Journal of Business Case Studies – October 2008 Volume 4, Number 10 1 Using „The Corporation‟ As A Powerful Illustration Of Ethical Issues Facing The Financial Manager Patty Hatfield, Bradley University, USA ABSTRACT Traditional undergraduate students lack the business experience or frame of reference to enable them to understand the potential conflicts of interest that occur in every day business. In the wake of the corporate scandals that has shaken the financial world, emerged the realization that some corporate cultures are legally corrupt or at the very least, behave unethically. Students need to be made aware of the potential conflicts that lie ahead. Corporate cultures are often not transparent and may not be what they appear to be. Students need to develop skills and awareness that will allow them to personally assess the harm and benefit of business decisions, not just for the shareholder but for all stakeholders of the company. The documentary, ‘The Corporation’ can be used as a valuable teaching tool to provide students with a context and imagery that allows them to, in a sense, experience the issues, thereby making the material more relevant and creating a more pronounced impression on the student. For graduate students the documentary can be used as a platform for lively discussion with regard to issues they have come across or could potentially encounter. The purpose of this article is to provide a segment breakdown of the movie with suggested discussion questions for a lively class exchange. Keywords: ethics, social responsibility, stakeholders, decision-making, profit INTRODUCTION he award winning documentary, The Corporation, can be effectively used as an innovative teaching tool to illustrate fundamental conflicts that often occur as a result of the corporate mission of maximization of shareholder wealth. In an era that relies on legislated ethics as opposed to the integrity of our leaders, it is more important than ever to provide opportunities for students to develop independent and critical thinking skills. Students need to be aware that the business decisions they soon will encounter may often entail balancing corporate mission with basic business ethics. However, the traditional undergraduate student often lacks the exposure necessary to understand the types of future dilemmas she/he will likely encounter. Real life illustrations of ethical dilemmas that confront firms everyday, re-enacted or discussed by businessmen/women involved in the issues, is an effective way to expose students to some of these issues with the added benefit of capturing their interest. This paper provides information on how the documentary, The Corporation, can be used as a live illustration of ethical dilemmas that commonly occur in the business world. Discussion questions are provided to enhance dialogue on issues related to the often-divergent interests of the maximization of shareholder wealth and sound business ethics. The case is versatile and may be used as the basis for lively ethical discussions in a variety of graduate and undergraduate business courses. LITERATURE Dyl (1991) was the first to describe the benefits of using the movie Wall Street as a “live case” illustrating ethical issues. Dyl describes how movies can be used as a catalyst for classroom discussions that are lively and informative. Chan, Weber and Johnson (1995) provide guidelines on how the movie Other People’s Money can be used in teaching financial concepts such as shareholder wealth maximization, capital structure decisions and mergers T