Question

A sports team's owner is given a videotape of his star player physically striking his girlfriend in an elevator, causing her severe injuries. The player has not been accused of any crime. Each player's employment contract states that a player may be terminated for committing battery. If the owner fires the player, the team will win fewer games, which will result in lower attendance and lower revenues for the stadium and the team. The owner may even have to lay off some employees. The owner has always admired the thinking of John Akers, the former chairman of IBM. What would Akers advise?
a. Keep the player on the team and try to keep his behavior secret. The owner should announce at a press conference that he plans to donate a large amount of money to a charitable organization for battered women.b. Keep the player on the team and impose no sanctions. Firing the player will cost the team millions of dollars.c. Suspend the player for several games and order the player to take anger management classes.d. Fire the player. The team may suffer financially at first, but if the public has faith in the organization, the team and the league will benefit in the long run. If the owner keeps the tape a secret and the public finds out about his actions, the team - and society - will suffer harm from the loss of public trust.

Answer 1

Answer:

The answer is: D) Fire the player. The team may suffer financially at first, but if the public has faith in the organization, the team and the league will benefit in the long run. If the owner keeps the tape a secret and the public finds out about his actions, the team - and society - will suffer harm from the loss of public trust.

Explanation:

Akers firmly believed that ethics were fundamental to economic competitiveness. He argued that without ethical behavior, individuals, corporations and society as a whole couldn´t be economically competitive.

So in this case, he would have simply terminated the player´s contract without regarding any of the potential downsides for the team.