library.SCOTCH: Business Management: Ethics: Case Studies

Foxconn

AlbaIMSocialNetwork. (2012, April 18). Inside the Chinese Apple factory, which makes the iPhone & iPad on AlbaIM Social Network [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqpDsgh9pG4

Rana Plaza

Jolley, M. A. (2013). Fashion victims [Television series episode]. In D. Everett (Director), Four Corners. Ultimo, New South Wales: ABC Television.

Ok Tedi

King, A., Cavadini, F. (Producers) & Cavadini, F. (Director). (2011). Colour change [Television broadcast]. Marrickville NSW: Frontyard Films.

BP Deepwater Horizon

Best Documentaries. (2013, November 1). Profit pollution and deception BP and the oil spill BBC documentary [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zGFvzMMO9w

Enron

Gibney, A. (Producer). (2005). Enron: The smartest guys in the room [Television broadcast]. Dallas, Texas: HDNet Films.

Comminsure

AusPol. (2016, April 11). Money for nothing - Four Corners [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjtLq73aVzU

James Hardie

ABC RN. (2009, August 24). Killer company: James Hardie exposed - ABC Radio National Breakfast [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s55tyQmF0wM&index=1&list=PLqPoX2lTncgT0WyjUA1cr4NEOsSB5sbFq

Pfizer

Al Jazeera English. (2009, September 2). Pfizer to pay $2.3bn for 'off-label' drugs - 03 Sep 09 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgFa7O4A-YU

Case Studies

FOXCONN 2010

LLOYDS BANK 2013

Treanor, J., & Rankin, J. (2013, December 12). Lloyds Banking Group fined record £28m in new mis-selling scandal. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/dec/11/lloyds-banking-group-fined-misselling-scandal
Pressure on staff to get 'a grand in your hand' or face demotion led to bonus-induced selling frenzy, FCA says.
Atherton, M. (2013). Dirty tricks of the trade used by Lloyds to mis-sell. Times, The (United Kingdom), 74.
In the week in which Lloyds Banking Group was fined a record £28 million for encouraging staff to mis-sell financial products Times Money lifts the lid on the high pressure sales tactics employed by workers at the bank.
Robinson, M. (2014, March 25). Lloyds accused of short-changing PPI claimants. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26715982
Lloyds Banking Group has been cutting the compensation it pays to payment protection insurance (PPI) claimants, a BBC investigation has revealed.

RANA PLAZA 2013

BBC. (2013, May 10). Bangladesh factory collapse toll passes 1,000. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-22476774
The death toll from Bangladesh's worst industrial accident has passed 1,000 as recovery teams continue to find more bodies in the wreckage.
As-Saber, S. (2013, May 6). Bangladesh disaster shows why we must urgently clean up global sweat shops. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/bangladesh-disaster-shows-why-we-must-urgently-clean-up-global-sweat-shops-13899
The disastrous building collapse in Bangladesh’s capital of Dhaka which has killed hundreds of ill-fated garment workers and wounded thousands, has finally shone some well-needed light into the murky business of global sweatshops.
McCarthy, J. (2013, July 10). Bangladesh collapse: The garment workers who survived. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2013/07/10/200644781/Bangladesh-Collapse-The-Garment-Workers-Who-Survived
On a recent trip to Bangladesh, I sought out the survivors of what was the deadliest disaster in the history of the garment industry. An overwhelming number of the victims are women, many in their early 20s.

CHINESE MILK POWDER SCANDAL 2008

Callick, R. (2008, September 15). Fury in China over contaminated powdered milk. Australian, The.
Angry parents were demanding yesterday to know why China's biggest powdered milk producer, state-owned Sanlu, withdrew its products from sale only last Thursday when the company knew as far back as March that they were contaminated.
Lim, V. (2013, March 1). Tainted milk: Unravelling China’s melamine scandal. Retrieved from http://thinkbusiness.nus.edu/articles/item/118-tainted-milk-unravelling-china%E2%80%99s-melamine-scandal
China's 2008 tainted milk scandal laid bare some of harsher realities behind the country's economic miracle - exposing the high price that can be exacted for entrenched, institutionalised corruption and inadequate oversight during times of rapid growth.
Two face execution over toxic milk scandal. (2009). Dairy Industries International, 74(2), 10.
The article reports that Zhang Yujun, a cattle farmer, and Geng Jinping, a milk trader, have been sentenced to death due to their involvement in the melamine milk scandal in China, which killed six babies and made some 300,000 people ill.
Huang, Y. (2014, July 16). The 2008 milk scandal revisited. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/yanzhonghuang/2014/07/16/the-2008-milk-scandal-revisited/#29ea584a4428
Six years ago today, sixteen infants in China’s Gansu Province were diagnosed with kidney stones. All of them had been fed milk powder that was later found to have been adulterated with a toxic industrial compound called melamine.

BHP PNG OK TEDI DISASTER

Murphy, K. (1996, June 12). In a fouled jungle, tribes win one. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/12/news/12iht-bhp.t.html
A bitter and complex environmental battle that for eight years pitted tribal villagers of Papua New Guinea against one of the world's largest mining conglomerates ended Tuesday when the company, Australia's Broken Hill Proprietary, called a truce.
Burton, B. (1999, August 13). BHP admits Ok Tedi mine is environmental disaster. Retrieved from http://www.atimes.com/oceania/AH13Ah01.html
One of Australia's biggest mining companies has admitted to major environmental damage by a project it runs in Papua New Guinea, but this does not necessarily bring a happy ending to the controversy.
Bice, S. (2013, October 23). Ok Tedi immunity gone, with implications beyond BHP. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/ok-tedi-immunity-gone-with-implications-beyond-bhp-19188
Ok Tedi resumed the spotlight in recent weeks when the Papua New Guinean Parliament removed former mine operator BHP Billiton’s immunity from legal prosecution for environmental damages caused.

BP DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL 2010

BBC. (2010, September 19). Timeline: BP oil spill. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-10656239
Here is a chronology of events in the months since, as BP has struggled to stem the leak and oil has washed ashore along the Gulf Coast, from the fragile Louisiana wetlands to the white sand beaches of Florida.
BP to pay $US18.7b to settle Deepwater Horizon oil spill claims. (2015, July 3). Retrieved from http://www.afr.com/business/energy/oil/bp-to-pay-us187b-to-settle-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-claims-20150702-gi4307
The US government and the Gulf Coast states have reached a tentative deal with the British oil company BP for it to pay about $US18.7 billion, the largest environmental settlement in US history, to compensate for damages from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, federal, state and company officials said Thursday.
Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010. (2016). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://school.eb.com.au.db.plcscotch.wa.edu.au/levels/middle/article/489419
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010 was the largest marine oil spill in history, caused by an April 20, 2010, explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig—located in the Gulf of Mexico —and its subsequent sinking on April 22.
Hoffman, C. (2010, September 2). Special report: Why the BP oil rig blowout happened. Retrieved from http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/a6065/how-the-bp-oil-rig-blowout-happened/
The following lessons drawn from forensic engineering should spur changes in the oil industry and government agencies that will lead to better risk assessment, more useful regulatory oversight, safer operating procedures and rapid crisis response.

ENRON 2001

Oppel, R. A., & Sorkin, A. R. (2001, November 29). Enron's collapse: the overview; Enron collapses as suitor cancels plans for merger. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/29/business/enron-s-collapse-the-overview-enron-collapses-as-suitor-cancel
Enron, the champion of energy deregulation that grew into one of the nation's 10 largest companies, collapsed yesterday, after a rival backed out of a deal to buy it and many big trading partners stopped doing business with it.
Seabury, C. (2016). Enron: The fall of a Wall Street darling. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/articles/stocks/09/enron-collapse.asp
Enron is a company that reached dramatic heights, only to face a dizzying collapse. The story ends with the bankruptcy of one of America's largest corporations.
Enron scandal. (2016). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://school.eb.com.au.db.plcscotch.wa.edu.au/levels/middle/article/571441
The Enron scandal was series of events that resulted in the bankruptcy of the U.S. energy, commodities, and services company Enron Corporation and the dissolution of Arthur Andersen LLP, which had been one of the largest auditing and accounting companies in the world.
Thomas, C. W. (2002, April 1). The Rise and Fall of Enron. Retrieved from http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2002/apr/theriseandfallofenron.html
The purpose of this article is to summarize preliminary observations about the collapse, as well as changes in financial reporting, auditing and corporate governance that are being proposed in response by Big Five accounting firms, the AICPA and the SEC.

CBA COMMINSURE 2016

Fogarty, R. (2016, March 8). CommInsure: Who's who in the Commonwealth Bank's life insurance scandal? Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-07/comminsure-scandal-whos-who-four-corners/7226576
Meet some of the key players and victims of the scandal engulfing one of Australia's big four banks.
Ferguson, A. (2016, March 6). ASIC to investigate CBA's life insurance arm. Retrieved from http://www.afr.com/business/asic-to-investigate-cbas-life-insurance-arm-20160305-gnbmox
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission will investigate allegations that the Commonwealth Bank's life insurance arm is denying heart attack claims by deliberately using an outdated definition buried in the policy.
Lipworth, W., Kerridge, I., & Ghinea, I. (2016, March 10). CommInsure scandal reminds us commercial forces are at play in medicine. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/comminsure-scandal-reminds-us-commercial-forces-are-at-play-in-medicine-56063
A scandal has emerged involving the insurance giant CommInsure, following claims by the company’s (now ex) chief health officer that they purposefully sought to avoid paying health-related claims by using outdated disease definitions; dishonestly used medical reports; and denied claims for frivolous reasons.

JAMES HARDIE 2004

Sexton, E. (2004, December 22). A billion-dollar case study in poor judgement. Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/A-billiondollar-case-study-in-poor-judgement/2004/12/21/1103391774454.html
Three weeks ago James Hardie Industries ran advertisements declaring "there are two sides to every story", but there is only one angle to yesterday's news: it is a triumph for community pressure.
James Hardie directors breached duties: court. (2012, May 4). Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-03/high-court-rules-in-favour-of-asic-in-hardie-case/3987196
The High Court has ruled that seven former James Hardie non-executive directors breached corporate law by making a misleading statement about the company's asbestos compensation fund.
Commonwealth of Australia. (2004, August 10). In the shadow of the corporate veil: James Hardie and asbestos compensation. Retrieved from http://www.aph.gov.au/binaries/library/pubs/rn/2004-05/05rn12.pdf
Significant fallout is likely from the NSW inquiry into the treatment of Australian asbestos victims by James Hardie Industries ('the Hardie Group').

RANA PLAZA 2013

BBC. (2013, May 10). Bangladesh factory collapse toll passes 1,000. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-22476774
The death toll from Bangladesh's worst industrial accident has passed 1,000 as recovery teams continue to find more bodies in the wreckage.
As-Saber, S. (2013, May 6). Bangladesh disaster shows why we must urgently clean up global sweat shops. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/bangladesh-disaster-shows-why-we-must-urgently-clean-up-global-sweat-shops-13899
The disastrous building collapse in Bangladesh’s capital of Dhaka which has killed hundreds of ill-fated garment workers and wounded thousands, has finally shone some well-needed light into the murky business of global sweatshops.
McCarthy, J. (2013, July 10). Bangladesh collapse: The garment workers who survived. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2013/07/10/200644781/Bangladesh-Collapse-The-Garment-Workers-Who-Survived
On a recent trip to Bangladesh, I sought out the survivors of what was the deadliest disaster in the history of the garment industry. An overwhelming number of the victims are women, many in their early 20s.
Quelch, J. A., & Rodriguez, M. L. (2013, September). Rana Plaza: Workplace safety in Bangladesh (A). Harvard Business School Case 514-034.
Rana Plaza was not the first tragedy to occur in Bangladesh's garment industry, and without intervention, more might follow. International brand owners, domestic and foreign governments, labor unions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), stepped up to discuss their responsibilities for improving conditions for Bangladeshi garment workers.

PFIZER 2009

Harris, G. (2009, September 2). Pfizer pays $2.3 billion to settle marketing case. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/03/business/03health.html
The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer agreed to pay $2.3 billion to settle civil and criminal allegations that it had illegally marketed its painkiller Bextra, which has been withdrawn.
Lannin, S. (2009, September 4). Pfizer fine 'should act as deterrent'. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-09-03/pfizer-fine-should-act-as-deterrent/1417140
The world's biggest drug maker has been fined a record amount by US regulators for fraudulent marketing.
Hensley, S. (2009, September 3). Pfizer whistleblower tells his Bextra story. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2009/09/pfizer_whistleblower_tells_his.html
In pursuing a case against Pfizer for fraudulently promoting drugs that eventually led to the largest health fraud settlement in U.S. history, the feds leaned heavily on evidence supplied by a half-dozen whistleblowers.
Lunau, K. (2012). Off label is off the charts. Maclean's, 125(21), 44-46.
The article looks at doctors prescribing drugs for uses other than those for which they were approved, referred to as off-label prescribing. It says off-label prescriptions are common but may sometimes be hazardous, especially if the dosage or duration of use is changed.

CHINA MILK POWDER PRICE FIXING 2013

Takada, K., & Martina, M. (2013, August 7). China fines milk powder makers $110 million for price fixing. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/us-meadjohnson-china-idUSBRE97512S20130807
China fined six companies, including Mead Johnson Nutrition Co, Danone and New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra, a total of $110 million following an investigation into price fixing and anti-competitive practices by foreign baby formula makers.
Qin, A., & Wong, E. (2013, August 7). China fines milk powder suppliers over pricing. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/08/business/global/08iht-milk08.html
The Chinese government has fined six infant milk powder companies a total of 668.7 million renminbi for anti-competitive behavior and price fixing, according to an announcement issued by the country’s top economic planning agency Wednesday.
China fines milk powder makers US$110m for price-fixing. (2013, August 29). Retrieved from http://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1294898/china-fines-milk-powder-makers-us110m-price-fixing
China fined six companies including Mead Johnson Nutrition, Danone and New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra a total of US$110 million following an investigation into price fixing and anti-competitive practices by foreign baby formula makers.

LLOYDS BANK 2013

Treanor, J., & Rankin, J. (2013, December 12). Lloyds Banking Group fined record £28m in new mis-selling scandal. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/dec/11/lloyds-banking-group-fined-misselling-scandal
Pressure on staff to get 'a grand in your hand' or face demotion led to bonus-induced selling frenzy, FCA says.
Atherton, M. (2013). Dirty tricks of the trade used by Lloyds to mis-sell. Times, The (United Kingdom), 74.
In the week in which Lloyds Banking Group was fined a record £28 million for encouraging staff to mis-sell financial products Times Money lifts the lid on the high pressure sales tactics employed by workers at the bank.
Robinson, M. (2014, March 25). Lloyds accused of short-changing PPI claimants. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26715982
Lloyds Banking Group has been cutting the compensation it pays to payment protection insurance (PPI) claimants, a BBC investigation has revealed.

KAUPTHING 2013

Bowers, S. (2013, March 20). Icelandic bank Kaupthing's top executives indicted over market rigging. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/mar/19/kaupthing-executives-indicted-for-market-rigging
Icelandic banker Sigurdur "Siggi" Einarsson, who ran Kaupthing bank from offices in Mayfair until its collapse five years ago, is among nine former senior staff who have been variously charged in Reykjavik with orchestrating five large-scale market manipulation conspiracies.
BBC. (2013, December 12). Iceland jails former Kaupthing bank bosses. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/business-25349240
Four former bosses from the Icelandic bank Kaupthing have been sentenced to between three and five years in prison.
Robinson, E., & Valdimarsson, O. (2016, April 1). Welcome to Iceland, where bad bankers go to prison. Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/welcome-to-iceland-where-bad-bankers-go-to-prison-20160331-gnvn68.html
This is where the world's only bank chiefs imprisoned in connection with the 2008 financial crisis are serving their sentences.