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Business Ethics and Martha Stewart

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Business Ethics and Martha Stewart
THE TALE OF TWO MARTHAS "I 'll be back ….I 'm not afraid. Not afraid whatsoever. I 'm very sorry it had to come to this." (Gasparino, 22). Those were the words that Martha Stewart said on the courthouse steps on July 16, 2004, as she had just been sentenced to five months in prison. A defiant Martha Stewart was trying to instill confidence in her stock holders and save a sinking ship, her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Incorporated (MSO). That day her companies stock closed at $ 12.25 a share a 36 % jump. (www.forbes.com) Therefore as one asks the question; as a CEO did Martha Stewart handle the indictment responsibly; you could easily argue that at least on that day she did. She made her shareholders a bunch of money. Isn 't that the bottom-line, isn 't that what a CEO is supposed to do? If you take Martha Stewarts 's actions from when she got indicted to the day she walked out of prison and ask the same question again you will find out the answer is yes and no. Now I 'm not trying to ride the fence here but I will take this question and ask it again and again in chronological order and you will start to notice "a tale of two Marthas" as she goes from saving her skin to trying to save her company.
BACKGROUND
Since this is an ethics course one might ask, did Martha do right or wrong? I can absolutely say that she did some very very bad things: alleged insider trading and obstruction of justice. She was tried and convicted for obstruction of justice and she served her time. She should have been thrown under the jail. She belongs in the same boat as the Tycos and Enrons, the law is the law and she tried to get away with it. She tried to cover-up evidence in a very "NIXON-esqe" way by erasing phone longs and concocted a story with her broker on why they sold the stock when they did. Her actions as a CEO and as a human were horrible, despicable and yes very irresponsible. She tarnished her image forever, cost her company jobs and


Cited: Gaspariono, C. "Im Not Afraid" Newsweek 17 Jul. 2004: 22-23. Hays, C. L. "Martha Stewart Uses Web to Tell Her Side of Story" New York Times 6 Jun. 2003, east coast late ed.: C Johnson, C Masters, B. "Securities Charge Could Be Biggest Threat to Stewart" The Washington Post 19 Jun. 2003, final ed.: E2 Masters, B "Stewart on defense in ‘20/20 ' interview Houston Chronicle 6 Nov. 2003, third ed.: 4 White, B
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