BMGT3001 - Business Ethics Report: Analyzing Fox News Discrimination

This report presents a comprehensive case study on the ethical issues surrounding Fox News, specifically focusing on allegations of racial discrimination within the organization. The report begins with an overview of Fox News, followed by a detailed description of the discrimination case, including lawsuits and employee grievances. An ethical analysis is conducted, evaluating the case through the lenses of utility, rights, and virtue. Furthermore, the report explores ethical decision-making approaches using the theories of Deontology and Utilitarianism. The analysis highlights the unethical nature of the company's actions and the negative consequences of such practices. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of maintaining a healthy and inclusive work environment for all employees to ensure organizational success. The report leverages business ethics theories and frameworks to analyze the case and suggest the need for improved corporate governance and ethical conduct within the organization.

Running head: BUSINESS ETHICS IN FOX NEWS
BUSINESS ETHICS IN FOX NEWS
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Executive Summary
The significant objective of the report is to analyze the case of racial discrimination practiced
in Fox News Chanel. The evaluation of this unethical practice has further been made in light
of the consequences of such activities in the organization, leading to lawsuits and eventually
settlement options for the organization. The ethical aspect of the case has also been evaluated
pertaining to utility, rights and virtue. Moreover, the ethical decision making approaches of
the theories of Deontology and Utilitarianism have been discussed. In conclusion, it has been
mentioned how maintaining a healthy work environment for the employees is an essential for
ensuring the fulfillment of the objectives and aims of an organization.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Discussion..................................................................................................................................3
Overview of the Organization................................................................................................3
Description of the Case..........................................................................................................4
Ethical Analysis.....................................................................................................................5
Utility.................................................................................................................................6
Rights.................................................................................................................................6
Virtue..................................................................................................................................7
Ethical Decision Making Approach.......................................................................................8
Theory of Deontology........................................................................................................8
Theory of Utilitarianism.....................................................................................................8
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
Ethics and values are an essential part of business activities and operations of an
organization as it determines the policies and practices that will be adopted by them. Business
or corporate ethics propose a set of moral and ethical principles and problems that may arise
within the organizational scope. In this respect, certain types of business ethics can be
identified, which may include legal, personal, corporate economic and organizational
responsibilities (Bertrand 2018). Ethics and governance of an organization are directly related
as good governance entails the capability of the company to take effective decisions that are
aligned with good business ethics (Rodriguez-Fernandez 2016). Fox News is an American
television channel owned by the Fox Corporation and launched in the year 1996. Being one
of the most recognized television channels and broadcasted in most of the major countries in
the world, Fox News must practice ethical business operations to maintain their reputation
and identity in the market. However, the channel has been accused of practicing racial and
gender discrimination among its employees which has led them to face several challenges
and consequences from the audience. The company also had to face the challenge of lawsuits
on account of the unethical practices within its organizational scope. The report will further
analyze the issues faced by Fox News and the ethical decision making process associated
with it.
Discussion
Overview of the Organization
The Fox News Channel was launched as an initiative from the Australian publisher
Rupert Murdoch and American industrialist Martin Davis. The channel presents over 15
hours of live broadcasting and programming content. The cannel also presents media content
to the audience through online mediums like their official website and through social media

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applications (Foxnews.com 2019). The broadcasts are made in in America and several other
countries across the world. The headquarters of the channel is located in New York City. Due
to the variety of content broadcasted in the channel, it has grown exponentially in the 2000s
to become one of the widely subscribed news networks of the United States of America
(Schroeder and Stone 2015). The current executive chairperson of the company is recognized
to be Murdoch with Suzanne Scott as the Chief Executive Officer.
Description of the Case
The case of racial discrimination in Fox News was presented in an article in the New
York Times, published by Sydney Ember. According to the report, the company had faced
severe challenges due to allegations of racial discrimination within its organizational scope.
Almost eleven current and former employees of the news network had reported that the
company followed unethical practices of racial discrimination which were unlawful,
abhorrent, intolerable and hostile. Two black women who were employees in Fox News
payroll department also filed a lawsuit against the company. Identifications of certain
particular employees of the organization were also given who engaged in racial
discrimination among the other employees. The comptroller of the company, Judith Slater
was accused among such people for engaging in racist comments and behavior towards
several employees (Nytimes.com 2019). In addition to this, the senior executives of the comp
any were also accused of not taking any disciplinary actions in order to prevent such
discriminatory practices with the organizational scope of Fox News Channel. It was also
stated by the aggrieved employees that the management, in spite of being made aware about
the unethical practices being followed in the organization, took no measures to ensure their
protection (Bartlett 2015). Therefore, the employees were forced to file a lawsuit against the
company so that their fundamental rights may be protected. The accused members of
the ,management however denied the accusations which led to further discrepancies. Due to

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the racial remarks made by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, various
organizations and individuals of the country have been fueled into racial discrimination.
However, the country being home to a wide variety of people belonging from different
cultural backgrounds, it is necessary that the organizations treat their culturally diverse
employees in an equal manner. The senior executives of Fox News were accused of
derogatory remarks towards the black employees, asking them to return to Africa, following
the racist remarks of the President. For this reason, the Company was subjected to lawsuits
for which they had to pay a hefty amount of over 10 million dollars to the aggrieved
employees (Nytimes.com 2019).
Ethical Analysis
In the recent age of globalization, organizations around the world are engaged in
hiring employees belonging from different cultural backgrounds, solely on the basis of their
skills, experience, and expertise in the field of their work (Pincus 2019). Such a practice
followed enables equality among the employees who are paid and treated in terms of their
performance alone and not their cultural or religious inclinations. However, cases of racial
and religious discrimination are still observed in various organizations, which lead to
disruptions in the organizational operations. In terms of business ethics, racial discrimination
is a practice that is highly condemned as unethical and immoral. An organizational culture
that is tolerant towards cultural and racial diversity, is able to utilize the abilities and skills of
all its employees in an efficient manner (Lauren 2018). If the employees are treated well and
in an equal manner with equal wages, it leads to a high level of employee satisfaction and
thereby helps them in providing the highest levels of their performance. However, if the
employees are dissatisfied with the work environment, it not only hampers their performance
but also reduces their trust and loyalty towards the organization. This in turn has negative
impacts on the productivity and profitability of the organization itself. In order to prevent

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such situations in the future, the organization may train its existing workforce to be tolerant
towards the cultural diversity in the workplace. In addition, the management and human
resource management system must also remain pro-active to take action against any unethical
practice of particular employees irrespective of their hierarchical position in the system.
Utility
The case of racial discrimination in Fox News Networks can be considered as highly
unethical as it creates disruptions in the organizational scope and hampers employee
satisfaction. From the viewpoint of the concept of utility, the practices of racial
discrimination in the company hampers the organizational operations and is therefore against
its utility (Dipboye 2016). The principle of utility in ethics states that all activities performed
in a business organization must promote satisfaction among the greater number of people.
However, in this aspect, it can be deduced that the practice of racial discrimination in Fox
News caused grievances among the majority of employees, who in turn foiled lawsuits
against not only certain individuals of the company but the organization as a whole. This
clearly indicates that due to the unhappiness and dissatisfaction caused among the employees,
the practice of racial discrimination can be considered to be highly unethical and immoral.
Rights
In terms of the rights of the employees, the practice of racial discrimination in Fox
News can be considered as unethical. It is so because, when the employees have been hired in
a renowned organization, the company is expected to follow the regulations regarding
treatment and behavior towards employees. In this aspect, the government of the United
States of America has several laws regarding anti-discrimination in the workplace, ensured
by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (Chilton,
Foyou and King 2018). However, the individuals of the company including several senior
executives have disregarded such laws through their racist behavior towards certain

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employees of the organization. This led these employees to let the management know about
their grievances. However, the management refused to protect their rights on account of the
power and experience of the senior executives. This further shows how the entire
organizational body had engaged in unethical practices. Therefore, it can be said, that the
rights of the employees were severely violated by the organiza6tio0n through their practice of
discrimination against the black employees.
Virtue
Virtue is an important aspect of business ethics, that determines if the activities of the
organization are aligned with the interests and needs of the stakeholders or not. In this aspect,
there are several virtues that need to be followed by the organization for the purpose of good
governance. Such virtues may include courage, integrity, respect, encouragement and the
like. The activities of Fox News Channel were not aligned with any of the aforementioned
virtues. Firstly, the individuals of the company, engaged in the practice of racial
discrimination, did not have the courage to be accountable for their actions, and rather
resorted to lie about the accusations made against them (Raz 2017). Secondly, the company
failed to have the integrity to address the grievances expressed by the employees, and refused
to protect them against the unethical practices of the organization. Thirdly, the individuals
accused and the organization as a whole failed to respect the integrity of the employees by
making severely derogatory comments about their background and origin. Lastly, the
organization also failed to encourage the interest of the employees by providing them with a
safe place to grow and develop- in terms of their performance and skills. Therefore, due to all
the discussed aspects of virtues involved in business ethics, it can be said that the practices of
racial discrimination in Fox News were highly unethical.

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Ethical Decision Making Approach
Theory of Deontology
The theory of Deontology, if applied to a business organization, entails that the
morality of an activity should be considered on the basis of whether the activity should be
performed or not according to rules and regulations, and not on the basis of the consequences
of the activity (Grant, Arjoon and McGhee 2017). The deontological theory has its
foundation in duties and obligations that must be followed through the operations and
functions of the organization in order for them to be considered ethical. In the case of Fox
News Channel, the practice of racial discrimination made within the organizational scope and
the derogatory remarks and behavior shown by the senior executives are against the anti-
discriminatory regulations of the country. Furthermore, it is the duty of the organization to
provide a safe environment for the employees to work in so that they may be able to put in
their best efforts and optimize their performance. However, practices of discrimination can
cause conflicts of interest among the employees, thereby disrupting the operations and
functions of the organization. In this aspect, it can be said that Fox News not only disregarded
the laws and regulations pertaining to the rights of the employees but also failed to fulfill
their duties and obligations towards them as an integral part of the organization.
Theory of Utilitarianism
The ethical theory of Utilitarianism lays its foundation in consequentialism, meaning
that the morality of actions are to be judged based on the consequences that they may have.
The Utilitarian concept entails that an action or activity can be called ethical or moral if it
generates maximum satisfaction or utility for the maximum number of individuals (Barry
2016). In other words, it can be said that a characteristic feature of an ethical choice is the
generation of the greatest good for the greatest number. If applied to the present case, it can
be said that the practice of racial discrimination by Fox News causes dissatisfaction among

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the maximum number of employees. Whereas the number of individuals deriving utility or
satisfaction from such an action are few in number and include only the senior executives of
the organization. Therefore, following this theory the practice of racial discrimination in Fox
News Channel can be considered to be against the utility of maximum individuals, and
thereby highly unethical.
Conclusion
From the above analysis regarding the unethical practices in Fox News Chanel, it can
be deduced that discriminatory practices have a negative impact on the image and identity of
an organization and leads to disruptions in its operations and functions. Providing a safe and
cooperative work environment is an essential prerequisite for the employees to work in
harmony to meet the objectives and aims of the organization. However, if the employees feel
violated they may fail to deliver their optimum performance, thereby hampering the
productivity and profitability of the organization. The News Chanel had to be accountable for
its actions and compensate for the difficulties and challenges faced by the employees through
the payment of 10 million dollars, which ultimately led the organization to incur huge
expenditures for settlement.

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References
Barry, N., 2016. Business ethics. Springer.
Bartlett, B., 2015. How Fox News changed American media and political
dynamics. Available at SSRN 2604679.
Bertrand, C.J., 2018. Media ethics and accountability systems. Routledge.
Chilton, B.S., Foyou, V.E. and King, S.M., 2018. Moral Readings of the Court:
Discrimination Cases in the US Supreme Court. Public Integrity, 20(6), pp.571-594.
Dipboye, R.L., 2016. discrimination as high risk behavior in the workplace. In Risky
Business (pp. 199-226). Routledge.
Foxnews.com (2019). Fox Around the World. [online] Fox News. Available at:
https://www.foxnews.com/foxaroundtheworld/ [Accessed 6 Oct. 2019].
Grant, P., Arjoon, S. and McGhee, P., 2017. Reconciling Ethical Theory and Practice:
Toward Developing a Business Ethics Pedagogical Model. Business and Professional Ethics
Journal, 36(1), pp.41-65.
Lauren, P.G., 2018. Power and prejudice: The politics and diplomacy of racial
discrimination. Routledge.
Nytimes.com (2019). 11 Sue Fox News, Citing ‘Intolerable’ Racial Bias. [online]
Nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/25/business/media/fox-news-
racial-discrimination-lawsuit.html [Accessed 6 Oct. 2019].
Nytimes.com (2019). Fox Settles Discrimination Lawsuits for Roughly $10 Million. [online]
Nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/15/business/media/fox-news-
discrimination-lawsuits.html [Accessed 6 Oct. 2019].

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Pincus, F.L., 2019. Race and ethnic conflict: Contending views on prejudice, discrimination,
and ethnoviolence. Routledge.
Raz, J., 2017. The rule of law and its virtue. In The Rule of Law and the Separation of
Powers (pp. 77-94). Routledge.
Rodriguez-Fernandez, M., 2016. Social responsibility and financial performance: The role of
good corporate governance. BRQ Business Research Quarterly, 19(2), pp.137-151.
Schroeder, E. and Stone, D.F., 2015. Fox news and political knowledge. Journal of Public
Economics, 126, pp.52-63.