Corporate Ethics in Kobe Steel Management

Running Head: Management
Management
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1Management
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Discussion........................................................................................................................................2
Ethical Issues...............................................................................................................................2
Stakeholders in scandal................................................................................................................3
Potential implications of Kobe Steel...........................................................................................3
Corporate culture in ethical issue................................................................................................4
Utilitarian principles of ethics.....................................................................................................4
Aristotelian views on actions.......................................................................................................5
Kantian theory on CEO's responsibility......................................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................8

2Management
Introduction
Kobe Steel is highly famous in the Steel manufacturing industry around the world as a
giant steelmakers with a huge volume of customers like Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Ford. This
magnanimous expansion in the international market makes Kobe Steel on of the largest in the
world and the third largest steel manufacturers in Japan. However, the organisation recently
came up with some ethical issues where the top-down hierarchy is involved. Based on this
understanding, the purpose of this report is to identify the ethical issue and make a discussion in
the light of ethical ideologies like the Utilitarian principles or Kantian ethics.
Discussion
Ethical Issues
In the year 2018, Kobe Steel had got the limelight after the revelation of unethical
practices prevalent within the organisational activities and quality of products. It was alleged that
the company deliberately falsified the data of supplied steel to its automobile manufacturing
clients. During the investigation by the Independent Investigation Committee (IIC) in 2017, the
deliberate falsification of the inspection certificates by the employees was exposed and Kobe
Steel admitted that the employees were in such practices since 2016. As a matter of fact, the
upper echelon of the company was also informed and aware of the unethical behaviour but failed
to prevent it due to their direct involvement in those unethical practice before becoming the
executive officers.