Unethical issues in Business

1. Misleading Product Information

Many companies promote injurious products with misleading information that can be harmful to consumers or the environment, purely for the sake of improving the bottom-line. There is no dearth of examples of this corrupt practice. From breakfast cereals to automobiles, all companies have blatantly tricked the consumers by providing misleading information.

In 2015, the biggest German carmaker, Volkswagen, publicly accepted that it had installed software in several of its cars to fool the Environmental Protection Agency’s emissions testers into believing that the cars were environmentally friendly. The popular brand lost a staggering $20 billion in market capitalization and was badly hit by the negative publicity.

For ages businesses have exaggerated on the qualities of their products and downplayed the inferior features to make them more saleable. This practice continues until consumers take notice and start questioning the authenticity of the information.

2. Unfair Competition

Defamation of a competitor, misappropriation of their trade secrets, and trade mark infringement – all these fall under unfair competition which gives a wrong impression to the consumers about the competitor and its products. It is not wrong to use a competitor’s name in the marketing material, but it should not deplore the company or its products.

In 2009, PepsiCo sued Coca-Cola for promoting its sports drink, Powerade, as being more refreshing than PepsiCo’s Gatorade because it contained more electrolytes. However, PepsiCo argued that there was no scientific evidence behind the claim.

In the digital age, businesses have taken the route of cyber-defamation where they spread false information about a brand as an anonymous user on a social networking site or a blog with a fake screen name. There are laws governing this kind of libel and slander, and the offender can be slapped a fine to the tune of millions if caught red-handed.

3. Mistreating Employees

This has become a familiar scenario in small as well as big companies who make employees work for long hours and underpay them. Many employees are made to work under stressful conditions and are subjected to mental and even sexual harassment.

In the wake of finding cheap labor, many companies in developed nations hire sweatshops in third-world countries to get their goods manufactured in bulk. The conditions in these workplaces are worse than one can even imagine. The tech giant Apple has been using the services of Foxconn, Taiwanese manufacturing company that has been manufacturing the coveted iPhone. Foxconn has been accused of employing child slaves working in hazardous conditions for 10 hours a day all through the week.

4. Manipulating Accounts

Most companies are involved in the cooking of their books to hoodwink investors, lenders and end-consumers. They tweak their financial reports to show inflated profits and lowered depreciation. This makes investors think that the company is faring well, and they end up buying more stocks from the share market.

In 2015, Toshiba, the Japanese multinational, was held responsible for the mismanagement of its accounts. They exaggerated their profits by $1.2 billion for more than seven years.

5. Bribery

Inducement to influence a business decision is not uncommon in the corporate world. Offering something of value or money in return of a favorable dealing is usually witnessed between vendors and marketers.

In 2011, Diageo, the UK-based beverage company, had to pay $16 million to settle charges of bribing government officials in India, Thailand and South Korea to assist them in the product approval process.

The pressure of surpassing the competition and wooing consumer’s year-after-year with the same products takes a toll on organizations. As a result, they resort to dishonest and devious activities. Even the biggest names in the industry are not untouched by this phenomenon. From buying email addresses to spam consumers without their consent, to ignoring quality and safety guidelines for generating higher revenue, many businesses are indulging in some kind of unethical behavior. Let’s just say it is a big bad world and the consumers should not blindly trust any business.