Mega Foods Case Study
Mega Foods Case Study
Cherice McCray
Troy University- Dothan Campus
As the regional director for Mega Foods Inc., I foresee several ethical issues stemming from closing plant operations in Orchard, Georgia and moving operations to the country of Frostburg. The utilitarianism approach as mentioned in Northouse (2013) is behaving in a way as to create the greatest the good for the greatest number. Keeping operations in Orchard, Georgia may not be the most profitable option; however it allows the local economy to thrive by keeping operations local. Farmers are able to sustain as well as the local economy due to consumers having disposable income. From an economic standpoint consumers are able to afford normal goods. If production is moved families will be forced to cut expenses down to bare necessities. If production is moved Mega Foods is creating the greatest good for herself or himself as defined in Northouse (2013) as ethical egoism. Ethical egoism is common in some business contexts in which a company and its employees make decisions to achieve its goal of maximizing profits (Northouse, 2013). 1. Identify and specifically describe 3 to 5 major ethical issues you would encounter in the process of formulating your recommendation. In your response, please justify or support why you feel that each of the issues have ethical implications.
The decision to outsource jobs is a pertinent ethical issue. The average tenure of the people working at the Orchard, GA plant is 10 years with several nearing retirement. Mega Foods will affect more than the 125 people on payroll. Those 125 people all have unique circumstances. One person may be caring for a large number of family members while another person’s wife may have cancer or be terminally ill. Moving production will negatively impact hundreds of households and trickle a domino effect on other local businesses. The housing market, car dealerships and retail stores will be greatly
Cherice McCray
Troy University- Dothan Campus
As the regional director for Mega Foods Inc., I foresee several ethical issues stemming from closing plant operations in Orchard, Georgia and moving operations to the country of Frostburg. The utilitarianism approach as mentioned in Northouse (2013) is behaving in a way as to create the greatest the good for the greatest number. Keeping operations in Orchard, Georgia may not be the most profitable option; however it allows the local economy to thrive by keeping operations local. Farmers are able to sustain as well as the local economy due to consumers having disposable income. From an economic standpoint consumers are able to afford normal goods. If production is moved families will be forced to cut expenses down to bare necessities. If production is moved Mega Foods is creating the greatest good for herself or himself as defined in Northouse (2013) as ethical egoism. Ethical egoism is common in some business contexts in which a company and its employees make decisions to achieve its goal of maximizing profits (Northouse, 2013). 1. Identify and specifically describe 3 to 5 major ethical issues you would encounter in the process of formulating your recommendation. In your response, please justify or support why you feel that each of the issues have ethical implications.
The decision to outsource jobs is a pertinent ethical issue. The average tenure of the people working at the Orchard, GA plant is 10 years with several nearing retirement. Mega Foods will affect more than the 125 people on payroll. Those 125 people all have unique circumstances. One person may be caring for a large number of family members while another person’s wife may have cancer or be terminally ill. Moving production will negatively impact hundreds of households and trickle a domino effect on other local businesses. The housing market, car dealerships and retail stores will be greatly
References: Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.