Gumthrop&Ethical

As a concerned citizen of the United States and an individual of conscience I am appalled by the actions of Gumthrop Northern. It is clear that the concept of corporate responsibility has been lost on the Gumthrop Northern company. The ethical issues that have come to light are disturbing as the company has acted in a manner that has placed profit before responsibility, quality, and obligation.

The ethical issues I have addressed in this memo are the most important amongst many violations of moral behavior. These ethical issues show a callous company acting only in preservation of profit with no regard to law or ethical standards. For the point of this memo I am distinguishing the ethical violations from the legal violations in order that the point of this argument is not lost in semantics. For instance, I do not wish to argue the ethical nature of a particular mandate of law as much as I wish to show how a particular action has ethical ramifications.

Ethical Issue #1

Gumthrop Northern knowingly sold defective body armor to the US military and refused to disclose the necessity of an additional flak jacket for fear of losing the contract. Time and again corporate greed and profiteering has lead to legal actions in similar situations. One recalls the Ford Pinto and its exploding gas tank. In cases such as this the companies have overlooked the greater benefit and utility of disclosure in order to reap the benefit of short term profit.

However, what is perceived as a gain in profit is truly a short term incentive as there are severe ramifications for having acted in this unethical manner. First, that there is no utility in having not disclosed this information. Gumthrop Northern has only benefited in the smallest manner possible. The profits derived from having sold defective body armor are a onetime profit, whereas having disclosed the armor issue could have insured future business. But because the company has chosen to act in this manner...