Course Overview:

This module examines various ethical interactions of companies with different stakeholders. A company markets its products to its customer base. Marketing often raises ethical questions.

If you ask a chief executive officer (CEO) what are his or her goals for the company, the CEO may tell you many things. The real answer is that the CEO wants to maximize the wealth of the shareholders.

Because the moment the shareholders (usually a number of large institutional shareholders) feel that the CEO is not maximizing their wealth, they can remove the CEO.

Companies maximize wealth by increasing sales, profits, or market share, which they achieve by developing new products, improving their current products, and advertising their products.

Where is the line drawn between accuracy and puffery? Webster defines puffery as "exaggerated commendation especially for promotional purposes" ("Puffery," 2011).

Puffery serves to "puff up" an exaggerated image of what is being described and is especially featured in testimonials. Many consumer advocates complain that puffery should be illegal and that there should be truth in advertising.

Puffery. (2011). Merriam-Webster's online dictionary.

Module Readings and Assignment:

Complete the following readings early in the module:

Module overview

From your course textbook, Law & Ethics in the Business Environment, 8th read the following chapter:

Marketing and Technology: Choice and Manipulation

From the Argosy University online library resources, read the following articles:

Pohl, M. (2010). Three little pigs of deceptive advertising. Pharmaceutical Executive, 30(9), 30, 32. (ProQuest document ID:757065267)

Assignment Instructions:

Assignment: Required Assignment-Balancing Company Interests vs. the Public Interest

Select a topic and work on the relevant tasks for this assignment.

Topic A:

The United States has still not recovered from the recent wave of mortgage defaults and foreclosures. Experts predict that the housing market will take years to recover in some locations due to a variety of factors. There are numerous publications that detail how the problem developed.

Many of the reasons for the collapse of the housing market have ethical implications.

Tasks:

Using the Argosy University online library resources or the Internet, research the financial collapse of the housing market.

Create a 10- to 12-page report discussing your findings. Explore the evidence from an ethical point of view.

Topic B:

Tasks:

Select three or four essays from your textbook relating to your area of experience and expertise (for example, finance, accounting, or technology).

Create a 10- to 12-page report critiquing your chosen readings.

Include a literature review of your chosen essays, starting with a synopsis of the major ideas and themes in each essay.

Conduct an in-depth critique of the essays by comparing and contrasting the essential points discussed in each work.

Include a reflective assessment of what lessons one can learn from the points brought up in the essays and how they can effectively be implemented in a typical business setting.

The following is a checklist that you can use in analyzing or critiquing your chosen essays:

Each piece of writing is different; but, in most cases, the majority of these questions are applicable. Use these questions as a point of reference for your critique. You may also cover other relevant aspects of an essay not addressed by the critique question list below:

Is the essay's title a clear depiction of its content? Why or why not?

Is the author qualified to write about the subject matter?

What is the purpose of the essay? Is it stated clearly?

Identify the problem statement in the essay. Does the introduction and conclusion focus clearly on the problem statement?

Is the statement of facts (beyond commonly known facts) supported by appropriate citations in the text and/or references?

Which ideas in the essay need further development?

What ideas in the essay are practical enough to be implemented in a business setting and which ideas are rather impractical? Why?

Does the essay contain discursive or irrelevant sections? If yes, what are they?

Is the work biased in any way? Examine the author's biases.

Is there an idea that is common to all the essays?

How is the essay different from the other essay(s) you are also critiquing?

Complete the tasks pertaining to the chosen topic.