Analysis of World Order PDF

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Analysis of World-Class Bull case study The World-Class Bull case study presents a classic case of ethical dilemma faced by managers to choose between ethically right and wrong. This case presents following three questions 1. If you were Chris Knox would you have handled the sale the same way? Explain. 2. If you were the human resources vice president Samantha Williams what action, if any, would you take? Explain. 3. If you were Mr. and Mrs. Landry and you discovered Chris Knox’s approach how would you feel? Explain. Based on my analysis of this case and reading through arguments presented by scholars from both side of debate, I find Chris Knox’s conduct unethical and demands action from ethics review board. I also think Mr. and Mrs. Landry would feel deceived and would terminate any social or business contract with Specialty Fleet Services (SFS) Background of the case with facts and arguments The World-Class Bull case study presents a classic case of ethical dilemma faced by managers to choose between ethically right and wrong. The case study presents salesperson Chris Knox to persuade Dale Landry, CFO of Armadillo Gas & Power, to accept SFS’s sales proposal using a persuasion strategy which crossed the line of deception and unethical behavior. This action was then commended and promoted by Jeremy Silva, VP of Sales of SFS, via an email distribution to other sales force personals. Samantha Williams, chair of SFS’s ethics review board, found out about it and wants to reprimand Chris for his violation of ethics code of conduct. The case presents following facts       

Dale Landry was presented with demonstration of SFS new online system on multiple occasions. Chris Knox researched about Dale’s private living and schedules. Chris Knox visited Landry’s ranch with the intent of establishing a rapport with the Landry’s and the using that relationship to get business. Chris did not reveal his true intent on the first meeting. Chris Knox engineered multiple encounters with Dale. Jeremy applauded the strategy used by Chris and congratulated him via an email to all his salesperson. After the meeting with Dale, Chris ignored calls and messages from him with the intent to raise Dale’s desperation.

Following arguments were presented by the case study and expert commentators.

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Samantha thinks Chris’ action has violated the ethics code of “deceptive business practices”. Jeremy argues that Chris conduct is not a violation of ethic’s code because the ethics code is applicable only for current clients and Armadillo was a prospect at that time. Krik O. Hanson & Don Peppers, expert commentators, are in favor of the argument that Chris’s conduct was unethical and demands action. James Borg, another expert commentator, is against the argument that Chris’ conduct was unethical and argues that this is part of every real-life business and Chris’s action was mere persuasion tactics and not coercion.

Persuasion vs Deception It is to be argued whether Chris’ act was deceptive or not. One may argue that establishing personal relationship with clients bolster the confidence and helps create a more persuasive case. However, given the facts mentioned previously, Chris’ intent was not to create a personal relationship for clients benefit. Instead, it was only for the purpose of business transaction. This is evident by the fact that Chris failed to mention his true intent on the first meeting, and he ignores Dale’s call. The Friedman Doctrine The Friedman Doctrine claims that businesses should not be responsible for any act (wrong or right) as far it is not mandated by Law. This case does not talk about any such law except for the company’s code of conduct against deceptive action. However, it should be noted that Friedman’s doctrine was directed towards all social responsibility except one. Friedman argues that there is one social responsibility that everyone should follow and that is not to engage in deceptive action to increase revenue or profit (Hill & Hult, 2020). Utilitarian Ethics Utilitarian Ethics promotes maximizing pleasure while minimizing harm. In this case, the act to finalize the sales agreement was maximum pleasure however, it does possess potential of customer abhorrent and dissatisfaction. Kantian Ethics As per Kantian Ethics, the act of treating someone as a mean to the end and not as an end itself is a violation of moral ethics. Also, if Chris makes “deception for business gain” as a universal law and expect the same from everyone else. In the event Dale, signs the contract with some

deceptive clause to exploit SFS’s business. Since, the outcome of this maxim violates the maxim itself, the maxim of deception for business gain would be morally unethical Question 1: If you were Chris Knox would you have handled the sale the same way? Explain. I would have handled the sale differently. I would do the research of Dale Landry as Chris did but not with the intent of hiding the reason of research. It is the same as, I do research about my interviewer and the company before an interview but don’t put any effort to hide this from the interviewer itself. It is not in my business ethics to hide the purpose of an interaction. I would have introduced myself and my connection to SFS to Mrs Landry in the first meeting. I would also not try to invade Landry’s privacy by deceptively learning about whereabouts and engineer encounters.

Question 2: If you were the human resources vice president Samantha Williams what action, if any, would you take? Explain. Since, I would have two things to tackle, first, the unethical acts already performed by Chris and second the irresponsible act performed by Jeremy. I would reprimand Chris in front of other sales force employees and make sure he understands the breach he has committed to the company’s ethics. I would also alert CEO of the company about the irresponsible act done by Jeremy and his lack of acknowledgment of any wrongdoing. I would also recommend CEO to terminate Jeremy as it was under his watch, the code of ethics was breached. Other than above two disciplinary actions, I would also update the SFS’s ethics code to include deception of any current or prospective client to be unethical and a breach to the company’s code. Question 3: If you were Mr. and Mrs. Landry and you discovered Chris Knox’s approach how would you feel? Explain. If I were Mrs. Landry, I would feel betrayed and deceived by Chris Knox use of me as a mean to achieve business gain. I would break all the ties with Chris. If I were Mr Landry, I would immediately try to break all the contracts with SFS. I would also feel about a moral responsibility to inform other business about the wrongdoings of SFS and would ask for a response from SFS’s executives. Even if SFS’s product is of good quality, a business continuity would SFS may mean future deception in contracts or billing and as a CFO, I should be distant to such business....