Which lf the following statements is true ? 1. "Bad apples " are just a few individuals who spoil it for the rest of us. 2. Employees good behavior can be spoiled by a "bad barrel" 3. Ethics cannot be taught because individuals come into an organization already as "bad apples". 4. Discarding "bad

Chris Dykstra, responsible for loss prevention at Electronics took a deep breath before he launched into making his case for the changes that he was proposing to the company's shoplifting policy. He knew that convincing Ross Chenoweth was going to be a hard sell. Ross, the president and CEO was the son of the founder of the local, still-family-owned consumer electronics chain based in Phoenix, Arizona. He'd inherited not only the company, but also, his father's strict moral code. "I think it's time to follow the lead of other stores," Chris began. He pointed out that most Other retailers didn't bother calling the police and pressing charges unless the thief had shoplifted merchandise worth more than $50 to $100. In contrast, Westwind currently had a zero-tolerance policy toward theft that Ross's father had put in place when he started the business. Chris wanted to replace that policy with one that prosecuted only individuals between IS and 65 who had stolen more than $20 worth of goods, and who had a previous history of theft at Westwind. In the case of first-time culprits under IS or over 65, he argued for letting them Off With a strict warning, regardless of the value of their ill-gotten goods. Repeat offenders would be arrested. "Frankly, the local police are getting pretty tired Of having to come to Our stores every time a teenager sticks a CD in his jacket pocket," Chris pointed out. "And besides, we just afford the costs associated with prosecuting everyone." Every time he pressed charges against a shoplifter who'd made Off with a $10 item, Westwind lost money. The company had to engage a lawyer and pay employees Overtime for their court appearances. In addition, Chris was looking at hiring more security guards to keep up with the workload. Westwind was already in a losing battle at the moment with mass retailers who were competing all too successfully on price, so passing on the costs of its zero-tolerance policy to Customers wasn't really an option. " Let's concentrate on catching dishonest employees and those organized-theft rings. They're the ones who are really hurting us," Chris concluded. There was a long pause after Chris finished his carefully prepared speech. Ross thought about his recently deceased father, both an astute businessman and a person for whom honesty was a key guiding principle. If he were sitting here today, he`d no doubt say that theft was theft—that setting a minimum was tantamount to saying that stealing was acceptable, just as long as you steal too much. He looked at Chris. "You know, we've both got teenagers. Is this really a message you want to send out, especially to kids? You know as well as I do that there's nothing they like better than testing limits. It's almost an invitation to see if you can beat the system." But then Ross faltered as he found himself glancing at the latest financial figures on his desk—another in a string of quarterly losses. If West-wind went under, a lot of employees would be looking for another way to make a living. In his heart, he believed in his father's high moral standards, but he had to ask himself: Just how moral could Westwind afford to be? Adopt Chris Dykstra`s proposed changes, but with a higher limit than the proposed $20 amount (say, $50 or $100), but which is still less than the cost of prosecution. In addition, make sure that the policy isn't publicized. That way, you'll reduce costs even more and still benefit from your reputation for prosecuting all shoplifters.

Would you like to work for an organization that is committed to something more than just profitability, even if it meant your salary or bonus would be smaller?

GROUP LEARNING Current Events of an Unethical Type83 Step I. Prior to meeting as a group, each person should find two newspaper or magazine articles from the past several months relating to someone violating business ethics or potentially breaking the law regarding business practices. Step 2. Summarize the key points of the articles you found. Step 3. Meet as a group. Have each person share key points from articles with group members. Step 4. Identify similar themes across the unethical incidents reported in the articles. What was the source or underlying cause of the unethical behavior? What was the hoped—for outcome? Was an individual or a group involved? Did the accused seem repentant or defensive? Can you identify similar conditions of any kind across incidents? Write the common themes in a list on a sheet of paper or whiteboard. Step 5. What could you as a manager do to prevent such unethical behavior in your organization? What could you do to fix this kind of problem after it occurred in your organization? Step 6. Report your findings to the class if asked to do so by your instructor. Then fill in these boxes. Look at the underlying causes of the unethical behavior. How often was a group? How often an individual?