Johns-Manville Corporation

Improved Essays
Johns-Manville Problem
To determine whether or not it was ethical for The Johns-Manville Corporation to declare bankruptcy, it’s critical that both points-of-view are laid out to be critiqued. While it would be quite easy to argue that the company should have been liquidated in order to pay the medical costs of the countless asbestos victims, it’s very important to look at the situation from the perspective that saves the jobs of thousands and contributes to the betterment of the working conditions of their employees, as well as the surrounding community. To rationalize their decision, the Board of Directors within the Johns-Manville Corporation could show how their filing of bankruptcy was beneficial to more than just the survival of the company.
Expanding on this, the school of Corporate Social Responsibility states that— “Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a business approach that contributes to sustainable development by delivering economic, social and environmental benefits for all stakeholders.” In other words,
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Not only will a greater amount of victims receive compensation, but thousands of citizens will keep their jobs, and the economy will continue to look upward for the surrounding communities. While it is easy to have immediate reaction defending the victims of a situation, it is very important to sit back and make sure that the best decision is made in regards to those involved. In this case, the decision to file bankruptcy is ethical. This is justified by the fact that the Board of Directors of the Johns-Manville Corporation formed an action plan that fully focused on the improvement of asbestos victims and the strengthening of the local economy, rather than the expansion of the

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