The Price of Unethical Behavior
Ethics in Business
Folole Muliaga was a Samoan woman living in New Zealand with her family. In May of 2007, Mrs. Muliaga was sitting in her dining room while one of her sons was at the computer. That morning an agent for Mercury Energy visited the home to announce that the power was being turned off. The agent gave the son a disconnect notice which was then given to Mrs. Muliaga by her son. Mrs. Muliaga told her son to ask the man to come inside. The agent came into Mrs. Muliaga’s home but did not notify her that the power had already been turned off. The agent stepped over a tube running from the bedroom to the prongs attached to Mrs. Muliaga’s nose. The agent explained to Mrs. Muliaga that he turned off the power as directed by Mercury Energy because of non-payment on a $120 in arrears. Mrs. Muliaga asked the agent to give them a chance to pay the bill, which he replied that he was just acting on orders and suggested she call Mercury Energy. Although the agent saw the tubes in Mrs. Muliaga’s nose, he did not question what they were being used for. One the agent left, Mrs. Muliaga started having breathing difficulty and her sons became concerned. Thereafter, the sons tried to call an ambulance, but could not because the power was turned off. One of the brothers went to a neighbor’s house and made the call. Unfortunately by the time the paramedics reached Mrs. Muliaga they were unable to resuscitate her and she expired (CITE Bridgeman).
In assessing the consequences, many factors led to the death of Mrs. Muliaga. In 1984 the Labour government’s deregulation of New Zealand’s economies gave way to belief that profits were the most important thing and that the appearance of being socially responsible whenever possible was ethical. Then in 1987, The Electricity Corporation of New Zealand was established under the State Owned Enterprises Act to own and operate New Zealand’s generating and transmissions systems (Bridgeman). However, the Ministry of
Folole Muliaga was a Samoan woman living in New Zealand with her family. In May of 2007, Mrs. Muliaga was sitting in her dining room while one of her sons was at the computer. That morning an agent for Mercury Energy visited the home to announce that the power was being turned off. The agent gave the son a disconnect notice which was then given to Mrs. Muliaga by her son. Mrs. Muliaga told her son to ask the man to come inside. The agent came into Mrs. Muliaga’s home but did not notify her that the power had already been turned off. The agent stepped over a tube running from the bedroom to the prongs attached to Mrs. Muliaga’s nose. The agent explained to Mrs. Muliaga that he turned off the power as directed by Mercury Energy because of non-payment on a $120 in arrears. Mrs. Muliaga asked the agent to give them a chance to pay the bill, which he replied that he was just acting on orders and suggested she call Mercury Energy. Although the agent saw the tubes in Mrs. Muliaga’s nose, he did not question what they were being used for. One the agent left, Mrs. Muliaga started having breathing difficulty and her sons became concerned. Thereafter, the sons tried to call an ambulance, but could not because the power was turned off. One of the brothers went to a neighbor’s house and made the call. Unfortunately by the time the paramedics reached Mrs. Muliaga they were unable to resuscitate her and she expired (CITE Bridgeman).
In assessing the consequences, many factors led to the death of Mrs. Muliaga. In 1984 the Labour government’s deregulation of New Zealand’s economies gave way to belief that profits were the most important thing and that the appearance of being socially responsible whenever possible was ethical. Then in 1987, The Electricity Corporation of New Zealand was established under the State Owned Enterprises Act to own and operate New Zealand’s generating and transmissions systems (Bridgeman). However, the Ministry of
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