Tainted Tylenol Ethical Issues

Tainted Tylenol Ethical Issues

I teach several different ethics courses where we look at individual companies and how they handled ethical issues.  Beech-nut selling a product they called apple juice that technically had no apples in it, was a classic case example of a non-ethical way to do business.  

In the 80s, Johnson and Johnson had to deal with tainted Tylenol (The Tylenol Murders) due to product tampering. Their quick and responsive resolution to a potentially imagine-ruining situation has made J&J stand out as a good example of an ethical business. 

Now J&J’s reputation has come into question though as they used bacteria-tainted materials to create their children’s Tylenol.  Although they claim that only the raw material was tainted and the finished product showed no reports of illness, the company had to recall their product. The Wall Street Journal reported, “J&J’s handling of the problem has become a focus of a congressional investigation into manufacturing problems.  J&J has issued more than a half dozen recalls of popular over-the-counter medicines  over the past year.”

Having Difficulty Making Decisions? Take a Quiz to See if You see Things in Black and White or Shades of Gray

There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal today about why people can’t make decisions. 

Of interest was how some people are so ambivalent. Shirley Wang’s article in the WSJ stated: Now, researchers have been investigating how ambivalence, or lack of it, affects people’s lives, and how they might be able to make better decisions. Overall, thinking in shades of gray is a sign of maturity, enabling people to see the world as it really is. It’s a “coming to grips with the complexity of the world,” says Jeff Larsen, a psychology professor who studies ambivalence at Texas Tech University in Lubbock.

Do you see the world in black and white or in shades of gray?

Different Strokes PEOPLE WHO SEE THE WORLD AS BLACK AND WHITE TEND TO…

 • Speak their mind or make quick decisions.

 • Be more predictable in making decisions (e.g., who they vote for).

 • Be less anxious about making wrong choices.

 • Have relationship conflicts that are less drawn out.

• Be less likely to consider others’ points of view.

PEOPLE WHO SEE THE WORLD IN SHADES OF GRAY TEND TO….

• Procrastinate or avoid making decisions if possible.

 • Feel more regret after making decisions.

• Be thoughtful about making the right choice.

• Stay longer in unhappy relationships.

• Appreciate multiple points of view.

 To find out what type you are, take the test, by clicking here.

Few Women in Management

Women made little progress in climbing into management positions in this country even in the boom years before the financial crisis, according to a report to be released on Tuesday by the Government Accountability Office.

As of 2007, the latest year for which comprehensive data on managers was available, women accounted for about 40 percent of managers in the United States work force.

In 2000, women held 39 percent of management positions. Outside of management, women held 49 percent of the jobs in both years.

Across the work force, the gap between what men and women earn has shrunk over the last few decades. Full-time women workers closed the gap to 80.2 cents for every dollar earned by men in 2009, up from just 62.3 cents in 1979.

Much of this persistent wage gap, however, can be explained by what kinds of jobs the sexes are drawn to, whether by choice or opportunity.

The new report, commissioned by the Joint Economic Council of Congress, tries to make a better comparison by looking at men versus women in a specific industry and in similar jobs, and also controlling for differences like education levels and age.

For the full story see:  The New York Times

New Kindle For the Web – Embed Book Excerpts

How to Prepare For Employment Tests

Many companies are testing their potential future employees. What can do you do to be sure you ace those tests? It helps if there is a way to find out what type of test they will be administering. If you know someone who works for the company, they may be able to tell you. When I was applying to be a pharmaceutical representative in the 80s, they gave me a personality test where I had to chose from groups of words that I would use to describe me and from words I would think others would use to describe me. Today, there are a lot more tests out there and it can be a challenge to find out which ones are being used.

The Washington Post had some advice for the job applicant faced with taking a test. Some of the advice they gave were to find out details about the test, search online for practice tests to try ahead of time, try not to over-analyze the questions, don’t get freaked out if you just simply can’t remember something, and ask for your results so that you can improve on areas where you didn’t do as well.

It is important to realize that testing is becoming part of the norm.  According to Forbes, “Psychological scrutiny and rigorous simulations are fast becoming a requisite part of the interview process. Gone are the days when a clutch golf swing or well-schmoozed dinner might score you a spot in the C-suite. The downturn has shed a decidedly unflattering light on subjective hiring practices. Even the standard application-interview-résumé-and-reference-check formula has come under fire for being too soft and unreliable.” 

To try out some free aptitude and employment tests, check out:

http://www.jobtestprep.co.uk/jtpsite/content/en-GB/3/chooseTrial.aspx

http://www.careerpath.com/

http://sjlibrary.org/research%5Cweb/iguide_subjectList.htm?t=36&catID=1095