Case Scenario:
Detail how the law imposes ethical duties on business.
The following scenario depicts potential ethical dilemma involving price fixing. Please read carefully and respond to all of the following prompts in the class discussion section of your online course:
Assume you are a business person with an opportunity to make more money by meeting with competitors and fixing prices, conduct which is illegal. The authorities will not discover that the prices have been fixed. In fact, the price rise could be small-pennies per item-but the increases in net profit could be considerable.
- Is this price-fixing fair? Ethical? Socially responsible?
- Does it make any difference what the extra profit is used for such as charity, employee raises, or expansion?
- Would your answer be different if there was an even chance that you would be caught?
- Why/Why not?