BUSINESS ETHICS CASE ASSIGNMENT

Should Kroger Pay Now for What a Ralphss Employee Did in the Past

Imanda Mulia Rahman 361168

1. Assuming that the store and district managers of Ralphs received complaints about
Misioleks behavior starting in 1985 but that these complaints did not reach Ralphs
headquarters in Compton, shows that the company does not have a good system to
accommodate complaints; do not facilitate complaints and did not have procedures
and policies in processing complaints. So, the judge is not right and the company
should be responsible for misbehavior of Misiolek instead. Ralphs should have a
system and effective policies that can control and accommodate any internal
complaints and problems and reached the headquarters.

2. Penalties that would be appropriate for Ralphs should be imposed on compensatory

and punitive damages. Compensatory damage is a compensation for something,
including loss of enjoyment of life, current and future medical bills, and also current
and future pain and suffering or emotional distress and it is awarded for the victim.
While punitive damage is meant to punish the wrong party and prevent similar
behavior to occur again. The amount of penalty should differ base on the effect that
it brings.
It is difficult to measure the amount of penalties because it is based on highly
subjective matter. However it could be less than $33.3 million by taking into
account the variances of psychological effect that it brings. The last 2006 judgment
was not fair because the amount is substantially lower compared to the previous
decision. The last judge concluded the final amount by arguing that Misioleks did
not act behalf of Ralphs when he did sexual assault and therefore the company as a
whole should not be held responsible for his actions which result in the lower
amount of damage that Ralphs should pay. But, I argue that Ralphs should be held
responsible for this matter because they let the assault continually happen and the
company did nothing, which worsen the case.

3. It depends whether Kroger should have to pay for events that happened before it
took over the chain of supermarkets or not. If the contract stated that Kroger is
liable to any unfinished matters within Ralph, then Kroger should have to pay for the
compensatory and punitive damages. However, putting the contract aside, in this
case Kroger had failed to justly address the issues, making it a moral obligation for
Kroger to compensate and it would unethical if Kroger did not pay for the
compensatory and punitive damages.

4. The most important thing to make sure that a situation like Misioleks doesnt occur
again is that there should be a strict regulation and policy on discrimination and
harassment. There should be zero tolerance on violations in any form. It can be
supported also by giving moral and ethical trainings to the employees with an
objective to increase employees awareness and promote a culture towards a safe-
working environment for everyone in the company.
Ralph allowed Misiolek to continue managing stores because Misiolek had
showcased significant management quality that is worth to keep in the company; he
boosted Ralphs profit. Of course, it would be a loss for Ralph if it did let go of
someone with quality like Misiolek.