Bob DeSlob is CEO of Westlake Inc. that manufactures and sells widgets. Bob has decided that a safety feature recommended by the widget designers is too expensive and so will not be used in manufacturing Westlake widgets. The expense would cause the price of the widgets to rise far above Westlake's competitors' prices. This justification illustrates:a. Stakeholder theory. b. Profit maximization. c. Rule utlitiarianism. d. Kant's categorical imperative.

The correct answer is letter "B": Profit maximization.

Explanation:

Top executives are in charge of decision-making in companies. The path the firm will take depends on them. Their ultimate goal is always to maximize the profits of a firm. For such a thing to happen several accounting and operations analysis is conducted to make adjustments on production or engage in the manufacturing of new goods.  

An ethical dilemma arises when profit maximization implies affecting others through pollution or the manufacturing of products that could be somehow risky. Managers in most cases would prefer to cut the costs of production but they must find a balance between generating more revenue and fulfilling the minimum quality requirements so that the goods or the production of them does not put others at risk.

in 2001, dell computer became the world’s largest personal computer vendor, continuing to

gain market share and post profits in an industry struggling with slumping sales and billions of

dollars in losses. dell sells 90% of its pcs directly to the final customer, largely bypassing the

reseller channel that accounts for most of the world’s pc sales. this direct customer relationship

is the key to dell’s business model, and provides distinct advantages over the indirect sales

model. dell’s direct relationship with the customer allows it to tailor its offerings to customer

needs, offer add-on products and services, and use the internet to offer a variety of customer

services. in addition, dell’s pcs are built to customers’ specifications upon receipt of an order,

giving dell additional advantages over indirect pc vendors who must try to forecast demand and

ship products based on those forecasts. dell’s direct sales and build-to-order model has achieved

superior performance in the pc industry in terms of inventory turnover, reduced overhead, cash

conversion, and return on investment (kraemer, et al., 2000).

explanation:

the answer is risk management planning