DISCUSSION:
Which do you believe presents the greatest threat to civil society: a corporation that commits crimes (e.g., murder, environmental crimes, or bribery), or persons who commit crimes that harm businesses (e.g., embezzlement, fraud, or larceny)? Defend your response, using at least one example from current events.
Guided Response: Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ posts in a substantive manner. Some ways to do this include the following, though you may choose a different approach, providing your response is substantive:
Review the posts made by your peers. In response to your peers, first identify a non-traditional or creative way in which a corporation might be punished for committing a crime. Then discuss the consequences of implementing that punishment to the example used by your peer.
I believe that the individuals who commit crimes against the business present a higher threat to society, because they are tampering with the products and services that are sold to consumers. This can cause businesses to spike their prices and put customers information at risk of getting used such as their banking information. A lot of identity theft and computer hacking has been going on lately where companies’ financial system gets broken into and all the customers get their credit card and checking account information stolen. Most of these individuals picked up computer tampering skills through information technology by way of school and on their job.
Some would even believe that people who kill, rob, and conduct unlawful sexual acts are the ones who spend years in prison because they are violent crimes. However, nonviolent crimes such as fraud can be considered a “first-degree felony: Punishable by death or imprisonment from 15 years to life, or by a fine of up to $250,000” (Seaquist, 2012, p. 6.2). About 2 months ago, there was an Equifax breach that uncovered millions of consumers identity and fiscal information. “That means that the personal information— Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, addresses, driver’s license numbers, and birth dates—of roughly half of the U.S. population was likely compromised.” (Grau, 2017, p. 16). The victims of these crimes get their bank accounts wiped out and their credit ruined, making it hard for them to survive.
References
Grau, D. (2017). Equifax was hacked. Now what? Journal of financial planning, 30(11), 16-19.
Seaquist, G. (2012). Business law for managers. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/ (Links to an external site.)
Crime is one thing that has always been and probably will always be. Seaquist defined crime as “A wrong as defined by state or federal statute” (Seaquist, 2012, Glossary). Crime is categorized into three separate classes: felonies, misdemeanors, and violations. Crime has existed in civil life and business life. To answer the question as to which is the greatest threat, I would say that crime committed by businesses ranks highest. Business crimes include fraud of any kind, electronic hacking, murder, embezzlement, bribes, and business larceny, money laundering, etc. to name a few. The reason as to which business crimes are greater in intensity is because they affect more people. People who commit crimes, once caught, will be reprimanded for their actions and the crimes will more than likely cease, although the effects are still evident and have to be resolved. The crimes end up costing businesses extra money due to fraud. The government is able to investigate these crimes and punish as the law permits. Although no company is exempt from this type of crime, but companies can be proactive and maintain a strong controls department and proper training to identify fraud.
Caterpillar, heavy machinery maker, did not fully comply with the tax and finance reporting of the USA. They failed to report their profits of close to 8 billion from Switzerland but rather reported them as loans. The result was “Caterpillar shares were down 3% in premarket trading following The Times’ report” (Oyedele, 2017, para. 6). Tax evasion and fraud seem to be one of the most common crimes by individuals and companies, maybe for the ease of it. Who knows!
Oyedele, A. (2017). Caterpillar slides following a report that accused it of tax and accounting fraud. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/caterpillar-tax-accounting-fraud-law-report-2017-3
Seaquist, G. (2012). Business law for managers [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/
