Ethics in Business

Identify the stakeholders in this case. What are their interests?

Internal stakeholders

Management – (Greg Kramer) keeping the line moving at all costs and process as much meat as possible. The management at United Beef Packers cares little about their employees. Their major interest is profitability.

John McCulloch – the man caught in the middle between being management and the safety of the employees.

The nurse – keeping the employees bandaged from their injuries.

Task force – controlling the bad press.

Employees – plant line workers (Bobby Vasquez). There interests are earning a fair wage and maintaining their safety while working. They also want to keep their jobs because it is more than they would most likely make elsewhere.

Connected stakeholders

Consumers – their interests are good quality products at a reasonable price. Customers should feel confident that they are getting safe quality meats.

External stakeholders

USDA – ensures the quality and safety of the meat.

What could John McCulloch have done differently to avoid being in his current situation, other than not taking the job in the first place?

John McCulloch should have done some research on United Beef Packers and the meat packing industry before deciding to apply for or accept the job. There is a great deal of information available on the internet where he could have done even a little bit of research on the working conditions at a beef processing plant and on the company itself. I think that before anyone applies for a job or especially before attending an interview they should do a little bit of research on the company itself. This could have given John some insight on the industry and what he could expect working for them. He should have definitely taken a tour of the plant before considering or accepting any offer. He never even stepped into the plant before the day he started.

Stepping into McCulloch's shoes now, what would you do? Why? How?

John needs to step...