“Discussion Board 1 Case Study
Business Ethics
Ramona Alexander graduated near the top of her
class in the Liberty University MBA program, and she was recruited by several
national companies. One of those companies was Next Step Herbal Health. Next
Step manufactures and sells various herbal products, health foods, and health
supplements. It was recently featured in Forbes Magazine as one of the fastest
growing companies in America.

Ramona was invited to attend a weekend-long Get to Know Us event at Next Steps headquarters in
Seattle, Washington with all expenses paid by Next Step. She eagerly accepted
the invitation.
While sitting in
the Lynchburg, Virginia airport awaiting her flights to Seattle, Ramona decided
to do some online research about Next Step. Most of the articles touted the
great financial results the company was producing. One article talked about how
Next Step sent researchers around the world in search of new organic sources.
Another article contained an interview with Next Steps founder and CEO talking
about the CEOs mission to create a healthier America and about the companys
industry-leading ethics code.
Another article,
however, mentioned how the founder and CEO had a pattern of starting new
businesses, building them up and then selling them at a huge profit before
moving on to something else. There was also an article that talked about how Next
Step was a big contributor to Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and various progressive
causes.
Ramona also came
across a gripe site that accused Next Step of various questionable business practices,
such as forced purchase tie-in agreements with its distributors. This practice required
distributors to purchase set amounts of products with payment in advance,
regardless of the distributors actual sales. It also required distributors to
purchase set amounts of less popular products if they wanted to purchase the
more popular products. The site argued that these practices had helped drive
many of the distributors into bankruptcy in slow economic times.
When Ramona
arrived at Next Step, she was met by a corporate recruiter and was given a Next
Step polo shirt, custom Next Step Apple iPad Mini, and a carrying case loaded
with promotional materials.
At lunch, the
recruiter talked up the company and told Ramona how smart young people like Ramona
were joining the company in droves and rapidly climbing up the management ranks
to earn big bucks.
When the recruiter
asked Ramona if she had any questions or comments, Ramona mentioned what she had
read about the company sending researchers around the world in search of new products.
The recruiter laughed and said, We have the greatest P.R. people in the
corporate world. Ramona asked if that meant that the article was inaccurate
and the recruiter said, Well, our P.R. people do make a habit of taking
promotional photos in exotic locations, but of course most of our products are actually
developed in our laboratories right here in Seattle.

Ramona mentioned
that she had read about Next Steps industry leading ethics code and the
recruiter responded, Well, of course, you have to have something like that
these days to attract investors and pacify government regulators. Our lawyers
made sure that they covered all the bases.
Ramona mentioned
having come across the gripe site and the recruiter said, Dont worry about
that. There are always disgruntled ex-distributors looking to blame others for
their own incompetence. Our lawyers will have that site shut down within the
week.
Later, at a
company pep rally, the CEO put on a flashy display, complete with a 3-D video
and company cheerleaders. He talked about how much he really cared about people
and about making their lives better; however, when an infant that had been brought
to the event by another attendee started crying, apparently upset by the noise
and flashy displays, the CEO harshly told the infants mother to please show
some consideration to the rest of the people there and take the child out of
the room.
The CEO then went
into a form of corporate sermon, telling the attendees, Brothers and
Sisters, we are here to offer salvation to fat, lazy, lethargic Americans. To
transform the nation in our image. And if we should happen to get rich as a
result of doing so, wheres the harm in that? Can I get an Amen? Many in the
room shouted, Amen.
At the end of the
weekend, Ramona was presented with a recruiting contract offering her a
starting salary of $80,000.00 plus commissions. She would attend a two-week
corporate orientation and then be sent out as a junior manager in the companys
Atlanta, GA, office. The recruiter remarked that because Ramona was a Liberty
grad, the company assumed she was a Christian, which meant she could likely
talk the talk needed to bring in new distributors in the south.

Assignment:
Looking at the
situation from both a spiritual and an ethical perspective, advise Ramona as to
whether she should sign the contract. Explain your reasoning.

In connection with
this assignment, you may want to research the following ethical concepts and
incorporate what you find into your thread if you consider them relevant:
Corporate
Culture;
Honesty;
Integrity;
Strategic Ethics
v. Real Ethics; and
Any other legal,
ethical, or biblical concepts you believe may be relevant.

Each thread must
be at least 1,000 words and will analyze a provided Case Study.
For each thread
and reply, you must support your assertions with a minimum of 3 scholarly
sources, other than the textbook and course materials. Each source must be
cited in current APA format. Each thread and reply must include both full
citations in a reference list at the end of each post and in-text, short
citations. Acceptable sources include books, legal and business journals, legal
cases, the law (cases, statutes, regulations, etc.), the Bible, biblical
commentary, etc. Dictionaries and other web sources without scholarly support
are not considered acceptable sources.

Responding to a
situation from a spiritual perspective, and full integration of a biblical
worldview, requires more than simply adding a verse from the Bible to the post.
A well-developed, complete analysis will include multiple verses from
Scripture, quoted and applied as an integral part of the students discussion
of the applicable issues.Discussion Board 1 Case StudyBusiness EthicsRamona Alexander graduated near the top of her
class in the Liberty University MBA program, and she was recruited by several
national companies. One of those companies was Next Step Herbal Health. Next
Step manufactures and sells various herbal products, health foods, and health
supplements. It was recently featured in Forbes Magazine as one of the fastest
growing companies in America.Ramona was invited
to attend a weekend-long Get to Know Us event at Next Steps headquarters in
Seattle, Washington with all expenses paid by Next Step. She eagerly accepted
the invitation.While sitting in
the Lynchburg, Virginia airport awaiting her flights to Seattle, Ramona decided
to do some online research about Next Step. Most of the articles touted the
great financial results the company was producing. One article talked about how
Next Step sent researchers around the world in search of new organic sources.
Another article contained an interview with Next Steps founder and CEO talking
about the CEOs mission to create a healthier America and about the companys
industry-leading ethics code.Another article,
however, mentioned how the founder and CEO had a pattern of starting new
businesses, building them up and then selling them at a huge profit before
moving on to something else. There was also an article that talked about how Next
Step was a big contributor to Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and various progressive
causes.Ramona also came
across a gripe site that accused Next Step of various questionable business practices,
such as forced purchase tie-in agreements with its distributors. This practice required
distributors to purchase set amounts of products with payment in advance,
regardless of the distributors actual sales. It also required distributors to
purchase set amounts of less popular products if they wanted to purchase the
more popular products. The site argued that these practices had helped drive
many of the distributors into bankruptcy in slow economic times.When Ramona
arrived at Next Step, she was met by a corporate recruiter and was given a Next
Step polo shirt, custom Next Step Apple iPad Mini, and a carrying case loaded
with promotional materials.At lunch, the
recruiter talked up the company and told Ramona how smart young people like Ramona
were joining the company in droves and rapidly climbing up the management ranks
to earn big bucks.When the recruiter
asked Ramona if she had any questions or comments, Ramona mentioned what she had
read about the company sending researchers around the world in search of new products.
The recruiter laughed and said, We have the greatest P.R. people in the
corporate world. Ramona asked if that meant that the article was inaccurate
and the recruiter said, Well, our P.R. people do make a habit of taking
promotional photos in exotic locations, but of course most of our products are actually
developed in our laboratories right here in Seattle.Ramona mentioned
that she had read about Next Steps industry leading ethics code and the
recruiter responded, Well, of course, you have to have something like that
these days to attract investors and pacify government regulators. Our lawyers
made sure that they covered all the bases.Ramona mentioned
having come across the gripe site and the recruiter said, Dont worry about
that. There are always disgruntled ex-distributors looking to blame others for
their own incompetence. Our lawyers will have that site shut down within the
week.Later, at a
company pep rally, the CEO put on a flashy display, complete with a 3-D video
and company cheerleaders. He talked about how much he really cared about people
and about making their lives better; however, when an infant that had been brought
to the event by another attendee started crying, apparently upset by the noise
and flashy displays, the CEO harshly told the infants mother to please show
some consideration to the rest of the people there and take the child out of
the room.The CEO then went
into a form of corporate sermon, telling the attendees, Brothers and
Sisters, we are here to offer salvation to fat, lazy, lethargic Americans. To
transform the nation in our image. And if we should happen to get rich as a
result of doing so, wheres the harm in that? Can I get an Amen? Many in the
room shouted, Amen.At the end of the
weekend, Ramona was presented with a recruiting contract offering her a
starting salary of $80,000.00 plus commissions. She would attend a two-week
corporate orientation and then be sent out as a junior manager in the companys
Atlanta, GA, office. The recruiter remarked that because Ramona was a Liberty
grad, the company assumed she was a Christian, which meant she could likely
talk the talk needed to bring in new distributors in the south.Assignment:Looking at the
situation from both a spiritual and an ethical perspective, advise Ramona as to
whether she should sign the contract. Explain your reasoning.In connection with
this assignment, you may want to research the following ethical concepts and
incorporate what you find into your thread if you consider them relevant:Corporate
Culture;Honesty;Integrity;Strategic Ethics
v. Real Ethics; andAny other legal,
ethical, or biblical concepts you believe may be relevant.Each thread must
be at least 1,000 words and will analyze a provided Case Study.For each thread
and reply, you must support your assertions with a minimum of 3 scholarly
sources, other than the textbook and course materials. Each source must be
cited in current APA format. Each thread and reply must include both full
citations in a reference list at the end of each post and in-text, short
citations. Acceptable sources include books, legal and business journals, legal
cases, the law (cases, statutes, regulations, etc.), the Bible, biblical
commentary, etc. Dictionaries and other web sources without scholarly support
are not considered acceptable sources.Responding to a
situation from a spiritual perspective, and full integration of a biblical
worldview, requires more than simply adding a verse from the Bible to the post.
A well-developed, complete analysis will include multiple verses from
Scripture, quoted and applied as an integral part of the students discussion
of the applicable issues.”