Chapter 4 Corporate Culture, Governance and Ethical Leadership

Chapter 4 Corporate Culture, Governance and Ethical Leadership – Discussion Questions pg. 82

1) From what you’ve just read, was Apple forthright and honest in its public

statements? What facts lead you to this conclusion? What other facts would you

want to know?

Apple may not have been forthright and honest in its public statements, but to be honest

I'm not sure how anyone would find out. The issue, of course, is whether Apple and Jobs

misled investors by issuing first good news (”hormone imbalance“) that drove the stock

up, followed by bad news (”medical leave“) that drove it down. If Apple related

everything they were told by Steve as they were told it, there shouldn't be an issue. But if

it turns out that they smudged things a little to lighten the blow, or withheld conflicting

information, it wouldn't look very good. I would want to know more facts about Jobs

medical history which we cannot know without violating Doctor/Patient confidentiality

2) If Apple did not have a legal duty to disclose the facts of Job’s health, would it be

ethical to issue misleading information?

Currently, there are no specific legal guidelines for corporations to follow in deciding

when, how, and what to disclose regarding executive health problems. There is not even

a requirement that health conditions “likely to impair continued performance of an

executive” be disclosed. Instead, SEC Rule 10b-5 only requires disclosure of “material”

information and prohibits misleading investors. However it is not ethical to issue

misleading statements by the Apple board or Jobs himself. Before he died, the public

could see how sick Jobs was, but he never told them. In his role as a private citizen, he

did not have to. As CEO of one of the world's largest corporations, he should have.

3) What responsibilities does the Apple board of directors have to the investing public?

Do you think they fulfilled their...