Acknowledgment

It is with a great sentiment of appreciation that I acknowledge the academic assistance that was
granted to me by:

- My professor Dr. Rahi

- General Franjieh
- Mrs. Joyce Mnessa (My advisor)
- All my current teachers at Notre Dame University

Chapter One

Introduction

During this semester, I had the pleasure of preparing four presentations which dealt with the
following issues:

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Oligopoly, Bribery, The Ethics of Conserving Depletable Resources, and Product Liability.

Oligopoly.

I have learned that oligopoly is similar to monopoly but instead of one company dominating the
market, oligopoly is when few (three or more) companies control the market. A market where
oligopoly exists is an imperfectly competitive market.

Ethical aspect: When in an oligopoly, companies decide to join forces and do some actions like
price fixing (all the companies setting high prices with high profit margin) which leads to an
uncompetitive market then oligopoly has become totally unethical.

Bribery.

I learned that bribery is when someone offers an official (official in a government or company or
any high position) something with value (for example money) and the other party accept it in
order to perform a service. Bribery gives the person paying the bribe an advantage over others
that maybe more competent than him.

Ethical aspect: Bribery is definitely an unethical act but people should know how to
differentiate between a bribe and a gift. When someone offers the company’s manager for
example a souvenir or a gift that has no real value (not expensive) this is a gift and it’s not
unethical but when someone pays the manager a fair amount of money or gives him tickets to an
expensive show this is bribery and most countries and companies have specific laws against
bribery.

The Ethics of Conserving Depletable Resources.

Conservation of depletable resources refers to the saving or rationing of natural resources for
future use and for the following generations. It is totally selfish to use all the resources without
thinking of the future generations and what they will suffer.

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Ethical aspect: We should conserve depletable resources for future generations but not to the
extent that we are completely deprived of them. That is we use the resources in a wise manner in
order not to deprive the next generations from them.

Product Liability.

Product liability means that the manufacturer, seller, or the importer of a defective product is
fully liable in case it injured the buyer or caused any damage. A product is defective if it does not
provide the level of safety that it is expected to provide.

Ethical aspect: it is highly unethical for the manufacturer or the reseller of a product to sell a
defective product knowing it could harm the consumers. Manufacturers should set high quality
controls and be sure that they are being followed in order to prevent harming any person.

Chapter Two
Presentations

Oligopoly.

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An oligopoly is a market form in which a market or industry is dominated by a small number of
sellers (oligopolists). The word is derived, by analogy with "monopoly", from the Greek oligoi
'few' and poleein 'to sell'. Because there are few sellers, each oligopolist is likely to be aware of
the actions of the others. The decisions of one firm influence, and are influenced by, the
decisions of other firms. Strategic planning by oligopolists needs to take into account the likely
responses of the other market participants. This causes oligopolistic markets and industries to be
at high risk for collusion.

Description

Oligopolistic competition can give rise to a wide range of different outcomes. In some situations,
the firms may employ restrictive trade practices (collusion, market sharing etc.) to raise prices
and restrict production in much the same way as a monopoly. Where there is a formal agreement
for such collusion, this is known as a cartel. A primary example of such a cartel is OPEC which
has a profound influence on the international price of oil.

Firms often collude in an attempt to stabilize unstable markets, so as to reduce the risks inherent
in these markets for investment and product development. There are legal restrictions on such
collusion in most countries. There does not have to be a formal agreement for collusion to take
place (although for the act to be illegal there must be actual communication between companies)
- for example, in some industries, there may be an acknowledged market leader which informally
sets prices to which other producers respond, known as price leadership.

In other situations, competition between sellers in an oligopoly can be fierce, with relatively low
prices and high production. This could lead to an efficient outcome approaching perfect
competition. The competition in an oligopoly can be greater than when there are more firms in
an industry if, for example, the firms were only regionally based and did not compete directly
with each other.

Characteristics

Profit maximization conditions: An oligopoly maximizes profits by producing where marginal

revenue equals marginal costs.

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 Ability to set price: Oliopolies are price setters rather than price takers

Entry and Exit: Barriers to entry are high. The most important barriers are economies of scale,
patents, access to expensive Number of firms: "Few" - a "handful" of sellers. There are so few
firms that the actions of one firm can influence the actions of the other firms.

Long Run Profits: Oligopolies can retain long run positive profits. High barriers of entry prevent
sideline firms from entering market to capture excess profits.

Product differentiation: Product may be standardized, steel, or differentiated, automobiles.

Perfect Knowledge Assumptions about perfect knowledge vary but the knowledge of various
economic actors can be generally described as selective.

Interdependence: The distinctive feature of a monopoly is interdependence. [9] Oligopolies are

typically composed of a few large firms. Each firm is so large that its actions affect market
conditions. Therefore the competing firms will be aware of a firm's market actions and will
respond if deemed necessary

Examples

Australia

 Most media outlets are owned either by News Corporation, Time Warner, or by Fairfax Media[31]

 Retailing is dominated by Coles Group and Woolworths Canada

 Three companies (Rogers Wireless, Bell Mobility and Telus) share over 94% of Canada's wireless
market.

United Kingdom

 Four companies (Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons) share 74.4% of the grocery market

Worldwide

 Three leading food processing companies, Kraft Foods, PepsiCo and Nestle, together achieve a
large proportion[vague] of global processed food sales. These three companies are often used as an

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 example of "The rule of 3", which states that markets often become an oligopoly of three large
firms.
 Boeing and Airbus have a duopoly over the airliner market

Bribery

Bribery involves offering or accepting something of value in a situation where the person who
accepts the bribe is expected to perform a service which goes beyond his or her normal job
description. For example, a motorist being ticketed for parking in the wrong place might offer a
bribe to the police officer to ask him or her to tear up the ticket. In many regions of the world,
bribery is considered a crime, and it can be severely punished. In other areas, bribery is more
socially acceptable, which can place a heavy burden on those in the lower ranks of society, as
they cannot afford to bribe officials in the style to which they are accustomed.

Any number of things can be used as a bribe. While money is a classic bribe, bribes can also be
more intangible, and they might include things like offers of real estate, valuable objects, or a
promise to perform a particular service in the future. In order to be considered a bribe, the object
of value must be offered and accepted with the understanding that the person who accepts the
bribe will be doing something in return. This differentiates bribes from gifts offered in genuine
good will, and also distinguishes bribery from tipping, a practice in which gifts are offered in
return for good service.

In regions where officials are particularly corrupt, they may come to expect “grease money” to
perform tasks which are actually part of their job descriptions, such as reviewing visa
applications or inspecting materials being brought through customs. In these instances, people
from regions where bribery is illegal may be allowed to offer grease money, with the
understanding that otherwise, the task will never be accomplished.

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 Bribery can be on a very thin line, and cultural differences can sometimes lead to confusion. In
some cultures, for example, offering a tip may be considered a bribe, while in others, a failure to
tip would be construed as offensive. The complex Middle Eastern tradition of baksheesh is an
example of a confusing situation; baksheesh is not viewed as bribery in the Middle East, and in
fact a well-established system of bribery exists in some Middle Eastern countries, and it is
entirely differentiated from baksheesh by local citizens.

Depending on regional laws, bribery can be prosecuted and punished with fines, jail time, or
compensation. Especially in countries which are based on egalitarian ideals, bribery is often
viewed as especially offensive, since it erases the illusion that all members of society are equal
when someone can essentially buy the favors or skills of someone else with the right bribe.

Examples of Illegal Bribes/Kickbacks

 A building contractor might kick back part of what he is paid to the government
official responsible for selecting his company for the job.
 A pharmaceutical or medical device company might offer free training or other
benefits to doctors who prescribe its drug.
 A benefit or pension provider might provide cash or another bonus to brokers who
convince companies to choose their services over those of another provider.

THE ETHICS OF CONSERVING DEPLETABLE RESOURCES

”Conservation” refers to the saving or rationing of natural resources for later uses. Conservation,
therefore, looks primarily to the future: to the need to limit consumption now in order to have
resources available for tomorrow. In a sense, pollution control is a form of conservation.
Pollution “consumes” pure air and water, and pollution control “conserves” them for the future.
But there are basic differences between the problems of pollution and the problems of resource
depletion that makes the term conservation more applicable to the latter problems than to the

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former. With some notable exceptions (such as nuclear wastes), most forms of pollution affect
present generations and their control will benefit present generations. The depletion of most
scarce resources, however, lies far in the future, and the effects of their depletion will be felt
primarily by posterity, and not by present generations. Consequently, our concern over the
depletion of resources is primarily a concern for future generations and for the benefits that will
be available to them. For this reason, conservation is more applicable to the problems of resource
depletion than to those of pollution. Moreover (again with notable exceptions), pollution is a
problem concerned primarily with “renewable” resources, insofar as air and water can be
“renewed” by ceasing to dump pollutants into them and allowing them time to recover.
Tomorrow’s supply, therefore will be created anew over and over if we take the proper
precautions. Resource depletion, however, is concerned with finite, non-renewable resources.

Justice to future generations.

John Rawls argues that while it is unjust to impose disproportionately heavy burdens on present
generations for the sake of future generations, it is also unjust for present generations to leave
nothing for future generations. To determine a just way of distributing resources between
generations, he suggests, the members of each generation should put themselves in the “original
position” and, without knowing what generation they belong to, they should ask what is
reasonable for members of adjacent generations to expect of one another at each level of
(historical) advance.

Justice, then, requires that we hand over to our immediate successors a world that is not in worse
condition than the one we received from our ancestors.

Depletion of Species and Habitats

 Chief business related causes of extinction of species

o pollution
o deforestation
 Facts & Forecasts
o deforestation: rainforests being destroyed at a rapid rate estimated at 1% per year

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 o estimated that between 15 to 20% of earth's species are at risk of extinction in the
near future: between a half million & two million species

Depletion of Fossil Fuels

 Most important fossil fuels

o petroleum: oil & natural gas
o coal
 Catastrophic consequences threatening
o widespread use of fossil fuels
 in industry
 power generation
 & automobiles
o Possible substitutes & their drawbacks
 nuclear: dangers associated therewith
 hydroelectric
 dams cause environmental damage
 water power is also a limited resource
 other alternatives: renewable fuels: mainly still in or barely off the
drawing boards
 alcohol & renewable fuels
 solar & geothermal
 electro-chemical: e.g., battery powered cars

Depletion of Minerals

 By the year 2000 the U. S. had exhausted

o 90% of domestic aluminum reserves
o 80% of our iron 0.70% of our lead
o 90% of our manganese
o 80% of our mercury
o 90% of our tungsten

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 o 70% of our zinc

Product Liability.

Provisions of the Trade Practices Act allow persons who suffer injury or loss as the result of a
defective product to take legal action for compensation against the supplier of that product.
These provisions apply to goods supplied after 9 July 1992.

When is a product defective?

A product is defective if it does not provide the level of safety that the community generally is
entitled to expect. The level of safety will vary from case to case and it is ultimately for the court
to determine whether a product is defective. However, there are various factors the court will
take into account when making its determination, including:

 how and why the product has been marketed

 its packaging
 the use of any mark in relation to it
 instructions for, or warnings about, doing or refraining from doing anything with or in
relation to the product
 what might reasonably be expected to be done with it
 the time when it was supplied.
Products that are older and subject to more use would not necessarily be expected to be as safe as
brand new ones. Similarly, products would not necessarily be defective simply because the
safety of later models had been improved.

Who may be liable for supplying a defective product?

The product liability provisions of the Trade Practices Act will generally apply to a company
that:

 manufactured the product, or

 imported the product, or

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 sold 'own brand' goods manufactured for it under licence.
The retailer may sometimes be deemed to be the manufacturer of the product and hence liable.

Who can bring an action for compensation? What type of loss may be compensated?

The Trade Practices Act allows anyone to claim for personal injury or damage to private
property (including land or buildings) resulting from a defect in the product.

Dependants of a person injured or killed by a defect in goods can also claim for the losses they
suffer as a result.

Damage to commercial property is not covered nor is any loss arising from a business
relationship, such as loss of profits.

The Act also excludes losses for which a claim might be made for workers compensation and
losses regulated by international agreements.

Time limits for bringing a product liability action

A person has three years to bring an action from the time he or she becomes aware (or ought
reasonably to have become aware) of the loss, the defect and the identity of the manufacturer.
Also, any action must be commenced within ten years of the time the defective goods were
supplied by the manufacturer.

Conclusion and Recommendations

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From all the previous presentations, there are some ethical principles we can conclude, those are:

- We should hand over to our ancestors a world that is not in a worse condition than the
one we received from our ancestors therefore we should conserve and use wisely
depletable resources.
- Bribery is ethically wrong since it the briber advantage over other maybe more eligible
competitors which is not just.
- When oligopoly tends to be more like monopoly that is the few companies combine their
strength to control the market, then oligopoly becomes totally and definitely unethical.
- Manufacturers are ethically liable for causing any harm to a person by using defective
products.

My recommendation for the business world:

When you have a company or you work in a company it’s not only about making money, it’s
how you make it. For example if you get a big project through bribery then this is not only
unethical but it is also against the law and you will be held responsible.

When conducting business one should respect people and respect their rights, and he should not
try to ignore their rights just for the reason to make profit.

Possible new strategies that I can recommend to improve the ethics in business world :

- All companies should have their own law pertaining to the ethical conduct and it should
be followed, and those who disregard it should be punished.

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- There could be “ethical consultants” who help managers and employees in taking ethical
decisions.
- Students should be taught ethics not only in universities but also from school.

Thank you

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