This case is intended for use in a business and society, business ethics, or public policy course. It could also be used in a communications or public relations course as an example of information exchange and how a corporation can handle controversial issues. Yellowstone Pipe Line (YPL) is a Montana-based firm that operates a 644-mile pipeline from Billings, MT to Moses Lake, Washington. The pipeline supplies approximately one-third of the motor fuel consumed in the Spokane market in eastern Washington. It also supplies 100% of the military jet fuel required for Fairchild Air Force Base and two-thirds of the commercial jet fuel needed by Grant County Air-port (a training and test site for Japan Air Lines and Boeing Aircraft). YPL is jointly owned by Conoco, Exxon, and Union Oil of California, with Conoco being the majority shareholder and operator of the pipeline

The (A) case opens with the 20-year lease between YPL and the Confederated Salish and Koo-tenai Tribes (CSKT) for a right-of-way across Indian land about to expire, and renewal is not certain. CSKT views YPL’s environmental record as dismal. As the case ends, YPL is making alternative arrangements to ship some oil by truck if the pipeline is shut down.

In the (B) case, CSKT rejects renewal of the pipeline right-of-way. YPL ships oil by truck and begins to look for another route for the pipeline. After YPL apologizes for past mistakes and offers a substantial amount of money for a renewal, CSKT agrees to negotiate. The case ends with the publication of the final Environmental Impact Study on the proposed project.

The last case [C] opens with a final rejection of the lease by CSKT. The tribes order YPL to dismantle the pipeline and leave the reservation permanently. YPL begins to install permanent facilities to transport oil by rail and still makes plans for a new pipeline. YPL proposes a new route through a environmentally sensitive and seismically active area populated by a well-organized, anti-pipeline group of residents. The case ends with the publication of a variety of reports dealing with the impact of the proposed pipeline.act
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Contact Person: Richard T. Dailey
Mail: Dept. of Management, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812
Voice / Fax: (406) 243-6644 / (406) 243-2086 E-mail: rtd@selway.umt.edu
 

This case is intended to highlight the challenges of handling problematic consumer behavior and to understand the limitations of standard policies in dealing with unique situations. It also allows students the opportunity to explore possible ways to deal with negative publicity. Both (A) and (B) are short enough to be taught in real time, which forces students to make decisions in the same way a manager would. The author suggests that students are asked to read (A) and then discuss it before reading (B) to prevent the knowledge gained in (B) from biasing the discussion of (A).

This case would be appropriate for an undergraduate or graduate course in Business Ethics, Business and Society, or Consumer Behavior. Since it is relatively short and not overly complicated, it would be an appropriate case to begin the semester while students are learning case methodology. This case has been classroom tested and is based on library research. Class handouts have been included as appendices in Instructor’s Manual.

Schnucks, a large supermarket chain who advertises its the friendliest stores in town, has just banned an 82-year-old woman for eating food in the store without paying for it. In the supermarket industry this activity is known as grazing and according to Schnucks employees, Virginia is a known grazer. Case (A) focuses on the manager, Dennis Smith, and his concern about how to handle this case and similar incidents in the future. He has received a call from Virginia’s daughter, who wants to work out an arrangement so that her mother can continue to shop at Schnucks.

Case (B) takes a new turn when a local newspaper columnist publishes the story in his column. The story portrays Virginia as a helpless old woman who has been banished from a store that she depends on for food and a social outlet. The columnist suggests that Virginia deserves a second chance. He writes, "As a reporter who often writes about court cases, I can vouch for one thing. If this were some kind of drug case, she’d get probation and a second chance. We’re easier on drugs than we are on grazing." Dennis is now faced with how to deal with the negative publicity, what to do with Virginia now and how to handle similar situations in the future. The bottom line is "Is it right for the friendliest store in town to ban an elderly woman?".

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Contact Person: Jeri Mullins Beggs, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405
Mail: Marketing Department, Kelley School of Business, 1309 E. 10^th, Bloomington, IN 47405
Phone (812) 855-8878; FAX (812) 855-6440
 

The problem confronts students with the political, legal and moral choices that U.S. policymakers faced when Yugoslavia violated the human rights of Albanian Muslims in Kosovo. The case engages students in critical thinking about the diplomatic, economic, and military options President Clinton and his advisers considered before approving a multilateral NATO bombing strategy. The goal is to promote both understanding of U.S. foreign policy and critical thinking skills.

The problem was prepared for upper division undergraduate political and social science classes on International Law and Organizations, U.S. Foreign Policy, Ethics and International Relations, Comparative Government, and Human Rights. The teaching case includes questions designed to develop critical thinking skills and normative reasoning by requiring students to articulate a rationale for choosing between different responses the U.S. could have made to Yugoslavia's human rights violations.

The Teaching Note will provide discussion questions and explain role-playing options for class simulation following on-line student exchange using an electronic bulletin board and e-mail. In addition to a standard hard copy version, "A Just War?" will be available as a multimedia, interactive exercise in the Teaching Human Rights Online project (http://oz.uc.edu/thro/) to facilitate conferencing on-line between students in the U.S. and Europe using both text-chat debates and live video simulation.
 

When Serbians threatened Albanian Muslims in Kosovo, the Clinton administration decided on a bombing strategy which went far beyond any prior defense of human rights in the Balkans but fell short of a comprehensive military response. An unusual combination of humanitarian hawks and some post cold war conservatives advocated a commitment of U.S. ground troops. Multilateralists supporting the U.N., pacifists outraged at Serbian civilian casualties, isolationists, and security analysts concerned about U.S. relations with Russia and China all opposed Clinton's military initiative.

The decision to bomb Yugoslavia both expanded NATO's mission and significantly elevated human rights in U.S. foreign policy. The clash of civilizations and interests in the Balkans confronted the U.S. with political, legal and moral challenges that students must examine while that prolonged dispute continues into a new millenium. The case presents a brief history of Yugoslavia's disintegration, a more detailed account of Secretary of State Madeline Albright's unsuccessful diplomatic initiatives, and a review of the administration's public justification for a NATO bombing campaign rather than an alternate policy. The problem will require students to identify evidence and articulate reasons for different policy decisions.

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Contact Person: Howard Tolley, Jr., Political Science Department, M.L. 375, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45220 Voice 513 556-3316, FAX 513 556-2314;  e-mail: Howard.Holley@uc.edu Homepage: http://www.uc.edu/~Tolley
 

Rumors Infect the Puyallup Fair is intended to show the definite integration between both marketing and management. This case addresses the ability to manage a crisis involving negative publicity. It discusses the real effectiveness of the fair’s pre-set crisis management plan and how it was enacted to deal with an unexpected and rare disaster. The student is encouraged to address the plan and the manner in which it was put in place. The many different people involved in the case and the roles they play, cause the student to focus on all sides of the issue. The case also demonstrates what an effect a crisis can have on an organization and how they must deal with resolving the issue to maintain a quality reputation. It illustrates both prior and post strategy implementation. Management issues within the fair between vendors and administration are also addressed at length.

The teaching note submitted with the case is intended mostly for undergraduate students. It can be useful in both introductory management and marketing courses within a university. It is useful to demonstrate how both fields are closely intertwined as well as how many facets of business interact with one another. It may also be applied to courses within Operations Strategy, Organizational Behavior, Strategic Marketing, and other similar classes.

The Puyallup Fair is a community fair that has served Western Washington for the past 98 years. It is settled in the picturesque Puyallup Valley, and usually runs during the last two weeks of September. It lasts seventeen days and includes many attractions such as farm exhibits, amusement rides, concerts, food vendors, and entertainment. Last fall, during the Fair’s run, several cases of E. coli bacteria sickness were discovered in Pierce County where the fair is located. The only connection between the victims that was reportedly discovered by the heath department was that they all had attended the Puyallup Fair in the same time period. However the source of the E. coli bacteria was never proven to be the Puyallup Fair. The heath department never obtained the information needed to locate an accurate source of the bacteria.

This case looks at this issue from four different individuals’ perspectives. It takes the roles of public relation head of the fair, a reporter from the local newspaper, the head of the county heath department, and finally an owner of a concession stand at the fair. It describes the many situations faced by each character and how they all intertwine and clash with one another. The case discusses the many adverse effects that the negative marketing has placed on the fair.
 

The primary objective of the case is to demonstrate to students the critical impact environmental management practices can have on strategic management decisions. The case also provides an opportunity to enliven an instructor's presentation of U.S. environmental laws. If the case is used for a single class session, an instructor should focus on the primary objective of illustrating the importance of the environmental function in the acquisition of manufacturing operations.

The case can also serve as an integrating tool throughout or at the end of an Environmental Management or Business and Society class. When employed in such a manner the instructor can exercise students' information gathering, analytical, and professional skills. To do a through analysis of the case, students should incorporate government information sources such as those available from environmental regulatory agencies, along with outlining how to collect information via on-site interviews and reviews of company records. Because the case does not involve any financial analysis, students must use their judgment in deciding which issues are of greatest importance. Typically, the ambiguity greatly challenges students' analytical skills and provides further stimulus for information gathering.

The case was designed for an Environmetal Management elective for upper level business students (senior undergraduates or MBAs). It could also be used in a Business and Society course, or as a special topic case for any course involving consideration of mergers of manufacturing facilities such as Strategy, Finance, or Operations Management. The case would also be suitable to any course covering aspects of environmental law such as an upper level course for environmental studies students.

The case involves a manufacturing company named BoldNu Colors Corporation located in the United States. BoldNu manufactures paint, chemicals, and resins. The paint division of BoldNu is interested in acquiring a small competitor named Passe Paint & Chemical Company (Passe or PPC) which is also located in the United States. PPC is an attractive acquisition target because of its ability to quickly mimic successful high margin products. However, PPC is much less progressive on environmental issues than BoldNu. PPC's environmetal management practices could critically impact BoldNu's decision to buy PPC. Students must identify potential liabilities resulting from past and current environmental management practices.

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Contact Person: Mark Cordano, Wright State University, Dayton, OH 45435-0001
Mail: Department of Management, College of Business, 3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy., Dayton, OH 45435-0001
 

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The objectives of the case are to teach students the complexity of decision-making, even in a small business setting; to give students practice in ethical decision-making and stakeholder analysis; and to familiarize students with some of the problems in elder-care facilities. This case can be used at the graduate or undergraduate level in a Business Ethics or Societal Issues in Business course and might also be used in a Healthcare Management or Geriatrics class as well.

Jerry Adams, owner of HCA, a business that provides non-medical care for elderly clients is faced with a complex ethical dilemma. Hs office manager has just reported that one of their caregivers had observed what she believed was a rape of a female patient (not HCA's client) in a nursing home facility. When she reported her observations to the nursing staff at Bayshore Manor, she was causally told, "Oh, the patients have sex with each other all the time." The caregiver reported the incident to the office manager of HCA who, in turn, reported it to Jerry.

HCA was new in the area and still establishing its reputation with the organizations that provided referrals to businesses such as HCA. Bayshore Manor was an influential organization in the Naples area in the eldercare industry. Additionally, the HCA client who was a patient at Bayshore was one of their biggest and accounted for about 30% of the revenues. The husband, Mr. Agnew, had already fired one agency because of dissatisfaction with the services. Additionally, he had been referred to HCA by one of the most important referral sources in the area. If anything went wrong, it would certainly affect future referrals from this agency.

The final wrinkle in this problem was that Jerry was unsure about the reliability and judgement of both the caregiver who had observed the incident and the office manager who reported it to him. The caregiver and the staff at Bayshore had had mutual complaints about each other. The office manager also tended to be excitable and over-emotional at times in her reactions.

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Contact Person: Mary Anne Watson, College of Business, University of Tampa, 401 W. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, FL 33606-1490
Phone: 813-253-3333, ext. 3431; E-mail:  mawatson@alpha.utampa.edu
 

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The primary focus of the case is employee theft. Other issues include the ethical dilemma of a loss prevention associate at Wal-Mart who catches an employee stealing store merchandise. Hopefully, students will see that the applications of company rules and procedures are not always easy. Although the rules may be spelled out in black and white, the application is often more complicated by human factors. The case should provide an illustration of an ethical dilemma, an opportunity to increase awareness of the difficulty of decision making, and an example of employee theft and of employee illiteracy.

The case is based on actual occurrences at Wal-Mart. Recommended teaching procedures for the case include a focus group to develop a stakeholder map and a role-play exercise. Students should weigh the costs and benefits to the company, to the employee, and to society of maintaining company policy or making an exception to rules. The case can be used in undergraduate management and business and society classes.

John Black was a loss prevention associate for Wal-Mart who clearly understood the problems of employee theft. In the United States, internal theft costs companies $40 billion a year. Thirty percent of American workers steal, and two percent of retail business losses were due to employee theft. At Wal-Mart, employee theft costs the company 1.5 times the cost of customer theft.

John Black caught an employee (Matthew White) stealing children's clothing from the store. John followed the company procedure of calling his district supervisor and arranging a meeting with the employee. During this meeting, John learned more about Matthew's personal situation such as Matthew's strained marital and financial situation. Matthew confessed to stealing the clothing for his children. When asked to write and sign a statement declaring his guilt, Matthew revealed that he cannot read or write. John wondered whether the strict enforcement of company policy that required firing was in the best interest of the company and society. Matthew had won awards for his performance at Wal-Mart.

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Contact person: Joyce M. .Beggs, Department of Management, Belk College of Business, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC   28223-0001.  Phone: 704-547-2736, FAX: 704-547-3123, jbeggs@email.uncc.edu

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The primary objective of the case is to provide a basis for analyzing the strategies and tactics of a non-profit conservation organization, RESTORE, in promoting its key product, the proposed 3.2 million-acre Maine Woods National Park. Rich, field-based data and other sources of information can be used to analyze the interests of various stakeholders, who include Maine residents, paper and forest products industries, Wise Use property rights groups, the governor and other conservation groups. The case exposes students to the political and influence strategies of some of the stakeholders and their impact on RESTORE. The case is useful for analyzing both supportive and oposing stakeholder coalitions, their sources of power and their values. The case shows data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, which along with that of the Maine Department of Labor can be used for analysis in conjunction with RESTORE's own economic analysis.

This case can be used not only in Business-Government-Society courses, but also in Strategic Management and Public Policy/Non-profit courses. It is appropriate for both the graduate and undergraduate levels.

RESTORE: The North Woods is a small but active conservation group based in Concord, Massachusetts. It has differentiated itself from other conservation groups by focusing on a limited product, a proposed 3.2 million-acre Maine Woods National Park and Preserve. The land for the proposed park would be purchased from willing paper and forest product companies who own the land. The funds for the land would come from the little-used Water and Land Conservation Fund, to which President Clinton wants $1 billion appropriated.

RESTORE employs a simple and well-defined campaign message to the public about its park idea. It has received national exposure by forming alliances with more powerful, resource-rich conservation groups such as the Sierra Club, who, along with Backpacker magazine, has published articles about the proposed park. RESTORE is trying to get enough public support for a feasibility study to be conducted by the National Park Service and has over 55,000 petition signatures supporting it. And a recent Sierra magazine included a postcard survey to its 560,000 members seeking support for the park.

National support is not a problem for RESTORE; local support in Maine is. RESTORE faces resistance to its ideas from fellow conservation groups in Maine, from Wise Use property rights groups, from the governor and from some Maine residents, who are not sure that another national park is needed in Maine especially at the expense of well-paying paper industry jobs. Strategic decisions revolve around how RESTORE's park idea can gain the support of key conservation groups in Maine who have influence over the governor. The development of a large coalition of conservation groups across the nation is one strategy that is in process. RESTORE is hopeful that the coalition can exert pressure on the key conservation groups in Maine. On the other hand, RESTORE is also a key target of the Wise Use groups in Maine because of the threat to jobs and private property rights through government intervention.

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Contact person: Marie L. Rock, DBA, Visiting Assistant Professor, Bentley College.
Mail: Bentley College, Management Dept,;AGC 308,175 Forest St., Waltham MA 02452-4705
Voice: (W) 781-891-2157 or (H) 781-862-0554. Fax: 781-891-2896. Email: Mrock@Bentley.edu

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This case demonstrates the complexity involved in satisfying the demands of various stakeholders, each with its own agenda. The student is encouraged to openly discuss racial discrimination, stakeholder demand analysis, crises management and the life cycle of public issues.

The teaching note was written for graduate students in a Corporate Ethics class. It could also be used in a Policy class.

On April 5, 1996, Paula Hampton and Demetria Cooper, two black females, were shopping in the children's department at Dillard Department Stores, Inc., (Dillard's) located in the Oak Park Mall in southern Johnson County, Kansas. In toe were four children - an infant, a one-year old and two seven-year-olds. A few minutes after they emerged from a dressing area, a security guard stopped them and the children. The guard asked to search their shopping bags, expecting to find stolen item(s). However, the guard found no stolen merchandise. A somewhat heated exchange followed between the ladies and the security guard, with the ladies leaving and proceeding to the customer service department to pursue a complaint against the security guard.

What followed for Dillard's became a public relations nightmare? This case will explore the facts around the initial encounter between the shoppers and the security guards, bring to light the possibility of prejudice in practice by Dillard's, look at how it treated certain classes of shoppers, and evaluate the actions taken by Dillard's management regarding the incident. It looks at the public life cycle of an issue, how Dillard's addressed the multiple concerns of its various stakeholders and finally how Dillard's allowed this event to become a public relations disaster.

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Contact Person: Keith B. Myles, Rockhurst College, Kansas City MO 64110.
Mail: School of Management, Kansas City MO 64110.
Voice: (816) 501-4152; Fax: (816) 501-4693; E-mail: keithmyles@vax1.rockhurst.edu

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This is a relatively simple, straightforward case, suitable for use early in a first course in Ethics at the undergraduate level. It is an excellent vehicle for illustrating many basic concepts of ethics: ethical dilemmas, stakeholders, and the consequential, principled, and purposive forms of moral reasoning. Its university setting, and the fact that a group of students is an important stakeholder, should make it quite accessible and interesting to undergraduate students.

Phil Mullac, a young up-and-coming information technology professional has been engaged on a sessional basis by the University of Winnipeg as an Information Systems (IS) Director, responsible for supervising a team of Business Computing students developing a computer system for a local business. This project is a requirement of the degree program for the students.

Besides this activity and his full-time job with a prominent computer consulting firm, Phil and his wife, Susan Symons, also a full-time student at the University, finishing a joint major in Business Computing and Administrative Studies, are starting a home-based business providing a variety of computer-related services.

In the course of the initial meeting with the project team at the client company, Quackerbox Ltd., it seems that the company has no backup provisions for its data (one of the services provided by his own small business). However, system risks are something the students are expected to analyze and address as part of their project, although the system won't be operational until the end of the project, seven months away.

Phil is now in a conflict-of-interest situation, although this is not anyone's fault. He is contemplating offering his own solution to Quackerbox's backup deficiencies. This would be a benefit to Quackerbox, and could also be very positive for Phil's own fledgling business. However, taking this action would be very positive for Phil's own fledgling business. However, taking this action would preempt at least part of the students' project, and would go against the wishes of the Project Coordinator at the University of Winnipeg.

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Contact Person: John Melnyk.   Mail: Dept. of Business Computing and Administrative Studies, Univ. of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba CANADA R3B 2E9.   Voice/Fax: (204) 786-9833 / (204) 774-4134 E-mail: john.melnyk@uwinnipeg.ca