Case Study Analysis Assignment Of Last Chance Limited (Case Study Sample)

Case Analysis Final Exam
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Case Analysis Final Exam
Last Chance Inc. faces bankruptcy unless it can improve its cash flow by at least 10% from the previous year. The company’s president sends a delegation headed by Pat Stevens to inquire about the possibility of acquiring aluminum from Micronesia suppliers. The trip seems to be a success because the delegation can obtain the aluminum at deeply discounted. However, Stevens’ faces a problem in making preparations for the shipment of the six cargos because the Harbor Master seeks a charge of $18,000 to “expedite” the paperwork and let the ships sail within the week. If they do not comply, the Harbor Master states that the required documentation and government approval will take up to twelve months. On calling the Micronesian Aluminum company, the sales manager is willing to help Last Chance pay half of the amount and keep the transaction alive as long as the Harbor master is not aware of the source of the funds. Therefore, acceptance of the deal by Stevens to accept money from Abdul (sales manager) and pay the “small late filing fee” would be an act contrary to last Chance’s mission statement which seeks to maintain the highest standards of honesty, integrity, and ethics with suppliers and governments and comply with the laws of each country.
In this situation, the payment of the “small late filing fee” by Stevens is not acceptable regardless of the potential consequence of bankruptcy and possibility of people losing their jobs. The survival of Last Chance Inc. is dependent on the fact that Stevens will accept the offer from Abdul to pay the charge and keep the aluminum transaction alive. Stevens is aware of the fact that this deal will improve the company’s cash flows and save it from bankruptcy. However, under no circumstances whatsoever, whether in the threat of bankruptcy and joblessness, may be used as a justification for paying a “small fee” and to break the laws of the country. Another moral absolute is that people should never lie. In this case, the act by the Micronesian company sales manager to withhold crucial information on “expediting” international cargo is morally wrong. Therefore, the fear of the sale not happening is no justification for his failure to mention about the time-consuming government documentation.
The $18,000 should be considered a grease payment because it serves the purpose of expediting the cargo’s paperwork. A legal concern would be “under which circumstances does a grease payment become a bribe? A legal requirement would be to determine whether paying the fee amounts to a bribe or is a common business practice considered legal. Key considerations include the size of the payment, whether the payment will be recorded, the approvals required, and the facilitation of a third party.
Under the consequentialist moral philosophy, the act to pay the Harbor master a small fee is a right thing to do because it would allow for easy processing of documentation, allow for shipping of the aluminum and save the company from bankruptcy. Under the utilitarianism model, Stevens should accept the offer by Abdul and go ahead to pay the $18,000 charge because the act would save 600 people from joblessness and safeguard the future generations of Last Chance community. On the other hand, under egoism, Stevens should consider his happiness and interests above anything else, and in this case, he would accept Abdul’s offer to pay the charge and go ahead with the purchase to primarily save the company from bankruptcy and keep his job.
The Kantian Deontology has three moral imperatives: the moral rule should be universal-sable, respect human beings, and the importance of duty. On such a basis, Stevens should go ahead and accept the offer from Abdul to pay the “small fee’ to get the documentation complete and ship the aluminum. Every other person, when faced with bankruptcy and loss of jobs, would act similarly because it is for the right season and the right thing to do under in such circumstances. On the other hand, Locke’s natural rights are inalienable, and they are the right to lif...