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Running head: BUSINESS ETHICS

Business Ethics
Final Seminar Paper: Chicago Seminar

Kassia Webb
International College of the Cayman Islands

BE/SO-425: Seminar on Business and Society

Instructor: Dr. David Marshall

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Abstract
This paper gives and overview of what activities were involved in the International College
of the Cayman Islands, Business and Society seminar which was held in Chicago Illinois the
week of the 17th to 22nd of May 2016. Various business topics such as Whistle-blowing,
Ethics in the World of Business, Corporate Social Responsibility, The Role of Government
Regulation, Discrimination and Affirmative Action, Corporate Government and
Accountability and Business Impacts on the Environment were explored through attending
lectures with experts who provided invaluable perspectives. This paper takes a stance for
Business Ethics and demonstrates reasons why ethics is vital in businesses. This paper
includes a study of what encourages employees to perform ethically. Furthermore, this paper
includes a research on the observations of the importance of ethics, peoples approaches and
worries towards ethics. It also reports the impact that the seminar had on me and what I
gained from it. In addition, the paper provides feedback on what surprised me the most
throughout my experience and the limitations that I developed.

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Introduction
The international business seminar was about business and society. It was held in
Chicago, Illinois during the 17th to the 22nd of May 2016 and was chaperoned by Dr.
David Marshall. The seminar offered us the opportunity to explore a selection of business
topics such as Whistle-blowing, Ethics in the World of Business, Corporate Social
Responsibility, The Role of Government Regulation, Discrimination and Affirmative
Action, Corporate Government and Accountability and Business Impacts on the
Environment. It consisted of attending daily lectures and excursions on the 18th through
21st of May 2016, and we were also involved in some community activities. We were
instructed by our seminar lecture Dr. Marshall, to post discussions about our visits and
liaise with other classmates. Additionally, we were informed to write reflection papers on
seven selected meetings and excursions which were submitted at 11:59 a.m. on the final
day of seminar, 22nd of May 2016.
Firstly, on 18th May, 2016 we visited the Chicago City Hall and checked into City
Council Chambers. We met with the Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, who I found very down
to earth as he greeted me with a slap on the hand. Just before we positioned to take our seminar
group photo, he then noticed my walk and later asked if I was a dancer. We later met with
Roxanne Nava, who is the Chief Small Business Officer of the City of Chicago, Business Affairs
and Consumer Protection. She presented mainly on the significance of small businesses in
communities, business regulations and other important matters about small businesses. Shortly
after, we visited the National Louis University for a presentation on Business and Ethics. The
main presenters were Michael Fontaine (PhD)-Associate Professor of Marketing, Professor
James W. Nowotarski - Assistant Professor in the College of Professional Studies and

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Advancement and Dr. Vlad Dolgopolov, -Associate Dean and College of Professional Studies
and Advancement. We then visited the Cloud Gate, also known as The Bean in Millennium Park.
It is the second most popular attraction in Chicago. According to Choose Chicago (n.d.), Anish
Kapoor's first public sculpture in the United States came as the result of $26M in private
donations and, well, a giant headache. Composed of close to 200 stainless steel plates and
weighing 100 tons, Cloud Gate faced numerous technological and upkeep issues before being
unveiled in early 2005 (para. 7). This visit highlighted business corporate and social
responsibility through art. Later in the evening, we had a lecture at the Marriot Hotel, Michigan
Room on diversity and its role in business development which was presented by Dr. Vernese
Edghill-Walden.
On 19th May 2016, we attended a lecture on Whistle-blowing and Business Ethics at the
DePaul University. The main presenters were Dr. Daryl Koehn, who is the Wicklander Chair in
Professional Ethics and Summer N. Brown- Executive Director of the Institute for Business and
Professional Ethics. Also, we visited the DePaul Bookstore and received gift certificates from the
International College of the Cayman Islands to purchase souvenirs. Later we went to
the Chicago Mercantile Exchange or the Merc. The Merc provides the facilities for traders to
trade agricultural stocks and currencies on the trading floor. Most excitingly, we explored the
Chicago Sky Deck in the Willis Tower which is the tallest building in Western Hemisphere at a
height of 1,730 feet including the twin antenna towers. It also had glass viewing windows and
ledges which allowed us to enjoy the breathtaking view of Chicago.
On the 20th May 2016, we met with Laura Freveletti who is the Senior Manager for the
Community Engagement of Allstate and President-Elect of the CR Group. She provided a
briefing of Allstate Corporate Responsibility and Chicago Corporate Responsibility Group. We

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were also engaged in some voluntary work such as painting picnic tables and gardening at the
YMCA (Young Men Christian Association) which is a global charitable organization.
Afterwards, we met with Carolyn Phillips, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the World Business
Chicago, who gave a briefing on Strategic Business Growth. In addition, we met with Kassandra
Hinrichsen who gave us a tour of The Plant (Plant Chicago), which is a non-profit
organization, to learn about issues of sustainability in urban environments. According to Plant
Chicago (2016) there mission is to, To develop circular economies of food production, energy
conservation and material reuse, while empowering people of all backgrounds to make their
cities healthier and more efficient (para. 2).
Finally, on 21st May 2016, we completed the Chicago seminar with a community service
activity at the Cornerstone Community Outreach. We cleaned the facility, organized different
food selections, prepared food and served the homeless.
Business and Society Topic Exploration
Given the various lectures from the seminar, I have chosen to focus mainly on the area of
Business Ethics. I have chosen this topic as I wanted more insight into this area, specifically to
be able to identify the principles of business ethics, types of ethical situations and the effects of
lack of business ethics.
Business ethics is defined as a form of ethical and unethical company practices (Ebert &
Griffin, 2015). In other words, a business sets policies and procedures for employees to follow
and conduct businesses unfailingly. A business should always include ethics as priority. If an
organization obligates to being ethical there will be a great effect on the employees.
Organizations should take responsibility for educating their employees on what are ethical
practices in the workplace. According to Vitell and Hidalgo (2006), Logically, individuals

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within business organizations must first perceive ethics and social responsibility to be important
before their behaviors are likely to become more ethical and reflect greater social responsibility
(p.32). Vitell and Hidalgo are implying that employees should be aware of what is ethically
wrong or right and act morally right. They should also ensure that they follow the business codes
of conduct that is put in place. Practicing good ethics in a business is destined for the
stakeholders to be pleased. A business must know that in order to stay successful, the key is to
make their employees and customers happy.
Business ethics are essential in order to create highly regarded businesses in the market.
If the business lacks ethics then everyone including the employees, customers, shareholders and
the business itself will be negatively impacted. When businesses prove that they are reputable,
then they will attract more consumers, resulting in an increase of profitability. Other advantages
of good business ethics consist of company awareness, improved employee motivation, and
interest of investors. However, disadvantages include high turnover of unhappy employees, and
higher expenses due to recruitment and training costs, legal expenses due to wrong dismissal and
economic decline.
I have learned that there are some businesses that act unethical because they are not
aware of certain laws and regulations. Ebert and Griffin (2015) stated, An increasingly
controversial area regarding business ethics and company practices involves the privacy of email and other communication that takes place inside and organization (p.42). Some companies
monitor the internet usage of employees and their e-mails; however employees are displeased as
they believe that the company is infringing their privacy.
Furthermore, I have recently learned about the types of unethical practices procedures.
For example, it is unethical if a Senior Manager travels for leisure and decides to use the

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companys credit card to gamble at the casino and then he later issues a signed check to the
finance department to reimburse the company. Some people have viewed this situation as theft;
however my interpretation was that he was acting unethically for using the companys credit card
for personal usage, even though he settled his personal expenses with the company. Also, the
Senior Manager noted the companys policies and procedures did not state that he could not use
the card for personal use. Additionally, I was made aware it is unethical if a Managing Director
gets a raise while other employees are made redundant. This unethical action significantly affects
the employee as they will be jobless and will be unable to make ends meet. It could also affect
the companys reputation if this unethical situation about the Managing Director is
communicated to the public. I have gained knowledge on some principles that businesses should
adhere to which includes, being trustworthy, being fair, being compassionate, having good
leadership, boosting morale and complying with the laws. In addition, I have obtained
understanding on the effects of lack of business ethics which consists of bad reputation to the
public, unethical employee behavior, low morale, high turnover and poor employee
performances. I have also learned that ethical problems arise in businesses due to personal
interest and selfishness, conflicts of interest and rivalry with competitors.
The Chicago Experience
From our Chicago Seminar, I have gained valuable information in the various business
and society areas such as whistle-blowing, corporate social responsibility, diversity and
sustainability in urban environments.
After the whistle-blowing lecture with Dr. Daryl Koehn, I became more familiar with the
term. A whistle-blower is an employee who discovers illegal and unethical activities and tries to
investigate and then reports the employee or business in an unethical manner to the public (Ebert

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& Griffin, 2015). Nevertheless, I am familiar with some acts of whistle-blowing, which take
place in the world of business, like fraud and theft. I became aware that whistle-blowing is a very
risky act if the situation is not dealt with ethically; for instance, exposing a businesss illegal
actions to the public and did not report it internally. My understanding is that an employee
should initially report the incident to his direct manager and then if they do not acknowledge the
incident then the whistle-blower should advise senior managers. According to Ebert and Griffin
(2015),
For example, Charles W. Robinson, Jr., worked as a director of a SmithKline lab in San
Antonio. One day he noticed a suspicious billing pattern that the firm was using to collet
lab fees from Medicare; the bills were considerably higher than the firms normal charges
for the same tests. He pointed out the problem to higher-level managers, but they ignored
his concerns. He subsequently took his finding to the U.S. government, which sued
SmithKline and eventually reached a settlement of $325 million (p.60).
In relation to Ebert and Griffin report, I believe that Charles W. Robinson, Jr. did the correct
thing of informing the government as the higher-level management did not acknowledge his
complaint. However, I learned that there are some disadvantages of whistleblowing which
include employee termination, retaliation and conflict of interest. There are also some advantages
as a result of whistle-blowing for example; protecting the company and the public, protecting
employees health and safety, and rewarding employees for discovering serious illegal acts.
Moreover, based on the lecture with Laura Freveletti, I have also attained understanding on
corporate social responsibility that is it worthy to give back and be a good citizen because it
creates awareness and a good reputation for businesses. According to Economic Challenger
(2011),

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Corporate social responsibility is a company's obligation to be responsible to all
of its stakeholders in all its operations and activities with the aim of achieving
sustainable development not only in the economical component but also in the
social and environmental dimension (para 2).
In addition, Roxanne Nava advised that a way of corporate social responsibility to enhance
customers value consist of, carrying out surveys in order to study the consumers, to know their
needs and wants, how they feel about the businesss products and services, and what are they
willing to pay and to basically know their customers overall.
Furthermore, Dr. Edghill-Walden touched on the area of diversity. I learned that in order
to be inclusive we have to accept diversity and know that people are different. I was informed
that diversity in a business brings interest, opportunities, creates better persons, enhances selfawareness and it helps us to appreciate other peoples cultures. As quoted by Lawrence and
Weber (2014), The term diversity refers to variation in the important human characteristics that
distinguish people from one another. The primary dimensions of diversity are age, ethnicity,
gender, mental or physical abilities, race, and sexual orientation (p. 379). This topic is related to
managing diversity in the workplace as it is informing us that we should treat others equally and
refrain from discriminating against individuals age, sex, gender, and race.
Our visit to The Plant was very interesting as I have never experienced any method of
this nature. The Plants aim and processes were most surprising to me, especially the way in
which they grow mushrooms and also use organic waste which is a mixture of yard waste and
food waste to produce energy. It was very astonishing to learn the mushrooms are grown by
cloning spawn in the sterile laboratory, pasteurizing straw and stuffing into log-shaped bags and
then inoculating those logs with spawn. The mushroom farm is kept at 85% humidity and about

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75 degrees Fahrenheit. I also became aware that the digester machine breaks down the organic
substances into liquid and solid soil amendments and biogas. The biogas is beneficial for the use
of electricity and heat for the building. Lawrence and Weber (2014) has stated that,
Sustainable development requires an equitable distribution of the benefits gained
from the use of natural resources for both current generations (the developing
world countries should receive its fair share along with the countries in the
developed world) and across generations (the present generation should not gain
at the expense of future generations) (p. 213).
Fossil fuels cause pollution to the environment and harm our ecosystem. The society should find
ways to cut down on pollution and implement more practices like The Plant, in order to help
protect the environment.
Application of the Learning
The Chicago seminar was worthwhile and beneficial as I know theoretically how
significant it is to gain information and feedback on business aspects. Ive realized that obtaining
information from professionals abroad who were delighted to share their knowledge can be
invaluable, as each society has its own ways of dealing with situations and bringing them across
differently. I have changed as result of this seminar. First, Ive made an improvement by
becoming a tad more comfortable with public speaking by doing self- introductions in front of
the seminar group and professionals, and making an appreciation presentation to a professional.
The seminar has improved my listening skills, helped me to present my ideas clearly and be open
to others opinions. I have also improved my time management skills due to the excessive work
load in such a short period of time. Also, I have gained interpersonal skills, for example, dealing
with disagreements and working as a team to accomplish assignments. Moreover, the seminar
has made me change my views on ethical practices. For instance, I have changed my thoughts on

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diversity and discrimination as I was persuaded by Dr. Vernese Edghill-Walden of the
importance of accepting others culture and their characteristics, especially, as it is ethical in the
business world. The seminar granted us the opportunity to dispute issues, share knowledges and
interchange perceptions related to the specific topics, so as a result this has broaden my
knowledge in these areas. Furthermore, in relation to Corporate Social Responsibility and
Community Outreach, the seminar had a great impact on me as I dont often get involved in
community services. However, after being engaged in community activities in Chicago, I believe
it has made me a better person. I had a thrilled experience painting benches, and preparing food
and serving the homeless. These events boosted my morale to now be a part of community
events. My experience certainly made me a better professional on the job, as the different
presentations allowed me to develop a perspective on each of the topics. I am now more aware of
the ethical standards or the lack of ethical standard in my current place of employment. This
experience has also allowed me to better appreciate my companys efforts in being socially
responsible and its energies to be involved in the community.
Limitations
During our experience in Chicago, I have found that there were some limitations for
some areas due to the busy schedule in such a very short period of time. It would have been
beneficial if we were given the opportunity to have conducted individual interviews in relation to
our main topic, to precisely discuss detailed information and answer questions in our areas of
interest. Furthermore, I would like to have been exposed to the laws and regulations pertaining to
business ethics in order to fully know what is wrong and what is right. I hope I can accomplish
these goals by conducting some researches or interviews with professionals to understand and
know the business ethics law and regulations in Grand Cayman.

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Summary and Conclusion
Conclusively, businesses face a number of challenges such as discrimination,
environmental concerns, corporate social responsibility, social responsibility and various
unethical business practices. It is important for every business to take a stance on the various
ethical issues that may face their organization. This provides a blueprint of operation for their
employees, their customers and their shareholders. Despite the challenges, every organization
has different views and values on how they impact the society. Most businesses focus more on
maximizing profits instead of focusing on the essentials of achieving a reputable and successful
business. It is becoming increasingly important for companies to acknowledge their social
responsibilities within the community. This will strengthen their relationships with their
stakeholders. This holds them to a higher level of operation and boosts morale in all areas. In
addition, a business can benefit from a diverse work force as it is able to have varied perspectives
on any one issue. The overall seminar experience prepared me with some tools that I lacked in
my professional growth and my growth as a college student. Therefore, with the knowledge that
I gained, it will be beneficial for me in the future.

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Reference
Choose Chicago (n.d.). About Millennium Park. Retrieved from:
http://www.choosechicago.com/articles/view/about-millennium-park/895/
Economic Challenger. (2011). IMPACT OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN
GARMENT INDUSTRY (with reference to tirupur knitwear industry). Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/863393694?accountid=158672
Ebert, R., & Griffin, R. (2015). Business essentials (10th ed.) New York: Pearson.
Lawrence, A. T., & Weber, J. (2014). Business and Society: Stakeholders, Ethics, Public
Policy, 14th Edition.
Vitell, S. J., & Hidalgo, E.R. (2006). Journal of Business Ethics. Volume 64,
Number 1. The Impact of Corporate Ethical Values and Enforcement of Ethical Codes on
the Perceived Importance of Ethics in Business: A Comparison of U.S. and Spanish
Managers. DOI 10.1007/s10551-005-4664-5
Retrieved from: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-005-4664-5#page-1