Critical Cases on the Downside of Business

This second collection of outstanding shortlisted contributions from the Critical Management Studies (CMS) Interest Group of the Academy of Management (AOM) Dark Side" case-writing competition continues to go where other business case studies fear to tread.There are very many case studies of business best practice when engaging with social, environmental and ethical issues. But when educators look for resources to illustrate to students the more typical examples of bad – let alone scandalous – practices of some firms, the cupboard is almost entirely bare. And yet there is a critical need for business educators to expose students and managers to such issues to understand the different multifaceted phenomena of our late capitalist era; to support critical, reflective moral development; and to reflect and understand the complexities of organizational life. To argue that such cases deal with the bad apples in an otherwise functioning system misses the point. Whether focusing on the phone-hacking scandals at national newspapers, the influence of big pharma companies on clinical trials, the Bhopal tragedy or the use of child labour in the garment industry, the problems discussed are of major importance and in many cases have been demonstrated to be common practice for particular companies. Good news they are not, but all are stimulating and present students with dilemmas and decisions to make in a myriad of ways.Each of these 14 selected cases from 2009–2012 has been thoroughly documented, peer-reviewed and edited. They cover four continents (Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania) and both business and public organizations. The industries covered range from extractive industries, the energy industry, consumer products, pulp and paper, movies, media, municipal affairs, academia, banking, and the drug industry. The book is split into three sections: 'Community and Environment'; 'Human Rights and Business'; and 'Ethics and Policy'.Online Teaching Notes to accompany each chapter are available on request with the purchase of the book.