BUS 340 Module 1 Assignment Problems – Chapters 1, 2, and 4

Gribben vs.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
The United States
is primarily a common law legal system, the most notable exception being the State
of Louisiana, which has state laws that are organized along the lines of a
civil codified legal system. Does the state of Indiana recognize an
independent tort claim for intentional first-party spoliation of evidence if
the alleged accuser negligently or intentionally destroys or gets rid of
relevant evidence?

Chapter
2 – Problems and Problem Cases: Problem 6
6.Jerrie
Gray worked at a Tyson Foods plant where she was exposed to comments, gestures,
and physical contact that, she alleged, constituted sexual harassment. Tyson
disputed the allegation, arguing that the behavior was not unwelcome, that the
complained about conduct was not based on sex, that the conduct did not affect
a term, condition, or privilege of employment,
and that proper remedial action was taken in response to any complaint
by Gray of sexual harassment.
During the trial in
federal court, a witness for Gray repeatedly volunteered inadmissible testimony
that the judge had to tell the jury to disregard.
At one point, upon an
objection from the defendant’s counsel, the witness asked, “May I say something
here?” The judge told her she could not. Finally, after the jury left the
courtroom, the witness had an angry outburst that continued into the hallway,
in view of some of the jurors. The jury awarded Gray $185,000 in compensatory and
$800,000 in punitive damages. Tyson believed that it should not have been
liable, that them awards of damages were excessive and unsupported by evidence,
and that the inadmissible evidence and improper conduct had tainted the
proceedings. What courses of action may Tyson pursue?

Chapter
4 – Problems and Problem Cases: Problems 4 and 7
4.You
own a consulting firm with 32 employees and annual billings of $29,000,000. One
of your clients, whom you bill an average of $1,200,000 annually, has asked you
to hire her grandson. You know that the grandson has recently graduated from a
top-20 business school.
He is 31 years old, has
a solid academic record, and possesses the personal and professional skills to
be successful as a consultant. You also know, however, that he is a recovering
cocaine addict, having struggled with the addiction for five years prior to his
attending business school. Your firm has a strict no-drugs policy, which you
usually interpret to exclude those who previously abused drugs. Using justice
theory, justify a decision to exempt the
grandson from your firm’s no drugs policy. Could you make the same decision as a profit maximizer?
7.You
are assigned by your employer, Jay-Mart Corporation, an international discount
retailer, to supervise the construction of ten new retail superstores in
Shanghai, China. All construction is being done by a Chinese-owned contractor
in compliance with Jay- Mart’s construction standards. After an earthquake in
China kills over 70,000 people, China’s legislature passes a statute requiring
new buildings to have a greater ability to withstand a large earthquake. The
Chinese contractor has
approached you and suggested that the new Chinese construction standards are
unnecessarily high, that Jay-Mart’s construction standards are sufficient to
protect against any earthquake likely to occur, and that the cost of complying
with the new Chinese construction standards will increase construction costs 20
percent.
What do you do if you
believe that ethical behavior requires you to maximize Jay-Mart’s profits?