Ethical Dilemma at Northlake
“Ethical Dilemma at Northlake”
Week 3 – Case Study #1
Cecellia Dantzler
Synopsis: Frank, manager of corporate reporting at Amalgamated Forest Products, has threatened to go public with information regarding a falsified report on the effect of effluent controls on the discharge of wastewater from pulp and paper companies, which has angered his boss, Jim McIntosh and the company’s president, Jim Letourneau. Letourneau was to testify before a legislative subcommittee the following week and use the report, “Endangered Species: The Pulp and Paper Industry in the Upper Peninsula”, to give the industry’s perspective on proposed legislation. The section of the report which contained the falsified financial information was prepared by Tina Pacquette, manager of financial analysis. Frank and Tina’s work relationship is strained and Frank has little belief in Tina’s ability to perform her job. The report was on Tina’s desk when Frank found it. It is stated in the report that Amalgamated would suffer severely financially if forced to build a lagoon to treat wastewater as impending legislation would require. The numbers used support this fact were highly overestimated with percentages that were nearly triple the percentages reported by Tina just one year ago. Northlake, a small town with a population around 10,000, is the home of Amalgamated’s corporate offices. Three of the company’s main mills were located in some of the more isolated areas of the province. The company was experiencing financial difficulties because of the recession. The waste Amalgamated is dumping in the Wanawashee River is the same waste the competition had to clean up a few years ago and its remnants are still affecting the water supply of the aboriginal community located downstream from the mills.
Finding of Fact #1: Amalgamated is further damaging the local river. The same waste Northlake is dumping in the Wanawashee River is the same waste their competitor had to clean up years ago. The drinking
Week 3 – Case Study #1
Cecellia Dantzler
Synopsis: Frank, manager of corporate reporting at Amalgamated Forest Products, has threatened to go public with information regarding a falsified report on the effect of effluent controls on the discharge of wastewater from pulp and paper companies, which has angered his boss, Jim McIntosh and the company’s president, Jim Letourneau. Letourneau was to testify before a legislative subcommittee the following week and use the report, “Endangered Species: The Pulp and Paper Industry in the Upper Peninsula”, to give the industry’s perspective on proposed legislation. The section of the report which contained the falsified financial information was prepared by Tina Pacquette, manager of financial analysis. Frank and Tina’s work relationship is strained and Frank has little belief in Tina’s ability to perform her job. The report was on Tina’s desk when Frank found it. It is stated in the report that Amalgamated would suffer severely financially if forced to build a lagoon to treat wastewater as impending legislation would require. The numbers used support this fact were highly overestimated with percentages that were nearly triple the percentages reported by Tina just one year ago. Northlake, a small town with a population around 10,000, is the home of Amalgamated’s corporate offices. Three of the company’s main mills were located in some of the more isolated areas of the province. The company was experiencing financial difficulties because of the recession. The waste Amalgamated is dumping in the Wanawashee River is the same waste the competition had to clean up a few years ago and its remnants are still affecting the water supply of the aboriginal community located downstream from the mills.
Finding of Fact #1: Amalgamated is further damaging the local river. The same waste Northlake is dumping in the Wanawashee River is the same waste their competitor had to clean up years ago. The drinking