Assignment task:
"Business, Ethics, and Social Responsibility"
Checkers Pizza was one of the first to offer home delivery service, with overwhelming success. However, the major pizza chains soon followed suit, taking away Checkers' competitive edge. Jon Barnard, Checkers' founder and co-owner, needed a new gimmick to beat the competition. He decided to develop a computerized information database that would make Checkers the most efficient competitor and provide insight into consumer buying behavior at the same time. Under the system, telephone customers were asked their phone number; if they had ordered from Checkers before, their address and previous order information came up on the computer screen.
Thinking that the nature of business is to make a profit and after successfully testing the new system, Mr. Barnard put the computerized order network in place in all Checkers outlets. After three months of success, he decided to give an award to the family that ate the most Checkers pizza. Through the tracking system, the company identified the biggest customer, who had ordered a pizza every weekday and most weekends for the past three months (Nearly 70 pizzas). The company put together a program to surprise the family with an award, free-food certificates for ninety days, and a news story announcing the award. As Barnard began to plan for the event, however, he began to think that maybe the family might not want all the attention and publicity. He continued as planned.
Using "Complete Sentences," please answer the following questions. Is Checkers Pizza's business practice a violation of public trust? Explain. Reflecting on Chapter 2, are there ethical issues aligned with the business practices of Checkers Pizza? If so, discuss them. If not, why do you feel that tracking customers" consumption without prior consent is morally okay in this situation? Accordingly, is Checkers Pizza's ten year records of sponsoring the youth fitness and athletic programs socially responsible enough to offset/impact your opinion about its business practices? How would you have handled this situation if you were Mr. Barnard? Also, in this situation, which of the business ownership models that we have studied thus far is the BEST MODEL for Mr. Barnard and Checkers Pizza? Explain. Finally, should Mr. Barnard be considered an entrepreneur? Explain.