Visit the Web sites for J.C. Penney's [http://www.jcpenney.net/] and Target [http://target.com/], and then answer the following questions:

1. Are mentions of "ethics" and/or "social responsibility" frequent at these Web sites?
   
   
2. What can you infer about the ethics and social responsibility of these organizations based on the information available at the Web sites?
   
   
3. To what do you attribute any differences you may find between these two firms?
   
   

Internet Exercise
Several corporations have been in the news lately for ethical concerns, including athletic gear maker Nike [http://www.nike.com/], General Electric [http://www.ge.com/], and Firestone [http://mirror.bridgestone-firestone.com/], a division of Japan-based Bridgestone, a maker of tires and other products. Nike has been accused of exploiting low-wage workers in developing countries to produce its shoes. General Electric (GE) has delayed action on cleaning up pollution on the upper Hudson River in New York state, and Firestone was found guilty of producing defective tires that contributed to deaths and then covering up the causes of the quality problems. View each company's Web site and then answer the following questions:

1. What information did you find at each company's site about these ethical issues?
   
   
2. Based on information from the Web sites, what approach to social responsibility is each firm using?
   
   
3. In your opinion, is each company's stance the appropriate one? Why or why not? Suggest improvements.
   
   

Explore Further
Johnson and Johnson's code of ethics [http://www.jnj.com/] is widely considered to be one of the best written, as well as one which is faithfully followed by employees of that firm. Read J&J's credo. What approach to social responsibility does this credo suggest? How does J&J's approach differ from that of Nike, GE, and Firestone?