Submitted by: Submitted by LauraWang
Views: 426
Words: 1568
Pages: 7
Category: Business and Industry
Date Submitted: 02/18/2013 10:24 PM
Introduction
John McCulloch is the assistant general manager at the United Beef Packers Blue River processing plant in Nebraska. He has recently started at the plant and has quickly become unhappy with how the workers are treated, as they seem to be working in very dangerous conditions because of the company’s commitment to efficiency. Workers have to sign a document waiving their right to medical opinions outside of company doctors. One worker, Bobby Vasquez, has been with the plant since the 1970s and has suffered several injuries on the job. Some of these injuries were the result of improper protection offered by the plant, and in some cases the company medical doctors grossly underestimated the nature of his injuries. Vasquez told McCulloch that the plant operators give the workers drugs to improve efficiency, and “let tainted meat go out for sale” (Dolansky, 2003, p.280). McCulloch has seen that the company’s policies on safety in terms of both the meat and the workers are surprisingly poor. He has recently learned that the company wants him to fire Vasquez because he suffered a heart attack and was going to require long and expensive recovery that the company did not want to pay for.
Stakeholders
John McCulloch
McCulloch is involved in this situation because he feels as though he is personally contributing to the operations of a company that he has strong ethical problems with. If he decides to fire Vasquez and continue working at the plant, he will likely continue making good money but he will be unhappy with himself and his job. If he refuses the command he will likely be fired or at the very least have his upward mobility in the company limited. As an employee of the company he is predisposed to allow certain things to occur without complaint, but as a good person with a family he is concerned about the safety of the meat and the treatment of the workers.
The Workers at United Beef Packers
The workers at the plant are being...