FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND COMPUTING SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

Business Ethics
Case Study

Sears, Roebuck & Co, the Auto Center Scandal

Ethical Issues

1. The first issue that presents itself is the aggressive, Profit seeking approach been taken by Sears in their implementation of an extremely tight incentive system within their Auto centers to increase productivity and reduce cost.

2. Sears was acting very unethical as they disregarded stake holders such as employees, customers and partners in their efforts to reel in profits.

3. Sear president and managers tactically combative approach to criticism from the different interest groups
Discussion of Issues

Sears, Roebuck, and Co, is a well …show more content…

Entering the 1980s Sears started to loose market shears to Discount Retailers such as Walmart who is now the leading retailer in the market. Customers and consumers could purchase quality products for a cheaper rate and they gravitated to this, there however remained loyal customers to Sears who just loved Sears as a home brand. Following the 1992 scandal a lot of the already wounded yet loyal customers to Sears had developed injuries that could not be healed, feeling a sense of betrayal and sour injustice. In my opinion Sears has single handedly destroyed their image and trust by putting the lives of these stakeholders in jeopardy directly and indirectly. Also a major scar on the reputation and quality of this company is the approach taken by management posts the criticism and law suits. The message sent and received by loyal Sears’s customers and mere customers is that “this organization is about the money and we will do what is necessary to attain our objectives even if sacrifices have to be made such as Quality, Safety, and Good Employees etc. The image of Sears has been irreparable damaged.

Question 3
Evaluate Sears’ response to the allegations and the changes made by the company. Has the problem been solved? Support your answer.

In response to the allegation of violating the States Auto Repair