Management Ethics

QUESTION 4

Do you believe that in the end Mark Whitacre was treated justly? Explain.

Yes. We believe that Mark Whitacre was treated justly in the end because what he made was unacceptable and illegal. The fact that he admitted his mistake reinforced this opinion. Mark Whitacre greatly regrets what he did. In a 2009 interview, he said:

“I made some horrific decisions and broke some serious federal laws. In fact, ego and greed were behind many of these poorly made decisions. Others have said that ultimately the corporate culture of ADM played a primary role in my decision making at the time. Alas, not true. These were decisions of my own making. When trying to win so hard that truth and ethics do not matter anymore, then one is in a bad place in his or her life. That is exactly where I was in the early and mid-1990s. I cannot explain how I lost my way, but I did. ”

Mark Whitacre is the one who implement the recommendations of Terry Wilson (the person who conducted the meeting with others four companies which include Ajinomoto, Kyowa, Miwon and Cheil). Mark Whitacre had implement the price-fixing and he also done an embezzlement of $2.5 million from the company. Fortunately, Mark Whitacre had admitted his mistake and he take responsibility for his action. As a result, Mark Whitacre was imprisoned for 9 years because of embezzlement, 20 months for price-fixing and returned the money he took.

In our opinion, we think that the punishment given to Mark Whitacre was fair.