This paper is about the unethical business research conduct that has resulted in Martha Stewart being convicted of unethical business. Will also explain what unethical research behavior that was involved, and who were the injured parties, and how the unethical behavior affected the organization, and the individual and society, and how the unethical behavior could have been avoided. Martha Stewart was indicted for “conspiracy to obstruct justice”, along with her stock broker Peter Bacanovic. According to Alan Reynolds, what amounts to is “making false statements?” The same false statements also amount to “securities fraud,” after that they supposedly kept her company’s stock from falling even further than it did in June 2002 (Reynolds, 2003). The alleged crimes are different then when Martha Stewart was convicted, it used to be called insider trading; now it is about felonious fibbing (Reynolds, 2003).
The original accusation began as an Associated Press story the evening of June 6, and another in The New York Times on June 7, 2002. The story was leaked or planted by “people close to a Congressional investigation.” That story said “Martha Stewart, a close friend of the former chief executive of ImClone Systems, sold all her shares in the biotechnology company a day or two before ImClone announced an unfavorable ruling by the Food and Drug Administration.” This anonymous insinuation that Martha Stewart had been tipped-off by ImClone founder Sam Waksal appeared a week before Waksal was arrested and the House Energy and Commerce Committee held hearings on the subject (Reynolds, 2003). Stewart's, Merrill Lynch stockbroker, Peter Bacanovic, informed Stewart that Waksal's family had sold their shares. Bacanovic has since been let go from Merrill, and was indicted on federal charges of altering key documents, conspiracy, and obstruction. Douglas Faneuil, assistant to Bacanovic, accepted payments to withhold information about why Stewart suddenly sold her stock. Martha was charged with more serious charges of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, making false statements to investigators and criminal securities fraud. She served five months in prison, and five months of home confinement, two years’ probation, and fined $30,000. Bacanovic had a similar sentence. The injured parties were Martha Stewart and Peter Bacanovic, they both served jail time and Peter Bacanovic lost his job at Merrill Lynch. Other than that Martha Stewart did not hurt her public image, she is making more than she did before. She has improved her personal finances, what she wanted to do with the insider trading.
The unethical behavior hurt Martha Stewart personally, Before Martha’s bout with insider trading; her net worth was over $500 million. After