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Is it deception or is it simply a clever business tactic? The varieties and scope of deceptive behavior are examined in this series of caselets, which offer a wide range of sample dilemmas in many fields, including medical publishing, the auto industry, investment banking, the oil industry, and even in the fine art of writing a resume.

Two companies, Myriad Genetics and OncorMed, competed to develop a genetic test for breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility. Although the two companies had offered genetic testing only to women who participated in their research studies, in 1995, both were considering selling their testing services to physicians generally. Despite the promising market for this testing service, some scientists and patient activist groups believed that it was premature to provide testing outside a carefully controlled research environment, where data could be collected on an ongoing basis to answer significant questions about the health consequences of genetic mutations and the potential benefits and risks of testing. Specifically, they argued that commercialization should wait because knowledge about an inherited predisposition to breast cancer was still emerging, and medical care options for mutation carriers were limited and not proven to be of benefit. In addition, data on the psychological and social effects on women who were tested were still evolving. Those in favor of restricting such testing to the research setting wanted laws in place to protect individuals from irresponsible testing practices, loss of privacy, and genetic discrimination. Details the decisions that Myriad and OncorMed made regarding their testing services and how the two companies addressed the concerns of those outside the company.

Genzyme Tissue Repair (GTR) had just received favorable Phase I clinical trial results, an important first step in gaining approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its NeuroCell-PD. The groundbreaking technology behind NeuroCell-PD (developed by Diacrin, Inc.) used fetal pig cell neural transplants to treat Parkinson's disease. GTR was eager to get NeuroCell-PD to market as quickly as possible but knew that the path to obtaining FDA approval would be difficult. Genzyme, an innovative biotechnology company, had often entered uncharted territories in the past and had set precedents in medical research. Controversy would likely center on whether GTR would use what some were calling "sham" surgery as a placebo control in its Phase II trials of NeuroCell-PD in Parkinson's patients--trials intended to demonstrate both the efficacy and safety of the procedure. In sham surgery, a segment of patients in a study undergo the same aspects of the surgery experience as those receiving the experimental treatment, except that it does not involve fetal pig cells. Details the process for testing NeuroCell-PD and discusses the issues concerning sham surgery. Asks students to make a recommendation on whether to conduct sham surgery.

ABN AMRO REAL made corporate social responsibility central to its brand, adding to customer focus and reflecting its values. Leaders developed the Bank of Value theme and implemented it through activities such as microfinance in poor communities, environmentally oriented lending products, socio-environmental screening of customers and suppliers, employee diversity, and reduction of waste and recycling. Now the fourth largest private bank in Brazil, its top leaders are assessing the first four years and wondering what to do next, as competitors adopt similar practices, reducing its competitive advantage, and as it wants to ensure its impact on social change in a country with daunting social problems.

In May 1999, the Moon Shot team gathered to review the results of a $54.4 million direct-to-consumer (DTC) ad campaign. Moon Shot was a cross-functional team at Zeneca Inc., a pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and specialty products company. The ad campaign was to promote the use of the drug Nolvadexa (Zeneca's brand name for Tamoxifen Citrate) for use in reducing the risk of breast cancer in women at high risk, an estimated 9 million women in the United States. Details Zeneca's development of Tamoxifen and how the company marketed the drug. Focuses on Zeneca's DTC prescription drug advertising campaign and the issues that campaign raised.

Presents a framework for leading change in institutions or society, showing leaders how to manage political, economic, or social change by mapping their targets (policy, programs, or people/culture) and choice of action vehicle (single organizations or coalitions of organizations).

This case focuses on an employee in the asset management division of the Birmingham-based HealthSouth who suspects possible fraud in the company's accounting practices. A highly successful outpatient surgery, rehabilitation, and diagnostic imaging company, HealthSouth had been founded and was run by Richard Scrushy, whose generosity was legendary in Birmingham, Alabama, but whose autocratic and sometimes ruthless management style contrasted sharply with his charismatic, up-by-the-bootsteps entrepreneurial energy.

Customer Strategy Solutions, a California-based developer of order fulfillment systems, is facing a shakedown. Six months after the firm's CEO, Pavlo Zhuk, set up a software development center in Kiev, local bureaucrats say the company hasn't filed all the tax schedules it should have. Moreover, Ukrainian tax officials claim that the company owes the government tax arrears. Zhuk is shocked; he and his colleagues have done everything by the book. This isn't the first time Zhuk has encountered trouble in Ukraine. In the process of getting the development center up and running, a state-owned telecommunications utility had made it difficult for Zhuk to get the phone lines his company needed. Senior telecom manager Vasyl Feodorovych Mylofienko had told Zhuk it would take three years to install the lines in his office--but for a certain price, Mylofienko had added, the lines could be functioning the following week. Even as the picture of rampant bribery and corruption in Ukraine becomes clear, Zhuk still doesn't want to pull out. Of Ukrainian descent, he has dreams of helping to modernize the country. By paying his programmers more than they could make at any local company, he hopes to raise their standard of living. And yet, he isn't sure he can keep compromising his principles for the sake of the greater good. Should Customer Strategy Solutions pay off the Ukrainian tax officials? Commenting on this fictional case study in R0503A and R0503Z are Alan L. Boeckmann, the chairman and CEO of Fluor Corp.; Rafael Di Tella, a professor at Harvard Business School; Thomas W. Dunfee, the Kolodny Professor of Social Responsibility and a professor of legal studies at Wharton; and Bozidar Djelic, the former finance and economy minister of Serbia.

Customer Strategy Solutions, a California-based developer of order fulfillment systems, is facing a shakedown. Six months after the firm's CEO, Pavlo Zhuk, set up a software development center in Kiev, local bureaucrats say the company hasn't filed all the tax schedules it should have. Moreover, Ukrainian tax officials claim that the company owes the government tax arrears. Zhuk is shocked; he and his colleagues have done everything by the book. This isn't the first time Zhuk has encountered trouble in Ukraine. In the process of getting the development center up and running, a state-owned telecommunications utility had made it difficult for Zhuk to get the phone lines his company needed. Senior telecom manager Vasyl Feodorovych Mylofienko had told Zhuk it would take three years to install the lines in his office--but for a certain price, Mylofienko had added, the lines could be functioning the following week. Even as the picture of rampant bribery and corruption in Ukraine becomes clear, Zhuk still doesn't want to pull out. Of Ukrainian descent, he has dreams of helping to modernize the country. By paying his programmers more than they could make at any local company, he hopes to raise their standard of living. And yet, he isn't sure he can keep compromising his principles for the sake of the greater good. Should Customer Strategy Solutions pay off the Ukrainian tax officials? Commenting on this fictional case study in R0503A and R0503Z are Alan L. Boeckmann, the chairman and CEO of Fluor Corp.; Rafael Di Tella, a professor at Harvard Business School; Thomas W. Dunfee, the Kolodny Professor of Social Responsibility and a professor of legal studies at Wharton; and Bozidar Djelic, the former finance and economy minister of Serbia.

Customer Strategy Solutions, a California-based developer of order fulfillment systems, is facing a shakedown. Six months after the firm's CEO, Pavlo Zhuk, set up a software development center in Kiev, local bureaucrats say the company hasn't filed all the tax schedules it should have. Moreover, Ukrainian tax officials claim that the company owes the government tax arrears. Zhuk is shocked; he and his colleagues have done everything by the book. This isn't the first time Zhuk has encountered trouble in Ukraine. In the process of getting the development center up and running, a state-owned telecommunications utility had made it difficult for Zhuk to get the phone lines his company needed. Senior telecom manager Vasyl Feodorovych Mylofienko had told Zhuk it would take three years to install the lines in his office--but for a certain price, Mylofienko had added, the lines could be functioning the following week. Even as the picture of rampant bribery and corruption in Ukraine becomes clear, Zhuk still doesn't want to pull out. Of Ukrainian descent, he has dreams of helping to modernize the country. By paying his programmers more than they could make at any local company, he hopes to raise their standard of living. And yet, he isn't sure he can keep compromising his principles for the sake of the greater good. Should Customer Strategy Solutions pay off the Ukrainian tax officials? Commenting on this fictional case study in R0503A and R0503Z are Alan L. Boeckmann, the chairman and CEO of Fluor Corp.; Rafael Di Tella, a professor at Harvard Business School; Thomas W. Dunfee, the Kolodny Professor of Social Responsibility and a professor of legal studies at Wharton; and Bozidar Djelic, the former finance and economy minister of Serbia.

Describes the story of one of the first geographically focused foundations in Mexico, which was created by a group of international foundations (Rockefeller Foundation, International Youth Foundation, Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and Kellogg Foundation), and later joined by renowned businessmen and social leaders from Oaxaca, to respond to the social conflicts in the southern region of the country (i.e., Chiapas). FCO's experience offers an interesting view of cross-sector interactions between the business and social communities and of the strategic change from supporting rather isolated projects with limited interactions among actors to focusing on specific locations, explicitly promoting collaboration networks and social capital creation.

Takes place in Chihuahua, one of Mexico's largest and most industrialized states, located in the northeastern region of the country. Despite its relative prosperity, the state faced severe social drawbacks, both in rural and urban areas. Following a natural disaster in 1990, members of the private sector community came together to ask the government to approve an increase in the payroll tax (ISN) that companies paid, as well as the creation of a trust fund that would collect those resources and allocate them to city reconstruction efforts. Over the years, this initiative created by local businessmen to provide an emergency relief for a natural disaster developed into Fundacion del Empresariado Chihuahuense (FECHAC), a civil society organization (CSO) in charge of managing trust fund resources.

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, was named by Fortune as the "most admired company in America" for the years 2003 and 2004. However, these and other accolades have not quieted a chorus of critics, including organized labor, feminists, human rights activists, environmentalists, local businesses, and antisprawl activists, all of whom revile the retail giant for its business practices, resulting in a growing negative consumer perception of Wal-Mart's corporate citizenship. Wal-Mart has instituted a comprehensive nonmarket strategy to counter this criticism, employing a proactive combination of social, political, and legal strategies to manage a contentious environment that could threaten its future growth and financial success.

Was Premier, Inc., a hospital group purchasing organization (GPO), guilty of ethical conflicts of interest? Premier was a GPO for more than 200 affiliated not-for-profit hospitals and health care systems in the United States. A series of investigative articles in The New York Times, beginning in March 2002, charged Premier with multiple conflicts of interest. Among its allegations, the newspaper argued that seller-paid fees; investments by Premier and its executives in vendors; and investments by vendors in Premier-sponsored equity funds, research institutes, and conferences all biased the selection process for medical products and services. As a result, Premier did not always choose items of the best quality or value for its affiliated hospitals. Moreover, The Times charged, new products--particularly those developed by small firms--were effectively locked out, suppressing medical innovation and hurting patient care. Richard A. Norling, CEO, and other top executives of Premier faced the difficult task of formulating an effective response to the charges raised by The New York Times. Received the Emerson Center Award for the Outstanding Case in Business Ethics for 2004.

Supplements the (A) case.

Twenty five years after its founding in members' homes, the non-denominational, evangelical Fellowship Bible Church of Little Rock, Arkansas had become a "mega-church", holding worship services on a 25-acre campus in one of the best locations in booming West Little Rock and attracting a combined 5,000 congregants on any given Sunday. But as the Fellowship congregation had grown, its leadership had come to believe that the Christian life must go beyond individual salvation and the responsibilities of family, friendship, and individual acts of charity and that church members must strive to be "socially responsible". In its effort to become a "church of irresistible influence", Fellowship Bible had taken the lead in organizing a massive citywide day of volunteer projects. In addition, ministries that had originated in small groups of church members-such as a sexual abstinence education program held in dozens of public and private schools-had taken on an independent life as well known free-standing organizations. Such efforts were made possible, in part, by charitable contributions made by Fellowship which totaled more than 25 percent ($3 million-plus) of its annual spending. This case tells the story of the next stage in church efforts to ameliorate social ills in Little Rock-an "external ministry" known as the "one church, one school, one neighborhood" project, announced in August 2004. Fellowship hoped that its assistance would demonstrably and measurably improve life in one of the city's most troubled areas-a 130-block area of central Little Rock. The project would include intensive mentoring of students one school in Little Rock's predominantly black South Midtown area (Fellowship itself was an almost entirely white congregation), efforts to work with African-American churches to encourage marriage in an area dominated by single-parent families, and an initiative to build new housing in the area. HKS Case Number 1780.0

Swiss food giant Nestle attempts to improve the performance of its suppliers of agricultural commodities to raise quality, lower costs, and contribute to sustainable development. Its initiatives focus first on coffee, cocoa, and milk. Nestle managers assert that the initiatives deliver both private benefits (better quality and reduced costs to the firm) and social benefits (higher incomes for farmers, better environmental quality in farming regions). Questions include the ways in which these programs create value for shareholders, the manner in which they should be marketed, and their efficacy in addressing social issues.

Presents summaries for the The Moral Leader course.

According to professors Philip Mirvis and Bradley Googins, companies are all over the place in how they define citizenship.

Nike's tagline, "Just do it," is an inspirational call to action for the millions who wear the company's athletic gear. But in terms of corporate responsibility, Nike didn't always follow its own advice. In the 1990s, protesters railed against sweatshop conditions at some of its overseas suppliers and made Nike the global poster child for corporate ethical fecklessness. The intense pressure that activists exerted on the athletic apparel giant forced it to take a long, hard look at corporate responsibility--sooner than it might have otherwise. In this article, Simon Zadek, CEO of the U.K.-based institute AccountAbility, describes the bumpy route Nike has traveled to get to a better ethical place, one that cultivates and champions responsible business practices. Organizations learn in unique ways, Zadek contends, but they inevitably pass through five stages of corporate responsibility, from defensive ("It's not our fault") to compliant ("We'll do only what we have to") to managerial ("It's the business") to strategic ("It gives us a competitive edge") and, finally, to civil ("We need to make sure everybody does it"). He details Nike's arduous trek through these stages. As he outlines this evolution, Zadek offers valuable insights to executives grappling with the challenge of managing responsible business practices. Beyond just getting their own houses in order, the author argues, companies need to stay abreast of the public's evolving ideas about corporate roles and responsibilities. Organizations that do both will engage in what he calls "civil learning."