BUSINESS ETHICS PAPER

Business Ethics Paper Linda Page BUS/415 December3, 2011 Melody Cooper

BUSINESS ETHICS PAPER

Business Ethics Business Ethics Case The National Enquirer, Inc. is a Florida corporation with its principal place of business in Florida. It publishes the National Enquirer, a national weekly newspaper with a total circulation of more than 5 million copies. About 600,000 copies, almost twice the level in the next highest state, are sold in California. Ms. Shirley Jones, an entertainer and a resident of California, filed a lawsuit in California state court against the president and the National Enquirer, who was a resident of Florida. Ms. Jones suite sought damages for alleged defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Calder v. Jones, 465 U.S. 783, 104 S.Ct. 1482, 79 L.Ed.2d 804, Web 1984 U.S. Lexis 4 (Supreme Court of the United States) What kind of paper is the National Enquirer? The National Enquirer is a tabloid magazine that is sold in stores nationwide. The Enquirer publishes stories of personal life, scandals of any celebrity or news which creates sensation and arise curiosity. The main focus of the paper is celebrity gossip. Despite of all that is one knows about this paper it has a strong base and standings. According to Funding Universe (n.d.), there are 1,331 employees within the Enquirers holding company. The company has operating revenue of $275.38 million. With a combine circulation of seven million, it is enjoyed at a $1.25a-copy National Enquirer and Star. Was it ethical for the National Enquirer to try to avoid suit in California? According to Calder v. Jones, (465 U.S. 783, 104 S.Ct. 1482, 79 L.Ed. 804, 1984) the Supreme Court stated that it was hard to understand that how a defendant who was engaged allegedly in a focused act because of which harm was suffered by the injured party in the home forum was not

able to see that he was being called into court in the forum where the tortuous act caused a damaging effect to the injured party. No doubt this was not ethical of the National Enquirer to avoid suit in California. Are the defendants subject to suit in California? Why or why not? A tortuous act was committed by the magazine against a Californian resident; therefore the resident had every right to file the suit in their state of residence. Since the case was filed in California the defendant was subject to suit in California. Regardless of the fact that the act was committed elsewhere the effects of the acts occurred in California. According to (Calder v. Jones, 465 U.S. 783, 104 S.Ct. 1482, 79 L.Ed. 804, 1984) if the tortuous act is focused on the injured party jurisdiction will lie anywhere. According to Case Brief Blog, (2009) an assertion of jurisdiction over a non-resident is permitted by Californias long-arm statute. Thus the magazine was well aware of the fact that whatever they are publishing will be harmful to Ms. Jones and State of California. Ethical obligations to all persons of interest in a business must be met. This includes not only customers and shareholders but employees and the culture and surrounding environment as well. Employees perform better both in internal jobs and in dealing with clients when they feel ethical responsibilities emanate from their company. Failure to do so would certainly be detrimental to the company and create a house of cards of failure which would have a direct affect on the economy. Trust in a business is a key issue that provides security to customers when dealing with private businesses. Unethical practices would certainly tarnish if not ruin that trust. This again has a domino effect since losing trust in a business might mean losing trust in our business world and certainly could mean a decrease in spending affecting the entire economy. In general, society is owed an ethical approach by a company since this approach has a tremendous impact

on the prosperity of a country. The public at large also includes investors in a business that could stand to lose a great deal if a business is operated in a less than ethical manner. Our environment certainly deserves to be treated with high moral and ethical consideration since the future of the business will need to survive in the environment they create. If that environment is permanently harmed, advancement may halt and our future generations impacted. The business world has certainly not been given the right to make negative impact on the future, and needs to be sure that all of its actions are ethically based when dealing with customers, employees, the surrounding society and the environment. Miguel will be able to be sued in Oklahoma, Florida, and Washington. The reason behind the answer is the doctrine or jurisdiction, which is nearly universal in all US cases. The doctrine of jurisdiction states that a lawsuit shall be commenced in the state in which the incident occurred, or state of Plaintiff's residence, or state of Defendant's residence. The fact that the purchased the car in Texas has no impact here. But the incident was in Oklahoma, so it is viable for jurisdiction. He lives in Washington and the other driver lives in Florida - both states are also fair jurisdiction.

References Calder v. Jones, 465 U.S. 783, 104. S.Ct. 1482, 79 L.Ed. 804. (1984). Retrieved December 2, 2011, from http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/flsupct/sc09-272/09-272ini.pdf Case Brief Blog. (August 10, 2009). Calder v. Jones, 465 U.S. 783, 1984. Retrieved December 2, 2011 from http://casebriefer.blogspot.com/2009/08/calder-v-jones-465-us-783-1984.html Cheeseman, Henry R. (2010). The Legal Environment of Business and Online Commerce: Business Ethics, E-Commerce, Regulatory, and International Issues, Sixth Edition. Chapter 3: Court Systems and Administrative Law. Published by Prentice Hall Funding Universe. (n.d.). Enquirer/Star Group. Retrieved December 2, 2011, from http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/EnquirerStar-Group-Inc-CompanyHistory.html International Shoe v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310 (1945). Retrieved December 2, 2011 from http://laws.findlaw.com/us/326/310.html