Class Cancelled on March 31

Class is canceled on March 31. Make up tba. Students scheduled for tests at 7 A.M. please meet me at my office at 7 A.M. on the Wednesday when we return to class after Easter break. Have a safe and happy Holiday!

A Downward Spiral of Business Ethics

Scrolled across this blurb in an article about ethics. The key concept behind the idea is a variation of the Dunning-Kruger effect.

The psychological root of this vicious circle is human misperception, says Dunfee. "Research consistently indicates that people think of themselves as more ethical than others. That leads them to overestimate the amount of unethical behavior others engage in. People adjust their own behavior to that misapprehension, and then it gets scary: There's a downward spiral."

*Thomas Dunfee (deceased); former professor of legal studies and business ethics at UPenn Wharton School of Business

Here is my proposition. Let's assume you are a top executive in a multi-million dollar firm. Competitive pressures from other firms in the industry require you to run a lean operation. In order to remain profitable and keep your shareholders satisfied, you must continually take measures which are marginally beneficial to the firm. Now, refer back to Dunfee's argument. You estimate yourself to be more ethical than the average person. This will consequently lead you to believe that other firms are engaging in unethical behavior, and that is how they remain competitive in your industry. Because of this overestimation, you are now left with no alternatives: you must engage in (enter your unethical behavior here) to remain competitive and thus you succumb to the evils which we are taught to avoid.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011367936_walgreens18m.html

Walgreens: no new Medicaid patients as of April 16

By Janet I. Tu

Seattle Times staff reporter

Effective April 16, Walgreens drugstores across the state won't take any new Medicaid patients, saying that filling their prescriptions is a money-losing proposition — the latest development in an ongoing dispute over Medicaid reimbursement.

The company, which operates 121 stores in the state, will continue filling Medicaid prescriptions for current patients.

In a news release, Walgreens said its decision to not take new Medicaid patients stemmed from a "continued reduction in reimbursement" under the state's Medicaid program, which reimburses it at less than the break-even point for 95 percent of brand-name medications dispensed to Medicaid patents.

Walgreens follows Bartell Drugs, which stopped taking new Medicaid patients last month at all 57 of its stores in Washington, though it still fills Medicaid prescriptions for existing customers at all but 15 of those stores.

Doug Porter, the state's director of Medicaid, said Medicaid recipients should be able to readily find another pharmacy because "we have many more pharmacy providers in our network than we need" for the state's 1 million Medicaid clients.

He said those who can't can contact the state's Medical Assistance Customer Service Center at 1-800-562-3022 for help in locating one.

Along with Walgreens and Bartell, the Ritzville Drug Company in Adams County announced in November that it would stop participating in Medicaid.

Fred Meyer and Safeway said their pharmacies would continue to serve existing Medicaid patients and to take new ones, though both expressed concern that the reimbursement rate is too low for pharmacies to make a profit.

The amount private insurers and Medicaid pay pharmacies for prescriptions isn't the actual cost of those drugs but rather is based on what's called the drug's estimated average wholesale price. But that figure is more like the sticker price on a car than its actual wholesale cost.

Washington was reimbursing pharmacies 86 percent of a drug's average wholesale price until July, when it began paying them just 84 percent. While pharmacies weren't happy about the reimbursement reduction, the Department of Social and Health Services said that move was expected to save the state about $10 million.

Then in September came another blow. The average wholesale price is calculated by a private company, which was accused in a Massachusetts lawsuit of fraudulently inflating its figures. The company did not admit wrongdoing but agreed in a court settlement to ratchet its figures down by about 4 percent.

That agreement took effect in September — and prompted a lawsuit by a group of pharmacies and trade associations that said Washington state didn't follow federal law in setting its reimbursement rate, and that that rate is too low. The lawsuit is pending.

"Washington state Medicaid is now reimbursing pharmacies less than their cost of participation," said Jeff Rochon, CEO of the Washington State Pharmacy Association.

Pharmacies that continue to fill Medicaid prescriptions at the current state reimbursement rate are "at risk of putting themselves out of business altogether," he said.

Information from Seattle Times archives was used in this report.

Motorola's Social Responsibility Site

"

• Motorola Provides More Than $2 Million in Aid for Haiti Earthquake
• Motorola Named Sustainability Leader by Dow Jones Sustainability Index for Sixth Straight Year
• Dell, HP, Intel and Motorola aim to ensure mineral supply chains are conflict-free
• U.S. EPA Recognizes Motorola Among Nation's Leading Green Power Purchasers
• Motorola Supports Student Achievement in Science and Math, Competitiveness in Knowledge-Based Economy
• Motorola Unveils World's First Mobile Phone Made Using Recycled Water Bottle Plastics

"

http://www.motorola.com/staticfiles/Business/Corporate/US-EN/corporate-responsibility/cr/cr-home.html

Disparate Treatment

Here's a recent court case I found regarding an employee (Coar) who claimed that he was terminated wrongfully and argued that he was a victim of disparate treatment by his employer (Alabama Aircraft Industries), using prima facie as the main basis for his argument.

"Coar argues on appeal that the district court erred in granting summary judgment to AAI on Coar's disparate treatment and retaliation claims. Specifically, Coar asserts that, regarding the disparate treatment claim, he satisfied Title VII's prima facie requirement by presenting evidence of similarly situated employees outside his protected class who were treated more favorably by AAI, and that his other circumstantial evidence of discrimination sufficiently showed that AAI had acted with discriminatory animus. In the alternative, Coar argues that he could show that AAI's legitimate nondiscriminatory reason was pretextual. Regarding the retaliation claim, Coar submits that he satisfied Title VII's prima facie requirement by proving the requisite causal connection between his statutorily protected activity and termination. In the alternative, Coar again asserts that he could demonstrate pretext..." More can be found at >> http://www.leagle.com/unsecure/page.htm?shortname=infco20100225089

Toyota Recall Fix Not Working, Drivers Tell Federal Safety Agency - ABC News

Toyota Recall Fix Not Working, Drivers Tell Federal Safety Agency - ABC News

GM to recall 1.3M compacts for steering problem

DETROIT – General Motors Co. is recalling 1.3 million Chevrolet and Pontiac compact cars sold in the U.S., Canada and Mexico to fix power steering motors that can fail.

The recall affects 2005 to 2010 Chevrolet Cobalts, 2007 to 2010 Pontiac G5s, 2005 and 2006 Pontiac Pursuits sold in Canada and 2005 and 2006 Pontiac G4s sold in Mexico.

The automaker said Monday the vehicles are still safe to drive and never lose their steering, but it may be harder to steer them when traveling under 15 mph.

GM spokesman Alan Adler said it will take time for the automaker to get 1.3 million new power steering motors from the supplier, JTEKT Corp., and GM will notify car owners when the parts are available.

Adler said the failures are rare and the cars can still be driven until motors can be replaced by dealers. Drivers will see a warning light and hear a chime if the power steering fails, but they could be surprised when the steering becomes more difficult.

GM told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the recall on Monday. NHTSA began an investigation into 905,000 of the models on Jan. 27 after getting 1,100 complaints that the cars lost their power steering assist. The complaints included 14 crashes and one injury.

The automaker will fix older models first because it usually takes 20,000 to 30,000 miles of driving for the condition to develop, Adler said. GM also will have to repair thousands of vehicles on dealer lots before they can be sold, he said.

"Recalling these vehicles is the right thing to do for our customers' peace of mind," Jamie Hresko, GM's vice president of quality, said in a statement.

Adler said if the power steering assist fails, it usually comes back for a time after the car is shut off and restarted.

The recall comes at a time of heightened interest in auto safety after sudden acceleration problems experienced in some Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles.

Toyota has had to recall 8.5 million vehicles worldwide to fix problems with sticky gas pedals, floor mats that can snag the gas pedal and cause unintended acceleration, and brake software problems with the Prius gas-electric hybrid.

Toyota executives have been summoned to testify before congressional committees investigating the company's actions and whether NHTSA did enough to make sure the Toyotas are safe.

UPS SUED FOR DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION

EEOC Says Class of Disabled Employees Fired After Taking Medical Leaves of Absence

CHICAGO – In a major class lawsuit filed here in federal court, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged that Atlanta-based United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS), the world’s largest package delivery company, violated federal law by rejecting an extension of medical leave as a reasonable accommodation for its employees with disabilities.

The EEOC’s administrative investigation, conducted prior to filing the lawsuit and supervised by Chicago District Director John Rowe, found that UPS violated the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). According to Rowe, Trudi Momsen, an administrative assistant at UPS, took a 12-month leave of absence from work when she began experiencing symptoms of what was later diagnosed as multiple sclerosis. She returned to work for a few weeks, but soon thereafter needed additional time off after experiencing what she believed to be negative side effects of her medication. Although Momsen could have returned to work after an additional two-week leave of absence, UPS fired her for exceeding its 12-month leave policy. Following its investigation, the EEOC reached an administrative determination that UPS failed to accommodate Momsen’s disability, in violation of the ADA.

“This case should send a wake up call to Corporate America that violating the Americans With Disabilities Act will result in vigorous enforcement by the EEOC,” said Commission Acting Chairman Stuart J. Ishimaru. “The ADA has been the law of the land for nearly two decades now, and employers simply have no excuse for failing to abide by its provisions.”

The EEOC filed suit late yesterday in U.S. District Court in Chicago after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement with UPS. The litigation, captioned EEOC v. United Parcel Service, Inc. (Civil Action No. 09-C-5291) and assigned to U.S. District Judge Robert M. Dow, Jr., seeks back pay and compensatory and punitive damages for Momsen and a class of disabled employees whom UPS similarly refused to accommodate, as well as an order barring future discrimination and other relief.

EEOC Chicago Regional Attorney John Hendrickson said, “One of the main goals of the ADA is to provide gainful employment to qualified individuals with disabilities. However, policies like this one at UPS, which set arbitrary deadlines for returning to work after medical treatment, unfairly keep disabled employees from working. Sometimes a simple conversation with the employee about what might be needed to return to work is all that is necessary to keep valued employees in their jobs.”

According to company information, Atlanta-based UPS, which describes itself at the world’s largest package delivery company, is a $49.7 billion global corporation operating in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The EEOC Chicago District Office is responsible for processing charges of discrimination, administrative enforcement, and the conduct of agency litigation in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and North and South Dakota, with Area Offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.

PRESS RELEASE
8-28-09