Tragedy and Business Ethics

Select a significant tragic event (either domestic or global) that has occurred during the last 50 years. The interactive PowerPoint in this unit provides some ideas of historical tragic events but understand that these are just ideas. After describing the event and the post-tragedy events, discuss the ethical aspects revolving around this incident. This may require some additional research to understand the ethical situations and the impact these had on affected people being able to move on with their lives.
1. Describe the actions of people and organizational leaders directly and indirectly involved with the tragedy. Specifically, address the ethical issues they faced. 2. What were some of the actions of local, state and federal personnel with respect to dealing with this tragedy?
3. Explain the strategies of organizations that attempted to assist with the clean-up after the tragic event. Describe several of the pressures that influenced their strategies. Distinguish between social responsibility, integrity and simple business ethics. 4. How has this event affected the ethical culture here in the United States? What other affect has it had on society as a whole?
2. Establishing a culture of sound business ethics within an organization is challenging, to say the least. Companies that market products that are not considered to be “healthy” for consumers have additional challenges. Using the CSU online library, research a company that markets “unhealthy” products. Examples might include tobacco or alcohol companies but these examples are not all-inclusive. Respond to the following questions. 1. Briefly describe the company and its product and the ethical dilemma associated with the production and distribution of its products. 2. Describe how the perception of the product differs within cultures both within the United States and globally. 3. How has this company handled the ethical implications of its product with a focus on social responsibility, integrity and business ethics? 4. Explain how leadership within the organization can instill a culture of ethics within the marketing department as they strive to advertise a product that is not healthy for the customer.