Faker’s Ethical Analysis

1. Could Jeremy Bentham justify the continued existence of Faker? Explain.
   Jeremy Bentham’s utilitarian theory takes a cost/benefit approach to decision-making.
   According to this theory, an ethical decision is one that promotes the greatest good/happiness
   to the greatest number of people (Saylor, 2012). By promoting the manufacture and sale of
   counterfeit products, Faker harms companies that manufacture and sell original products. The
   companies will not have the incentive to innovate and develop new products or improve the
   quality of their products (Eisend, 2019). Thus, the actions of Faker deny manufacturers of
   original products a rightful share of returns from their innovations. It also denies a large
   number of consumers the use of innovative and high-quality products because it stifles
   innovation. Faker’s business promotes good to a small number of its employees and the
   companies that manufacture counterfeit products in China and promotes pain to a large
   number of consumers. Thus, since it promotes more pain than good, Jeremy Bentham could
   not justify the continued existence of Faker.
2. If Immanuel Kant worked at Faker, how would he feel about the corporate
   culture? Why?

Immanuel Kant’s ethical philosophy is predicated on the belief that the rightness or
wrongness of an action depends on whether one is fulfilling a duty (Saylor, 2012). In the case
of Faker, their duty is to uphold the intellectual property rights of the manufacturers of
original products. Thus, if Immanuel Kant worked at Baker, he would disagree with the
company’s corporate culture.

3. Do you agree with the CEO’s description of the corporate culture at Faker?
   Why?

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The CEO of Faker claims that the company’s corporate culture is one of honesty,
integrity, and creativity. Since the company’s hawkers tell the truth about the nature of
products that they are selling, the company can be considered to be honest. However, it lacks
integrity because it promotes sale of products whose manufacture used stolen property rights
of the original manufacturers of the products. The company is also not creative as it sells
copied products.

4. Make your personal argument for or against Faker. Support your position with
   ethical theories from the course.

I am personally against Faker’s business model. The company promotes the sale of
counterfeit products which discourages innovation and creativity. Therefore, it ends up
harming both the companies that manufacture original products and consumers who need
high-quality products. Thus, Faker’s business model is unethical because it violates both
utilitarian and duty-based ethics.

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References

Eisend, M. (2019). Morality effects and consumer responses to counterfeit and pirated
products: A meta-analysis. Journal of Business Ethics, 154(2), 301-323.

Saylor (2012). The Business Ethics Workshop. Washington, D.C.: The Saylor Academy