M: Organizational Behavior 2nd Edition by Steven McShane, Mary Von Glinow

Exercise 68

Instructions
Read each of these ethics dilemmas and be prepared to discuss the extent to which the company's action in each case was ethical. In particular, consider the moral intensity and ethical principles relevant to each incident. In smaller classes, you may be assigned to a team where these incidents are discussed before debriefing to the entire class.
Case One
A large European bank requires all employees to open a bank account with that bank. The bank deposits employee pay cheques to those accounts. The bank explains that this is a formal policy which all employees agree to at the time of hire. Furthermore, failure to have an account with the bank shows disloyalty, which could limit the employee's career advancement opportunities with the bank. Until recently, the bank has reluctantly agreed to deposit pay cheques to accounts at other banks for a small percentage of employees. Now, bank executives want to reinforce the policy. They announced that employees have three months to open an account with the bank or face disciplinary action.
Case Two
A 16-year old hired as an office administrator at a small import services company started posting her thoughts about the job on her Facebook site. After her first day, she wrote: "first day at work. omg!! So dull!!" Two days later, she complained "all i do is shred holepunch n scan paper!!! omg!" Two weeks later she added "im so totally bord!!!" These comments were intermixed with the other usual banter about her life. Her Facebook site did not mention the name of the company where she worked. Three weeks after being hired, the employee was called into the owner's office, where he fired her for the comments on Facebook, then had her escorted from the building. The owner explained that these comment put the company in a bad light, and her "display of disrespect and dissatisfaction undermined the relationship and made it untenable."
Case Three
Computer printer manufacturers usually sell printers at a low margin over cost and generate much more income from subsequent sales of the high-margin ink cartridges required for each printer. One global printer manufacturer now designs its printers so that they work only with ink cartridges made in the same region. Ink cartridges purchased in the United States will not work with the same printer model sold in Europe, for example. This "region coding" of ink cartridges does not improve performance. Rather, it prevents consumers and grey marketers from buying the product at a lower price in another region. The company says this policy allows it to maintain stable prices within a region rather than continually changing prices due to currency fluctuations.