Unethical Behaviour Case Study

1025 Words5 Pages

Abstract

Globalisation has allowed for the rise of major corporations and the increased pervasion of unethical corporate behaviours, such as child labour or harming the environment. Therefore, it is crucial to explore the fundamental driving forces of these unethical behaviour. By taking a rational organisation approach, the paper examines how the rational decision making process is affected by various factors of the market and lead to unethical behaviour. I argue that profit and sustainability are the two primary goals of corporations and unethical decisions are geared towards these goals. Firstly, I identify the

Introduction

Schulman (2002) mentions that rationality in business is kindred to professionalism. It is therefore assumed in this paper that corporations act as rational organisations through rational decision making. Hooker (2008) argues that rationality is necessary for ethical behaviour. Generally, it is often believed that a rational body should make ethical decisions as it will be less likely to jeopardise the corporation in the long run and that irrational decisions or emotions are what causes companies to resort to unethical behaviours for …show more content…

Since the “ethical” way to dispose of the waste through industrial treatment is not very expensive, Trafigura contracted an unlicensed local company that dispersed the waste across several public landfills in Ivory Coast, leading to the death of fifteen people and over 100,000 more suffering from respiratory illness. For all the damages it caused, Trafigura merely paid USD300m in compensation and got away without any major setbacks. In the long run, Trafigura did not suffer noticeably, with its profits continuing to rise from USD44.6bn in 2006 to USD127.6bn today. This shows clearly the nearly negligible risks and long term impacts of unethical behaviour on large

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