The Corporation

You are an attorney for an automobile manufacturer that sold a vehicle that was cheaper to make but more dangerous to drive. The family of a person killed in one such car has sued the manufacturer, and you must defend it in court. Use the “best interests of the corporation” rule to argue for your client. 

Sweatshops are harsh workplaces where earnings are poor and employees are overworked. Most of them exist in developing countries; their products are in high demand in the US. Is it the duty of American corporations to force these shops to reform, or is this something best left to the people of those countries? Take a side and defend it.

What is the principal difference between a corporation’s chartered purpose and that of the US Postal Service?

Companies often make business decisions by using cost-benefit analyses that take into account any penalties they may have to pay for causing harm to others. How can a society make that harm more expensive for corporations?

Sales people sometimes entice children with toys and clothing that they can have if their parents buy an expensive item. The children nag the parents until they agree to make the purchase. Is this a legitimate way for corporations to generate sales? Argue for or against.

Your school can finally afford the extra textbooks it needs, but these come with ads on every page. Is this ok? Or should the school wait even longer for materials that are adfree? Give reasons for your conclusion.

Briefly describe three ways that corporations engage in undercover marketing.

For years, a factory upstream discharges pollution into the local river. No one complains—for one thing, the townspeople appreciate the jobs at the factory—until it’s discovered that people downstream are becoming ill. The factory cleans up the discharge, but was it acceptable or wrong to pollute in the first place, when few people cared? Defend your viewpoint.