Business Ethics: Mistakes and Successes

Author: Robert F. Hartley
John Wiley & Sons, 2005

This book presents a number of case studies that highlight some of the mistakes and successes of businesses as a method of illustrating ethical concepts.

• Preface

Part One - Contemporary Violations of the Public Trust

1. MetLife — Deceptive Sales Tactics
2. Ford Explorers with Firestone Tires
3. ADM — Price Fixing, Political Cronyism, and a Whistleblower
4. Al Dunlap Savages Scott Paper and Sunbeam
5. United Way — A CEO Batters a Giant Nonprofit
6. Tobacco — Long Callousness to Public Health
7. The Savings and Loan Disaster — Management's Repudiation of Responsibility
8. WorldCom/MCI — Massive Accounting Fraud

Part Two - Classic Ethical Violations

9. Corvair versus Ralph Nader
10. Union Carbide — Assault on the Ohio Valley
11. Union Carbide's Bhopal Catastrophe
12. Nestle Infant Formula — Pushing An Unsafe Product In Third-World Countries
13. The Dalkon Shield — Ignoring User Safety
14. Exxon's Alaskan Oil Spill — Environmental Destruction on a Giant Scale
15. ITT — Heavy-Handed Interference in a Foreign Government
16. Lockheed Corporation — Overseas Bribery Gone Rampant
17. General Dynamics — Fleecing U.S. Taxpayers

Part Three - Questionable Ethical Conduct

18. Wal-Mart — A Big Bully?
19. Nike — Is Using Cheap Overseas Labor Ethical?
20. DaimlerChrysler — Flagrant Misrepresentation of a Merger

Part Four - Paragons of Good Ethical Practices

21. Johnson & Johnson's Tylenol Scare — The Classic Example of Responsible Crisis Management
22. Herman Miller — Role Model in Employee and Environmental Relations

• Conclusions — Lessons From The Past