James Frey, Oprah and A Million Little Pieces - Case Study

759 Words2 Pages

"Veterans Affairs Head Robert McDonald Lied About Serving in Special Forces" - Katie Pavlich | Feb 24, 2015 Lying is not really newsworthy, it happens every day. The problem to be investigated by this essay is WHY individuals deliberately say things that are not true. This problem relates to the basic virtue of honesty. In the book, Business Ethnics, the author Jennings (2009) has identified various categories of ethical dilemmas one of which being, Saying Things You Know Are Not True. This paper examines the ethical dilemma of honesty by analyzing Case 2.10, James Frey, Oprah and A Million Little Pieces. The analysis of the case focus on the qualities of truth and lessons learned in decision making and conduct.

The case, James Frey, Oprah and A Million Little Pieces, is a prime example how an individual’s actions can conflict with the basic virtue of honesty. In this case, the results of the Smoking Gun’s investigations of James Frey memoirs depicted in the book, A Million Little Pieces, revealed that facts were embellished. Oprah’s initial reaction to the quality of the truth was to believe that Frey’s actions were just. Despite Frey’s admission of inflating events, Ms. Winfrey felt that because the important facts were true then he was being truthful (Jennings...

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...issue is not falsification of facts but the detection of false information before it impacts the organization. When it’s all said and done, Ms. Winfrey took away an unavoidable lesson from her experience with Frey which is not to trust everything you read and verify the facts before supporting them. As, Ms. Winfrey continues to be a public icon, it is more than likely she will be confronted with issues of ethical dilemmas and the best solution is to verify the details.

Works Cited

Jennings, M. (2009). Business ethics: Case studies and selected readings (6th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

"Veterans Affairs Head Robert McDonald Lied About Serving in Special Forces" - Katie Pavlich | Feb 24, 2015 Web: http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2015/02/24/new-va-head-lied-about-military-service-n1961369

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