Business and Professional Ethics

Running head: BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
Business and professional ethics
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BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
Question 1
From the perspective of a utilitarian, the decision made by Ford of not installing a baffle on
their Pinto was wrong. The analysis indicates that Ford would have used $137 million to
install the baffle while liabilities due to the loss of human lives would amount to $49 million
(Boutilier, 2015). The company decided not to install the baffle on the Pinto in disregard to
their customers so as to earn more profit and increase their market share. A utilitarian would
have place more utility on the safety of their customers which would also improve the
brand’s value. When NHTSA noticed the defects, Ford could have corrected the problem to
minimize bad press rather than justifying that Pinto was just as safe as other cars.
Question 2
In view of the Utilitarian theory test, whistle-blowers should be able to act with the public
interest. By fearing the consequences and keeping quiet, the results would be a continuation
of the harmful behaviour which might eventually harm the public. Therefore, research by
Kesselheim, Studdert and Mello (2010) shows that utilitarians should report to the manager
which would lead to putting a stop to the fraudulent actions.
On the other hand, deontologists may believe that the rule suggesting people should neglect
their duties cannot be morally acceptable thus the actions cannot be morally acceptable.
Lastly, virtual ethics suggest that amid the dangers brought about by whistle-blowing, the
spying on companies is not supported by virtues of justice, fairness and honesty (Conway &
Gawronski, 2013).
Question 3
By asking the question “How Much Should I be Required to Meet the Needs of Your
Children?” Mills meant how workplace policies could be tailored to meet the needs of
employees with children. Mills answers the question by describing how many organizations
have make significant steps in being family friendly so as to offer assistance to working

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BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
parents. In addition, she notes that some companies with family friendly policies tend to
exploit childless employees so as to support workers who are parents.
Question 4
For each of the following situations, analyse whether or not the person’s trading constitutes
illegal insider trading and explain your position:
a) Bill is guilty of illegal insider trading since the man who told him to buy Apple shares
was probably an executive at Apple thus an insider who willingly shares the company
secret. The fact that the shares brought forth profits means that the man had prior
knowledge of the situation.
b) Amirah is not guilty of insider trading since she is not an insider and does not get
directly involved with the leak of the information. While the couple speaks of selling
their controlling position at the company, they did not intend to tell Amirah or any
other person. The leak of information was unintentionally and the couple did not even
realize that Amirah had overheard them speaking of selling their position in Internet
Inc. and retiring to Hawaii. Furthermore, when Amirah searches the internet, she finds
rumours about the purchase of the company.
Question 5
The C.E.O behaves in an unethical and unfair manner especially since he is the top most
manager of the organization. By selling a great part of his stock position at the company, the
CEO is guilty of unfairness since he used prior knowledge of the FDA not approving their
cancer treatment in a way which goes against the virtues of fairness. In addition, the CEO
misuses the powers accorded to him as the top most leader of the organization. The CEO is
therefore guilty of insider trading and unfairness since people could only sell their shares at a
very low price as compared to what the CEO had sold previously.