Business Ethics

The best and ethical decision is to recall the product and reformulate it. The product is
causing harm to users. While the business has the goal of making profits, the purpose does not
supersede its ethical responsibilities to the consumers. The decision may be costly in the short
run, but in the long run, the product may cause more harm to consumers resulting in multiple
suits and protracted legal battles. As a business leader, I feel that the company has to recall the
product and investigate the claims to develop a holistic product.
The ethical theory relied upon is utilitarianism. The approach weighs decisions by
evaluating their outcomes. Moral choices are the ones that result in the greatest good for the most
significant number. As a result, recalling the product is ethical since it results in the greatest good
for the greatest number. The theory is best for this scenario because it is essential to consider all
consumers who could be hurt by the decision to continue to sell the product without analyzing
the side effects.
The stakeholders include the consumers that purchase the product, the shareholders of the
company and the employees. Shareholders have invested in the company and expect good
returns. On the other hand, consumers purchase the company’s products and expect the products
to match the descriptions offered. In addition, the employees have a stake since they work for the
company. The company has a corporate social responsibility to all stakeholders. Businesses do
not exist for the sole reason of making money. They have an ethical responsibility to all
shareholders involved. I believe that the issue is both an ethical and legal issue. Ethics dictated
how the company should behave. On the other hand, a legal issue may stem from the side effects
of the product.