Au Courant or Ancient History: When Searching for a Job, How Long Should Companies be Held Responsible for Ethical Lapses -- Both Real and Perceived?" - 02/03/21 Edition
Stephen Says Column

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.


Steelcase to Pay $211.5 Million To Haworth for Patent Violation


DETROIT -- In one of the largest patent-infringement judgments in U.S. history, Steelcase Inc. was ordered to pay rival office-furniture maker Haworth Inc. $211.5 million for infringing on Haworth's patent for prewired office panels.

Dear Stephen,


I am semi-recently out of college and under the current circumstances it has taken me a long time to get an interview and even longer to get a job offer. I was a marketing major and graduated from a big university in my state with lots of ties to the office furniture industry. Yes, I am writing you from Michigan. All of the major manufacturers in the Grand Rapids area have ties to my school.

Interviews came and went, and I am getting close with one of the major companies. In the course of my research prior to an interview, my Googling uncovered the above headline from the Wall Street Journal. I want to work for an ethical company that is inclusive and believes in diversity and cares about the planet, its customers and its employees. Is it valid for me to consider an employer who may have ethical issues? The furniture industry has had ongoing conflicts with companies copying designs. I get that, and I'm not really referring to that. I mean how many Eames knock-offs are there out there? I cannot even count.

But this issue between Haworth and Steelcase is more complicated because it involves patents, and I wonder how ethical is it to allegedly copy or steal someone else's patents? These are companies that create products, and it seems like we are always worried about Chinese companies stealing our designs when we are doing a good job of doing it ourselves.

My question to you is if a manufacturer treats their competitors unethically how will they treat their employees? Is that even a fair question? I mean hundreds of people work for these companies, even people I know, and I certainly do not consider them unethical. Yet part of me thinks, "If you are so big you can trample on a local neighbor here in the Midwest, how are you going to treat your worldwide customers?"

Granted, this particular story is 35 years old, and it all started years before that, but I would have never known had I not done my homework. Not so woke and not cool, right? I get this was resolved, but is this the kind of place I want to build my career? I am almost sorry I did so much homework that it creates an ethical dilemma in my mind.

Signed, Questioning Corporate Ethics
 
 

Dear Questioner,


Wow, I forgot about that story. I am the first to tell candidates to research the company they want to work for. To be clear, the answer I give you is a general approach to researching a company's ethics, not an indictment on our industry or the companies in it.

A corporation's ethical behavior tells a lot about the company and the character of the people you will be working for. The maxim "a fish rots from the head down" means leadership is the root cause of an organization's failure and demise. Guess what? The company in question made the needed changes to correct the problem caused by the leadership at the time, and paid a sizable price for their wrongdoing, as you shared in the article headline. Here is another link to the story from the New York Times.

Your ethical question is complicated because this was resolved many years ago. That alone shows me a lesson has been learned and corrected and a price paid. Then there is another issue: If a court determined a company was infringing on a patent is that same as saying a company stole someone else's idea? Does it cross that line? On the other hand, if I was a designer or specifier or dealer.


​You can send your workplace questions to Stephen at StephenSays@bellow.press

Questions selected to be answered will appear in this column. Please use the Subject: Stephen Says for all emails. Stephen Viscusi is a bestselling author, television personality, and CEO of The Viscusi Group, global executive recruiters located in New York. Follow Stephen on Twitter @stephenviscusi, Like Stephen on Facebook, and follow him on LinkedIn.