 2008

Week Four Assignment

1. Jim needs to be aware of several ethical and legal issues. The first is the fact that his third-shift manager has been polluting the environment for years. The second is the EPA employee who is bribing Jim. The third is managements ignoring of the previous two issues. Finally, Jim has to balance his wife’s happiness with the issues at hand.

2. Jim can do one of two things; both have advantages and disadvantages. Jim could do the ethical thing and not pay the EPA employee. The there are many advantages in this approach. Jim could be seen as an ethical manager. He could also help protect the environment and subsequently the plants, animals, and people who rely on the river for their lives. The disadvantages of this course of action are many. Jim would probably lose his job. The company would have to update their equipment. The bottom line would suffer. In all likelihood, employees would lose their jobs. The other thing Jim could do is simply pay off the EPA employee. The advantages of doing this are that Jim would keep his job, he would probably get out of New York on time (making his wife happy), and employees would keep their jobs. The disadvantages acting this way are that Jim would have to behave unethically, the environment would suffer, and the company might eventually be caught and his cover up and bribes brought to light.

3. The pressures that brought about these issues are as follows: First, the EPA’s new standards do not allow all companies to update their equipment fast enough. Secondly, the status quo is the norm for this company; the company discourages those who break from the way things have always been done. Finally, Jim’s wife has made her displeasure with living in New York known; Jim has to think about her happiness whenever he makes a business decision.

4. Jim runs his plant. He has all the power...