Last Chance, Inc. Has a Stated Mission Statement That Reads As Follows

Final Exam

Case Study #1

Last Chance, Inc. is an American aluminum importing firm that employs 600 people at its corporate headquarters in the small town of Last Chance, Texas. Last Chance, Inc. is the largest single employer in this small Texas town, and it has been the employer for at least three generations of families in this community and its environs.

Last Chance, Inc. has a stated mission statement that reads as follows:

To maintain the highest standards of honesty, integrity, and ethics in all aspects of our business---with customers, suppliers, employees, governments, and society at large---and to comply with the laws of each country and the communities in which we operate.

The President and the Board of Directors have prided themselves in having adopted the mission statement. The Mission Statement is a “work in progress” in being successfully implemented throughout the company, meaning that the Statement, though communicated to all employees of the company, has only recently been created and only incremental efforts have been made to instill its ideals among all of the company personnel.

Due to a rare, but lethal smallpox outbreak in the community during the last fiscal year, the community has suffered some casualties and the great prospect for more, and the company has suffered severe loss to its bottom line as a result of the community disaster. The company now faces bankruptcy unless it can increase its cash flow by at least 10% from the previous year. Faced with this dilemma, Robert Goode, the President of Last Chance, Inc. has sent a team of its best people over to Micronesia (headed by Pat Stevens, the company’s Vice President of Operations and Procurement) to inquire about obtaining aluminum from Micronesian suppliers. The team arrives in Micronesia and meets with one Micronesian supplier, who offers to sell aluminum to Last Chance, Inc, at a deeply discounted rate – a rate so low that, if the purchase goes through, Last Chance will increase its cash flow by 13% from the previous year. The Micronesian company can have the aluminum loaded on ships and ready to transport within three business days. There will be six cargo loads divided upon two ships. There is no evidence to suggest that the product is defective in any manner, and that is not an issue of concern.

The team negotiates the transaction with the supplier and goes the next morning to the port to make the necessary arrangements with the port officials for the shipment of its precious cargo. At the port, Pat Stevens meets the Micronesian Harbor Master, who says that the ships cannot leave because the required domestic documentation has not yet been filled out – documentation that he says normally can take up to twelve months to complete and obtain approval from his government. However, the Harbor Master also says that for a small “late filing fee” of $3,000 per cargo load ($18,000 total) paid directly to him in cash (without any record or notice to others within his employ), he will personally see that Last Chance is permitted to “expedite” its paperwork and allow the ships to sail within the week.

Stevens made a quick, frantic call to Abdul Perkasa , the manager in charge of sales for the Micronesian aluminum company. Abdul makes a “reluctant admission” to Stevens that this “late filing fee” approach is a common unwritten requirement for “expediting” international cargo passing from this particular Micronesian port, especially when a foreign exporter is required to deal directly with this Harbor Master. He had not wanted to mention that during the negotiations, nor that there was a time-consuming documentation procedure that the government required for fear of cramping the prospective sale of his company’s aluminum. But, to atone for that omission, he quietly offers that his company would be willing to help pay one-half of the charge in order to keep the aluminum purchase transaction alive, provided that the Harbor Master is not informed of the source of the funds. Abdul asks Stevens to meet him within the hour to receive the portion of the cash payment that he has offered on behalf of his company.

What should Pat Stevens do? Analyze Steven’s options using the Underwood Model. Specifically, your case study analysis should include the following:

• A brief statement of the pertinent facts.
• A clear and concise statement of the ethical issue or issues involved.
• A discussion of any moral absolutes that are applicable to this situation. (Remember what a moral absolute is. Don’t get carried away “making up” absolutes that do not exist.)
• A discussion of any legal requirements that are applicable to this situation.
• A discussion of the action that Stevens would make if he follows each of the moral philosophies:
• Consequentialism: Egoism and Utilitarianism
• Deontology: Kantian Deontology (including his categorical imperatives) and Social Contract (including Locke’s natural rights and Rawls’ justice principles)
• Virtue Ethics
• A conclusion of the action that you believe Pat Stevens should take in this situation and a well-reasoned explanation of why you reached that conclusion.