College of Business Administration

Seminar in Business Ethics and Social Institutions

Discussion Questions for September 28, 1999:

Session facilitators plan to concentrate their efforts on two or three topics: Privacy, Whistle Blowing, and if time permits Working Conditions.

The majority of the reading provided on Tuesday addresses the topic of Privacy (see http://www.aclu.org/library/pbp12.html for relevant information).

As for the topic of Whistle Blowing, please review the Ford Pinto case in the Shaw/Barry text (Chapter 2, case 2.2)

1) Did the managers at Ford have a moral obligation to disclose their safety findings to their customers and the general public?

2) Suppose, a manager or group of managers came forward and disclosed these safety facts. What would the ramification/s of this action be?

Please see the following web link for background on Working Conditions:

http://www.corpwatch.org/trac/gallery/sweat/index.html

3) Even though their legal rights have not been violated, employees are often adversely effected when corporations are obsessed with maximizing profits. If a company is to be considered ethical, what rights should be granted to employees?

4) In "the new deal" the issue of employee/employer loyalty is addressed. Ought employers guarantee employment or is the "new deal" an acceptable alternative?

Return to Professor Dunn's home page.