St. Albans Family Enterprises

Jose Ruizalba; Ignacio Ferrero; Massimiliano Matteo Pellegrini

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St. Albans Family Enterprises

José L. Ruiz-Alba

Westminster Business School, University of Westminster, London, UK

Ignacio Ferrero

School of Economics and Business,University of Navarra, Spain

Massimiliano Matteo Pellegrini

University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

Volume 14: 2017 pp. 307-314: ABSTRACT

This case study can serve as an instrument to help students and practitioners develop their ethical decision-making ability, in particular practical wisdom (prudence) within a virtue ethics framework. St. Albans Family Enterprises is a group of companies with three business lines: petrol stations, flower exportation and women´s fashion retail establishments, with around 300 employees and 20 stores in London, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh and Bristol. Apparently, an alleged leakage of sensitive information took place at the Head Office, involving several employees who found themselves in a delicate professional situation and who happened to be relatives. Senior management are facing ethical dilemmas with respect to these employees but also with respect to themselves who feel partly responsible for having generated such compromising situation for some employees.