Jahangirnagar University

Course Title: Business Ethics & Legal

Environment Course Code: EMBA 510

Report on
“Unethical Practices in Business”

Presented to,
Mamtaj Akter
Associate Professor
Department of Marketing

Serial No Name ID
14 Md. Robiul Awal 20222121

15 MD. Omar Khoiyam Murad 20222146

16 Abu Hasnat Pappu 20222156

Md. Anik Rahman 20223143

Date of submission: 23.09.2023

 Letter of Transmittal

September 23, 2023

Ms. Mamtaj Akter

Associate Professor

Department of Marketing

Jahangirnagar University

Subject: Submission of group

assignment. Dear Madam,

We would like to submit our group assignment with great significance and pleasure on the
topic “Unethical Practices in Business”. We tried our level best to find out some core points
regarding the topic and we are very grateful to you for providing us this type of practical
topic in Business ethics course.

Hopefully, as a symbol of hard work, you will find our well-researched, insightful

approach. Instead, if our report needs further explained or expanded, we would be happy

to have the opportunity to consult with you on how our results can best meet your needs.

We would be grateful if you kindly go through our report and evaluate our performance.

Sincerely yours,

Md. Robiul Awal; ID: 20222121

MD. Omar Khoiyam Murad; ID: 20222146

Abu Hasnat Pappu; ID: 20222156

Md. Anik Rahman; ID: 20223143

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 Executive Summary

One of the biggest food service businesses, "Hungry Harvest," has more than 100 eateries

around the country. There are almost a thousand employees there, including waiters,

chefs, and staff. They have accumulated an astounding level of popularity over the past 20

years since they have been in business. Mr. Rashed, who has worked with Hungry Harvest

for the past 15 years as COO, has frequently shown how valuable he is to the company.

Then appears Shihab a senior executive in the HR division. Mr. Shihab likes to be very

professional, transference and honest in his personal life. After starting work here at

Hungry Harvest, he constantly saw some unethical behavior and chaos. For a while, he

struggled with how to talk to his boss about this. At first, Mr. Shihab opted for the hotline

option, but hasn't gotten the answer he was hoping for. He chose to speak with Mr.

Rashed about the incident, but Mr. Shihab ultimately lost motivation as a result of Mr.

Rashed's response. Due to their ineptitude, injustice, and unethical treatment to its staff

and customers, "Hungry Harvest" all of a sudden became a national news story. They

utilize a lot more disposable items—like wrapping paper, straws, and tableware—that are

reasonably priced but unfriendly to the environment.

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 Contents

The case-Unethical Practices in Business:------------------------------------------1-3

Questions------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4

Answer with Discussion:---------------------------------------------------------------5-8

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 Unethical Practices in Business

“Hungry Harvest” is one of the largest food service retailers having more than 100
restaurants around the nation. More than 1000 people work there, including
waiters, chefs, and staff members. Since they have been in operation for the past 20
years, they have amassed an impressive amount of popularity. People of all ages
have such specific tastes when it comes to this eatery.

The COO of Hungry Harvest is Mr. Rashed. The responsibility for this restaurant
rests with this individual. He needs to stay informed about every issue that occurs
at Hungry Harvest. For instance, hiring new employees, revising company policy,
accounts & costs, administrative HR operations tasks, etc. For the past 15 years, he
has worked with Hungry Harvest and has repeatedly demonstrated his value to the
organization.

Recently, there have been new hires at Hungry Harvest. "Mr. Shihab," a senior
executive in the HR department, Mr. Shihab became interested in working for this
organization after learning about its payment processes, great popularity, and
respectable reputation in society. Mr. Shihab joining the Hungry Harvest family
makes Hungry Harvest happy as well.

Mr. Shihab had a good start to his job at Hungry Harvest. He had a good first
couple of weeks. He tries to be kind and kind to the other employees. But after
some time, he found something that is not entirely compelling.

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For Instance-

> Unfair treatment of its employees by requiring them to work excessive hours for
extremely low earnings and refusing to provide them time off.

> Children are being forced to perform in exchange for occasional meals. Cities
across the region that are underdeveloped experience an even worse circumstance.

> The majority of the meals offered are fast food, fatty, rich in calories, and risky
for your health if consumed frequently.

> Maintenance and kitchen service are not up to par as they should be. While
working in the kitchen, chefs are not required to wear aprons, shoe covers, or head
coverings. Of course, there is a significant hygiene problem.

> Not even environmentally friendly, they are. They use a lot more throwaway
items, including such wrapping paper, straws, and tableware, which are fairly
affordable but bad for the environment, particularly if they are not recyclable. A
crucial issue is packaging.

The chaos that surrounded Mr. Shihab puzzled him as he tried to determine what
was really going on. After seeing all of this, he felt let down because he had hoped
for more authenticity and professionalism from "Hungry Harvest". Mr. Shihab has
demonstrated professionalism, transparency, and honesty throughout his whole
career. He anticipated seeing more of the CSR's core principles and additional
goals here at Hungry Harvest. He was unsure of how to approach his supervisor
about this for a long. He was unsure about whether or not to discuss this massacre
with Mr. Rashed.

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However, Mr. Shihab ultimately made the decision to advise Mr. Rashed as he is in
charge of the operation after witnessing all of this. But rather than calling him
personally, Mr. Shihab opted to use a hotline service, which is similarly run and
managed by Mr. Rashed and his designated team. Mr. Shihab initially chose the
hotline option, but hasn't received the response he was hoping for. Sadly, he had
hoped that the hotline option would be beneficial for him.

Mr. Shihab persevered. He made the decision to speak with Mr. Rashed about this.
Mr. Shihab told Mr. Rashed about all of these happenings as per his plan. Mr.
Rashed didn't provide Mr. Shihab the constructive feedback he was hoping for
despite his reservations, instead telling him to overlook the situation altogether.
Actually, Mr. Shihab was surprised by that, especially coming from Mr. Rashed.
The response from Mr. Rashed demoralized Mr. Shihab.

About a month later, Hungry Harvest made headlines on every news channel in
the nation due to their incompetence, unfairness, and unethical treatment of their
employees and customers.

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 Questions

a) How can we describe the situation of Mr. Shihab?

b) Resembling the fact of the content how can we legitimize Mr.

Shihab’s actions?

c) Did Hungry Harvest adhere to global ethics before the media leak?

d) How “Hungry Harvest" could resolve the situation regarding media leaks
and recuperate their reputation?

e) Considering the substance, which ethical principle applies in this situation?

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 Answer with discussion

 A. How can we describe the situation of Mr. Shihab?

- The context indicates that Mr. Shihab is in dilemma because he recently joined Hungry
Harvest and was a newcomer there. He considered confronting Mr. Rashed about this absurd
circumstance while also worrying about being a victim of others. He may become a victim of
unethical activity, such as discrimination, harassment, or bullying in a poisonous workplace
culture, depending on the circumstances. His immediate reaction may be to blow the whistle on
the behavior. But, whistleblowing may encourage retaliation, and inaction makes him complicit
or continues to victimize him.
So it's an absolute ethical Dilemma for Mr. Shihab.
Now speaking of a dilemma there has to be an ethical resolving process or steps that need to be
mentioned.

Step 1
Consequence Analysis
It outlines the repercussions and how they will affect the immediate environment. He needs to
consider how well it will work out. He is capable of posing certain moral queries for himself.
It will enable him to have a more open conversation.

Step 2
Action Analysis
It's important to consider if his behavior was blowing the whistle or leaving the area. Based on
his improvement, any option may be appropriate. The next course of action is to approach
external organizations like the government or the media if all internal options have been
exhausted and the problem still hasn't been solved. However, it is important to weigh the dangers
beforehand. Even if he could be legally protected and vindicated, he should be aware of the
potential consequences for both his career and personal life.

Step 3
Making Decision
It's crucial to repeat and thoroughly explain the problem before making a decision. He could
have enough encouragement from this to make his choice. Because it also said that "providing
an alternate solution is the next best step to do if possible.” He may potentially come up with a
different option on his own.
Finally, he is in a position to decide on the matter.

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  B. Resembling the fact of the content how can we
legitimize Mr. Shihab's actions?
- Yes! We can legitimize Mr. Shihab’s action as Whistle-blowing.
Whistle-blowing
Whistle-blowing is when an employee who discovers corporate misconduct and chooses to
bring it to the attention of others.
Before Whistle-blowing Mr. Shihab need to understand his Whistle-blowing is ethical or not. To
justify this Mr. Shihab need to consider some conditions Such As
 When the business will breach the law or cause severe and substantial harm to the
public through a product or choice.
 Employee should follow internal policies and the chain of command to the board
of directors if immediate supervisor does not take action.
 The employee must provide written proof that supports his or her account of the
events and that the firm's practice, product, or policy substantially endangers the
public or product user. This documentation must also be compelling to a reasonable,
unbiased observer.

Given these circumstances, we may conclude that Mr. Shihab's whistle-blowing is moral since
he had personal experience with Hungry Harvest that influenced his decision. In Our Context
Mr. Shihab has done Internal Whistle-blowing at beginning though.
Internal Whistle-blowing
Internal whistle-blowing occurs when an employee learns about corporate misbehavior and
informs his or her superior of it. The supervisor then follows established protocols to handle
the misconduct inside the company.
Hotline
A hotline is a telephone mechanism that allows staff members to report suspected misbehavior to
an organization without disclosing their identities.
Mr. Rashed and Mr. Shihab also spoke. He spoke to Mr. Rashed personally about this
wrongdoing and unethical activity, but he received no appropriate response. So he made the
decision to blast the external whistle.

External Whistle-blowing
When an employee engages in business misconduct and decides to bring it to the attention
of police authorities or the media.
As a result of their injustice and immoral treatment of its staff and customers, Hungry Harvest
made headlines on every news channel.

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  C. Did Hungry Harvest adhere to global ethics before
the media leak?
-For global ethics to be successful International organization such as the UN and OECD have
approached and issued some Standardizing global ethics.
UN Global Compact has 10 key principal to follow. Hungry Harvest didn’t follow them
accordingly. Such as:
First: they didn’t give freedom to its employee. Employees were forced to
work. 2nd: They use child labor that is completely unethical.
3rd: they didn’t pay for overtime.
4th: they mostly served junk food. That is not good for human health.
5th: They are not environment friendly. They use non-disposable item in their restaurant.
6th: they didn’t care for consumer health. Their kitchen is not as good as it should be.

Now we can say that Hungry Harvest didn’t follow Global ethics fully. They completely ignores
labor standard and environment global ethics specially.

 D. How “Hungry Harvest" could resolve the situation

regarding media leaks and recuperate their
reputation?
- If they followed some simple step they could have stopped this media
leaks. Which are:
 Raising hourly wages of employees.
 Addition of healthy food such as green salad with each menu free of cost and
removing unhealthy and high calorie meals from menu.
 Start donating money from its net profit to NGOs to take care of the community.
 Using recyclable product instead of disposables items.
 Promoting environmental protection by launching campaigns like save earth, green
day, save the beaches etc.
 Running Hotline which will be trustful for the employees.
 Creating a friendly environment for internal whistle blowing.
If Hungry Harvest could apply the above task correctly, then they might not have had media
leaks.

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  E. Considering the substance, which ethical principle applies
in this situation?
-In this substance, the Golden rule applies to this situation.
We are aware that the Golden Rule reflects the ideal of leading an ethical life. Treat others how
you would want to be treated, or do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Mr. Shihab prefers conducting his personal life in a very professional, open, and honest
manner. Shihab concurred that all of these things would occur as normal.

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