Module 4 Ethics Activity Discussion
Discussion Instructions
To complete this discussion, you must make an initial post responding to the ethical dilemma questions. Please address all the questions in full and cite your sources. Secondly, you must respond to another student's post in which you further the discussion. Start by reflecting on the original post. You may ask further questions, comment on the strength of their reply, address information that is missing, or provide examples that correspond with the topic. Agreement with the initial response is not required, but responses should reflect be supported with analogies, examples, research, or content from the text. All students should respectful of differences of opinions.
Quiznos Ethics Discussion
After seeing a Quiznos franchise recruitment infomercial to recruit franchisees, you are tempted to apply to open your own Quiznos sub shop. However, your research on the company turns up some disturbing information. Many current franchisees are unhappy with the company’s management and practices, among them excessive food costs, lack of promised support, and selling new franchise locations that are too close to existing stores. A group of New Jersey franchisees sued Quiznos for selling them franchises but not providing locations 18 months after taking their franchise fees. Some franchise owners question Quiznos’s purchasing tactics, choosing food and beverage suppliers based on the referral fees it receives instead of the lowest-cost provider. Other franchisees have suffered major financial losses.
Quiznos, which owned or operated more than 5,000 sub shops at one time and now has less than 1,500 locations worldwide with less than 900 in the United States, disputes the various claims. The president of the company points out that in a franchise operation, there will always be unhappy franchisees and those who can’t make a success of their units. Besides, Quiznos’s franchise offering materials clearly state that the company may open stores in any locations it selects.
Using a web search tool, locate articles about this topic, and then write responses to the following questions. Be sure to support your arguments and cite your sources.
Ethical Dilemma: What are Quiznos’s obligations to its franchisees? Is it ethical for the company to open new franchises very close to existing units and to choose vendors based on fees to the parent company rather than the cost to franchisees?
Related Chapter Outcomes and Course Goals
This group assignment addresses the following course goals:
- Explain the legal forms of business ownership and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Additionally, it addresses the following chapter outcomes and provides an example to:
- Describe what makes franchising an appropriate form of organization for some types of business, and why does it continue to grow in importance.
- Indicate why mergers and acquisitions are important to a company’s overall growth.
- Identify how current trends will affect the business organizations of the future.
Grade Value and Rubric
- This discussion activity is worth 15 points.
- The course discussion rubric is applied to this discussion
Note
This discussion activity is additionally is located in the corresponding chapter of the course textbook. Accompanying the activity are sources related to this topic that students may wish to review.