Business Ethics

Running head: “Old Smoke”

2

1. Explain how you would handle this situation if you were Charles Renford.

Charles Renford should recommend a new policy on smoking to Redwood Associates that will restrict smoking in the workplace because the simple separation of smokers and non-smokers within the same air space may reduce but not eliminate the risk of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. Frank and Alice are smoking in their office and the other employees are breathing in secondhand smoke, which is a more deadly source of lung diseases and cancers. Tobacco smoke contains around four thousand chemicals, two hundred of them are known poisons.

2. Describe the policy on smoking that you would recommend to Redwood Associates.

The policy would be no smoking allowed on company property period. That would include the parking lot as well. Someone’s enjoyment should not be tolerated to be someone else’s endangerment. The health and the preferences of nonsmokers should prevail. Smokers cost companies money because smoking can cause expensive medical conditions that results in higher medical costs, more sick days, and lost productivity.

3. Explain how this case would change if what bothers Darlene is not old smoke but the smell of Alice’s perfume or Frank’s body odor.

These are more delicate situations. Charles Renford would have to decide if he should approach the employee himself or report the problem to human resources and let them make a decision on how best to proceed. If Darlene was allergic to the perfume then the company may have...