Further Discussion Analysis Please review the DQ forum for this week. Select 2-3 postings from your peers to analyze in yo

Tonya Baier 

Week 4 Discussion Board Two Businesses

COLLAPSE

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Question 1 Case Study Review of Theo Chocolate Company

The video of Joe Whinney’s philosophy on business with the farmers of the Democratic Republic of Congo is a great philanthropic example of Utilitarianism. Joe’s company is willing to pay three times more for the cacao product to ensure everyone in the supply chain gains from the sale of the final product. Consumers are willing to pay a higher price for the chocolate bar knowing the farmers in a poor region will benefit as well. This type of entrepreneurship is an example of distributive justice where the farmers benefit from producing the product as well as the business owner. I loved this reading on Whinney’s philosophy on business and the fact that he placed himself at risk at times to do what is best for the greater good.

Another example of this would be the example shared in the weekly reading around workplace violence. Businesses can no longer overlook workplace violence and share zero responsibility. Workplace violence is a rapidly growing ethical issue is business such as dental offices, healthcare clinics, emergency departments, post offices, and euducation systems. Lack of preparedness falls on the responsbility of the company to implement and put actions in place to keep coworker safe(Kaweckyj, 2021). 

For example, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that supervisors are responsible for the sexual misconduct of employees, even if the employers knew nothing about the behavior, the decision is one that established a strict standard for harassment on the job. One of the justices wrote that the burden on the employer to prevent harassment is “one of the costs of doing business.” The Court decided the greatest utility to society would result from forcing businesses to prevent harassment. (Ferrell, 2019).  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), requires employers to provide safe working environments for all employees covered by the OSHA Act of 1970.

Prevention of workplace violence is an example of utilitarianism because it serves the greater good. The action is right if it results in the providing a safer and happier place to work for the greatest number of people in the group. Companies must invest in its employees and ensure safety in the work place through education, monitoring, and systems to report without retaliation.

Question 2: CVS: Fired up about Social Responsibility

Social responsibility is an ethical framework in which individuals or corporations are accountable for fulfilling their civic duty and taking actions that will benefit society as a whole. If a company or person is considering taking actions that could harm the environment or society, then those actions are considered socially irresponsible (Indeed, 2022).  In the Case Study on the business action of CVS: Fired up about Social Responsibility, CVS failed to ensure that its company to be a corporate social responsible to its stakeholders. 

CVS’s rapid growth as a company started in 1960’s to the early 2000’s with health and beauty sales and expanded into retail pharmaceutical sales. What started as 17 stores, quickly moved to 750 stores across forty-nine of the United States.  Early in the twenty-first century, CVS jumped onto the internet sales band wagon through its launch of online pharmacies.  The two most important acquisitions in the history of CVS include MinuteClinic walk-in health clinics (in 2005) and Caremark Rx, Inc. (in 2007), a pharmacy benefits management company. Today, CVS is the largest pharmacy health care provider and pharmacy in the United States and is composed of four business functions: CVS Pharmacy, CVS Caremark, CVS MinuteClinic, and CVS Specialty (Ferrell, 2019).

Although CVS seemed to be a successful Fortune 500 company, their ethical framework failed. After CVS was found negligent of violating HIPPA rights of patients, due to CVS coworkers improper disposal of patient prescription labels and private patient records, which led to a corrective action plan.

Unfortunately, CVS seemed to be in the spotlight and investigated for further deceptive business practices such as switching pharmacy prescriptions from generic to name brand to gain a larger profit,  over distribution of controlled narcotic substance, Oxycodone, and last, failing to train employees how to hand shoplifting incidents in store which ultimately led to the death of a CVS customer.  In effort to become a more socially responsible company, CVS branched into Health Care Clinics for consumers, stopped the sales of tobacco products to be a tobacco free company, and started healthy programs around smoking cessation and weight loss.  Even with all the work to turn the company around and remove CVS from the spotlight, the business continued to struggle against competition.

CVS has committed to ongoing stakeholder orientation which starts with its core values of innovation, collaboration, caring, integrity, and accountability. This orientation starts with CVS employees. CEO Larry J. Merlo emphasizes the long-term perspective the company is committed to with each decision and how it will affect each stakeholder group. He states that CVS’s priorities remain in customer health, the sustainability of health care systems, good stewardship, and positive contributions to communities, and a meaningful workplace for employees (Ferrell, 2019).

Although I was initially disgusted at the unehtical actions and lack of responsibility of a million dollar company like CVS, I’m glad to see the ongoing commitment of CVS to improving the company’s social responsibility and hopefully gaining a better reputation as an ethical company in the corporate world. Their rapid growth as a pharmaceutical company moved quickly and I feel as though their priorities were not aligned with those of its stakeholders. Although I opt not to utilize any of the CVS businesses, I do appreciate that their core values do align with some of my own such as integrity, truthfulness, and honesty. Companies must have training programs to ensure employees and stakeholders understand core values, ethical stances, and process to hold people accountable to policies developed around their values if they want to be a recognized socially responsible company.

Question 1 References:

“Court Says Businesses Liable for Harassing on the Job,” Commercial Appeal, June 27, 1998, A1; Richard Brandt,                  Ethical Theory (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1959), 253–254.

Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2019). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases. CENGAGE Learning.

Kaweckyj, N. (2021, September-October). Workplace Violence: Is Your Office Prepared and Compliant? The Dental                Assistant, 90(5), 8+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A680921150/GPS?u=kan38982&sid=bookmark                                  GPS&xid=19086205

https://www.osha.gov/workplace-violence

Question 2 References:

Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2019). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases. CENGAGE Learning.

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/social-responsibility

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Leticia Terriquez 

Week 4

COLLAPSE

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Q1

The Theo Chocolate Company video case was very interesting. I did not know that about either some cacao coming from poor farmers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I also did not know that Ben Affleck founded the Eastern Congo Initiative community partnership providing aid to the needy nation. I feel that this is great for big companies and celebrities joining in the helping of the third world countries. The farmers in the Congo are being helped in distributive justice by Joe Whinney founder of Seattle’s Theo Chocolate Company and the community partnership of Ben Affleck showing his deontology shows his virtue ethics. Ben Affleck is using Kohlberg’s model six stage of moral development which is universal ethical principles. This case study shows an act utilitarianism.

Starbucks in 2016 invested more than $70 million in its comprehensive approach to ethical sourcing supporting coffee farming communities helping to mitigate the impact of climate change and supporting long term crop stability and farm sustainability (Bridgeman, 2016). Starbucks also planted a tree for every bag of coffee purchased in a participating U.S. store contributing .70 cents to Conservation International, Arlington, Va. This since the farmers were impacted by coffee rust a plant fungus that damaged millions of coffee trees around the world. Starbucks deontology continues to flourish to help the farmers with their coffee production.

Q2

I am so shocked to hear about CVS. I sometimes shop they’re for over-the-counter cold medicine. There are many CVS’s in my area. I do not usually watch the news. I am glad that all the unethical issues were resolved. The fines were paid and now CVS is implementing strategies to achieve an ethical culture. The not selling of tobacco product shows how CVS wants to continue to get their reputation in good standing that attracts more consumers. Overall, CVS has proven to surpass their issues and making it not only a pharmacy to trust but also a good place to work. The stakeholders continue to see CVS prosper. The minute clinic helps those who do not have health insurance. The social responsibility continues to be progressing, so they are heading in the right direction. I can see that CVS had bad employees, the issues were addressed and was dealt with including the changes of ethical goal line lines that were implemented and CVS continues to stay in business.

Many years ago, I was the department supervisor. I came across a store credit of $1,000 for miscellaneous merchandise. I questioned it to another department supervisor and was told that it was used to pay for the Christmas party catering. I could not believe it. I told her that it was against SOP. She said that the store manager didn’t want me to know because I was too strict. I told her that I was about following policy and keeping my job. We had a budget for that purpose. I made a note on the bookkeeping books. A couple years later the store manager got fired for other unethical doings he was doing. I am against any unethical behavior.

Bridgeman, Z. (2016). Starbucks Will Plant a Coffee Tree for Every Bag of Coffee Purchased Through 2016. Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, 188(3), 20–21.

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