Chapter 10, Problem 12CR

Summary Introduction

Case Summary:

Huge amounts of wastewater, chemicals, sewage are let out every year in the rivers, contaminating them. The growth in China which has provided with more job opportunities, better salaries, and better status of living has also resulted in such ethical breaches. It then comes to a question of whether duty to others has to be performed or the duty to the environment. Many people though at individual level may be sensitive to such behavior but at a team level or organization level are forced to take such unethical decisions under pressure to meet the team or organization metrics

Characters in the case:

Rongping Chemical company, Luliang Chemical Company are referenced in this passage.

Adequate Information:

Chromium-6 causes cancers and ulcers to more than national standards by 20 times. Chemical dump endangers health. Drinking water gets contaminated and more than 300 million citizens of China do not have clean water to drink.

Growth has brought more jobs, profits, salaries, better standards of living, better services. Sustaining growth is a challenge faced by top managements. Financial dissatisfaction, pressure make organization less concerned about environment and CSR actions. Individual-level collectivist values are more but in team setting it is reduced.

To Determine:

How the top management’s ethical decisions are affected by the Rongping’s plant shut down case and the case of PG&E, Hinckley California.

Given:

Pacific Gas and Electric company was forced to pay $333 million as a settlement to the 2000 residents for dumping chromium-6 in the water supply in California. Rongping’s plant was forced shutdown after the environmental group filed a lawsuit when they were not satisfied with the $105000 compensation provided to the 1721 villagers.