Case Study: Pegasus

In the case presented, it's possible to identify a conflicted leader conflicted trying to make the most beneficial decision for his company while, at the same time, maintaining his ethical philosophy. The company in question, Pegasus, is being led by CEO Tom Oswald who has to make a difficult decision of whether the company should expand its businesses in China, a country where businesses have to make considerable payoff's to obtain licenses. In other words, Oswald is conflicted between engaging in unethical practices, such as bribing, in order to enter China's extremely profitable market. I believe that Oswald's concern is reasonable since he built a corporate culture characterized not only by aggressive R&D and growth but also by integrity,
For starters, Oswald can follow his ethical principles and prevent Pegasus from doing business with China. It's important for a CEO to set an example of ethical behavior since top management "sets the tone for how the entire company runs on a day-to-day basis" (Horton, 2017). In fact, when the management philosophy revolves around ethical practices and behaviors, leaders such as Oswald, can successfully "direct employees by example and guide them in making decisions that are not only beneficial to them as individuals, but also to the organization as a whole" (Horton, 2017). When top management sets the stage for ethical practices, they are building the foundations of ethical behavior which creates positive effects for a company. Among these benefits are the attraction and retention of skilled individuals and the development of a positive reputation in the eyes of the community. Moreover, "running a business in an ethical manner from the top down builds a stronger bond between individuals on the management team, further creating stability within the company." (Horton, 2017). In other words, Oswald's decision not to make business with China is justifiable since he is trying to preserve the company's ethical standing and set an example not only among his employees but also in the eyes of the community and the business world. I believe that, although he is sacrificing a significant amount of
Yes, Pegasus will relinquish the opportunity of establishing a business relation with one of the most significant economies in the world, however, the world is a considerably big market and it will be possible to business with plenty of other countries. By sticking to ethical decision making, Oswald is increasing employee productivity and morale since they are encouraged to "make better decisions in less time with business ethics as a guiding principle" (Horton, 2017). Moreover, the importance of running a business with high standard of business ethics is that employees "are more likely to perform their job duties at a higher level and are also more inclined to stay loyal to that organization." (Horton, 2017). By staying loyal to ethical practices, Oswald is not only setting an example but also encouraging his employees to keep behave the same way and understand although businesses seek to maximize profit, money sometimes can't be the ultimate goal of an