Jonathan Eng

Jonathan Eng

BLE

J. Peterson

December 14, 2017

Green Move Company

A.1. After being notified that the bike has had defects from heat exposure in which causes high speeds and that it can be highly dangerous, it would probably be best to fix the defect. Although the costs of fixing the bike might be pricey, it is the better choice because the safety of your consumers is ultimately the most important. Being involved is a tough situation for myself because Doug had informed me that he had mentioned the defects to my predecessor who was later fired. What is also problematic is that since the bike is not “gas powered,” regulations under the National Highway Traffic Administration would limit production. This is a problem because we have to find another way to approach promoting the product. Some questions we need to ask ourselves is how will we get our product back on the market? Should we ignore the dangerous defects and go with the buyer offering $5,000 to place it on their shelves? The best way to go about this; I believe, would be to fix the defect and still continue to try to sell to buyers even if the NHSTA limit production. What are the consequences to fixing the bike? It might cost a lot of money to get it fixed, but in the long run it is the better, smarter, and most ethical decision.

A.2. I will not pay nor recommend the company pays the $5,000. Yes, you want to get your product out there as soon as possible; however, it is not legal or ethical. It isn’t legal considering you’ve told the managers about it already and haven’t taken actions in fixing it.

A3. Yes, they should apply the cost/benefit analysis in analyzing safety concerns about the product. Although there are risks, such as being questioned about whether the defects are fixed, whether they will take action in fixing in and how much it will cost, the ethically right thing to do would be to apply the analysis. It might also cause problems with buyers. Stores might not want to have the product on their shelves if they now know it has a defect. Zero Pedal just needs to explain to those stores that the bike defects will be fixed and they should continue to pursue getting our product on their shelves.

Starting off a new job or company is always difficult. Since it’s something new, you will have to learn things on the fly like, how to address other employees, who ask for help, how employees work together, and other company rules and policies. Adapting to all of this takes time and in many cases, you will have to pick up things on your own. Robert was put in a similar position joining a new company. He arrived to work for Green Move Company and was put in a very difficult situation. He had Zero Pedals turn out to be befaulty and the blog writer on his back in the first few months of his job. Things for Robert definitely got overwhelming where he questioned his job and what inevitable steps to take. What he should do is, since Robert is new, he should not give a comment to the writer at all. Instead he should fact check what the writing is talking about and do some research. He should speak to the upper management workers in the United States. If Robert has the power, he should fix the working conditions in the Solar Group, that will allow the workers better ventilation and lighting. However, Robert does not possess this type of power, so he should not terminate the agreement. Although the conditions are worse, the pay is not as bad as the blog writing is claiming. The interest of many people are at stake here. The workers of both Green Move and Solar Group are at stake, and the Green Moves interests are even more at stake because they may lose a huge asset in the process of making Zero Pedal. If the video and the claims of the poor working conditions in Bangladesh reach mainstream media, them there is a large possibility that the fifteen million dollar loan from the government and other stakeholders are at stake. This is a bad representation of the company and many peoples opinions of the company like potential customers are at stake.

B.2. Appropriate standards in the workplace are very important. Robert needs to think about the working conditions and the wages the employees are receiving. This could become a problem for the image of Green Move as well as the production of Zero Pedals, if there were extensive damages to the building as well as the workers. This is similar to the Fords case with the Ford Pinto. The cars were faulty and would explode when in an accident would occur at low speeds. The cost-benefit analysis made it so that the recall for the Pinto’s would not occur because it cost too much. Ford had a numerical value on someone’s life, and in short terms, a few deaths cost less than actually repairing the problem. This put the lives of many stakeholders in jeopardy and tarnished the reputation of the company for quite some time. This is similar for the pedals as well as the working conditions in Bangladesh. Both can be risky; however, the amount to spend on the renovations to both the product and the building could be too costly. Also with wages, Robert should consider either paying the workers more for the risks they are taking, or face a possible unionization from the workers. If not, firing and rehiring may have to occur, which unfortunately will take a lot of time. The best thing to do is raise wages slightly since it is cheaper than in the United States, and this will allow the workers to continue to work without thinking of battling back and halting the production of the pedals.

B.3. If Robert allows the blog writer to expose Green Moves, this will have a negative impact on Green Moves brand in many ways. First, this will hurt their reputation immensely. This company is though as an energy friendly company and instead of helping the world, they are endangering the citizens inhabiting planet Earth. Not only that, if consumers were to get a hold of this information, may people would stop buying or ordering them. On top of this, the stakeholders who have invested money in the company or are thinking of investing may shy away because this can also hurt them. Robert needs to make sure changes are made.

C.1. Viktor has found an improved ethical culture, which is a new property, that is well lit and large enough for working space. But I don’t think Viktor should put a bid on the property lease. Viktor is talking to the Russian government, which something that is illegal in the United States, but occurs more frequently overseas. I would say no to Viktor making the bid because it is essentially a bribe. This is essentially is a bribe in order to put Green Move higher on the list. Since it is a bribe, I wouldn’t consider using either envelop. Viktor wants to do what’s best for the company but being unethical is not what’s best. Viktor is putting a lot on the line, including jail time, and risking a lot for the company. This is the wrong way to do things, and a different approach would be smarter.

C.2. Even though it’s always good to help out the unemployed, this is an illegal act. If Green Move were to do this, they would be cheating the system and breaking a federal offense in the United States. If they wanted to expand their company to different locations, they could find different locations to expand to, where they are not committing a crime or undermining the competitive spirit of other companies. They should look somewhere like Asia or South America to expand to. They will be able to help the unemployed and will be doing legally, without getting involved with bribery and governments in other countries. This is similar to the case of adopting a child from South America and paying the bribe to the company so that you can adopt the young girl. If you were to pass up on this opportunity, you may be risking the little girl’s education and giving her a better life. She is depending on you to adopt her and get her out of her struggle. She expects to be taken soon, but if you don’t, she will be stuck and there may not be another opportunity for her again. This would be a tough decision because if you pay a bribe, the outcome is positive and helping others but it’s still unethical. Business and personal issues cannot be solved in the same ways. A lot of the times, what you do for yourself or others on a personal basis cannot be translated into the business world because it can be illegal. It is crucial for businessmen and women to figure this out and revert from making those mistakes. The better they are at not putting themselves in unethical situations, the better their company will be in general.

D.1. Some of the organizational issues that have occurred are the defects in the Zero Pedal that have yet to be fixed, Robert doing nothing about the working conditions at the Solar Group, and my predecessor presenting an incomplete report. All of these issues have led to the breaches because they have all had an impact on the company setting it back.

D.2. If the defects are still a problem, Green Move will have criminal liability risks because the danger of their customers are on the line. As said, “He claims that the bike accelerates dangerously after the solar panels have been exposed to temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit for four consecutive hours.” Although four hours is a long time, people forget about things and end up leaving it there for maybe double that time. They would be taking a huge risk is that defect isn’t fixed and they put it on the market.

D.3. Since I persuaded the company to pay the $5,000 fee, in the long run it would be best to fix the bike along the way and get rid of the defect. Short term the company would continue to sell the product and earn money. Consumers would not even realize that the bike has a defect. Some people would think they pulled on the throttle too hard and that’s why they crashed or got seriously hurt. No one would initially blame it on the bike they would blame themselves first.

D.4. The government’s role in this would be to put out a law for safety to fix defects whether it could hurt them instantly or 4 hours after absorbing temperatures of 100 degrees for four hours. That is the government’s job, right? To make sure everyone is safe and that everything is fair. Perform the act of letting out a new law would be better for society and the company.