Case Paper Ethical Hero/ Failed Businessman Malden Mills

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An Ethical Hero or a Failed Businessman: A Case Study
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September 9, 2017
Introduction
In light of these days, it is not surprising that ethics has always been a major part of any field of study and practice. Fields such as medicine, academics, law, advertising, and even business had their own set of guidelines which dates back centuries ago as philosophers like Aristotle and Plato contemplated about how should early Greeks act while practicing their trades. Fast forward centuries ahead, Ethics has now become one of the most sought after concept in the field of business, that it even transcended as a field of study, a business philosophy, and a codified rule, as embedded within the laws of the state. As a field of study, Stanford University defined Ethics in Business or Business Ethics as, “the study of the ethical dimensions of productive organizations and commercial activities”. This implies that in doing any operation, financial decision, and/or business transaction, certain guidelines should be put into consideration. However, since the primary aim of business is to earn a profit, this poses an age-old dilemma as some anecdotal accounts have said that the constraints of an ethical guideline, could and would limit the amount of profit that a business entity could gain. In this article, the case of Malden Mills (a textile company which invented the fabric Polartec) and its former CEO’s decision (Aaron Feuerstein) would be discussed in relation to the idea of Business Ethics CITATION Was08 \l 1033 (Washbourne). Through the years, many people would argue whether Feuerstein was a Failed businessman or an Ethical Hero. In the author’s opinion, however, he believes that the action as a CEO of the company, Feuerstein could both be characterized as both an Ethical hero and a Failed Businessman.
An Ethical Hero and Failed Businessman
The case of Malden Mills was deemed by a number of individuals and analysts alike as similar with those of Enron and Lehman Brothers. This is because of what could be considered as an ineffective decision-making and contingency planning, which led to an unfortunate series of events, finally ending into bankruptcy. However, while those of Enron and Lehman Brothers are a case of its leaders’ personal greed, Malden Mills ultimately ended into bankruptcy because of Feuerstein’s values and principles. Nevertheless, this does not mean that some other means of amendment could have been done and this is the exact reason for M...