Strategic Ethics vs. Real Ethics

Advice to Benji

Student

Advice to Benji

A recent MBA Graduate, Benji Watson, has been offered a very lucrative position with New Gen Health Sciences. This is probably the position that he has been dreaming of because of the generous salary being offered to him and it is a firm that has been recognized in Fortune Magazine’s as one of the fastest growing companies in America. Unfortunately, Benji decided to do a little research on the company that he was considering in starting his career, only to find some disappointing information. Now Benji must make a decision as to whether he can work for a company knowing all the information that he now knows.

Corporate Culture

“ Corporate culture refers to the shared values, attitudes, standards, and beliefs that characterize members of an organization and define its nature.” (Burton) An organization’s corporate culture is engrained in their objectives, policies, and their methods of handling their employees, clients, stockholders and their local community. Some of the information that Benji uncovered in his research showed that New Gen’s management and company policies did not invoke a positive image of the company to Benji. Just as Dobson wrote in his critique on virtue ethics, a company tries to appear ethical and virtuous but it is only done to promote goodwill within the community. (Dobson, 2005) New Gen promotes them as being concerned for promoting a healthier America but from what was told to Benji at this event, they are more concerned with making money any way possible with no regard to ethics.

Honesty

One thing that Benji read about New Gen is that they send their scientists around the world in search of new valuable health resources, but the recruiter revealed to Benji that it was more of a publicity stunt using exotic locations in advertising, most all of the products are formulated in their lab in Seattle. If they can be so deceptive to their customers, they can also be deceptive to...