Reference no: EM133996554

Assignment:

Read the following ethical dilemma and response the question in an essay way posed at the end of the narrative.

WHOLE FOODS RAHODEB

(Robbins and Judge, 2012)

In this class we've read about different ethical theories. Whole Foods is a fast-growing chain of upscale grocery stores and has long been a Wall Street and business press favorite. It regularly appears high on Fortune's list of 100 Best Companies to Work For, and it has spawned its share of competitors, including Fresh Market, Trader Joe's, and Wild Oats.

Given that most industry analysts see a bright future for upscale, organic markets like Whole Foods, it's no surprise that the market has attracted its share of investor blogs. One of the prominent bloggers (posting hundreds of blog entries) "Rahodeb" has consistently extolled the virtues of Whole Food's stock and derided its competitor Wild Oats. Rahodeb predicted that Wild Oats would eventually be forced into bankruptcy and that the stock price of Whole Foods would grow at an annual rate of 18 percent. Rahodeb's Yahoo! Finance blog entries were widely read because he seemed to have special insight into the industry and into Whole Foods in particular.

In 2007, Rahodeb was exposed as Whole Foods co-founder and, at the time, CEO, John Mackey. ("Rahodeb" is an anagram of "Deborah," Mackey's wife.) What's more, while Rahodeb was talking down Wild Oats stock, Whole Foods was in the process of acquiring Wild Oats, and talking down the company may have made the acquisition easier and cheaper. Because the companies often have stores in the same cities, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) attempted to block the acquisition, and the FTC was responsible for "outing" Mackey. In response, Mackey said: "I posted on Yahoo! under a pseudonym because I had fun doing it. Many people post on bulletin boards using pseudonyms. The views articulated by Rahodeb sometimes represented what I believed and sometimes they didn't."

Question

1. Were Mackey's actions ethical? Be sure to use the ethical theories we've studied in class (e.g., utilitarianism, free-market ethics) and the discussions about ethical decision making (and, of course, any other relevant topics) to analyze this ethical dilemma and to support your conclusion.

2. Given what you already know about Mackey from this course, are you surprised by his actions? Explain why or why not? As always, be sure to use course readings/concepts/theories to explain your answer.

3. If you were the CEO of Wild oats stock, what would be your response and how would you handle the situation?