A case summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A case summary - Essay Example In October 2008, Siemens was ordered to pay a fine amounting to $284 million and convicted of funneling money. Corruption had steeped throughout the organization and the announcement of the amnesty plan led to low level employees coming forward with crucial information. By 2008, the head of the medical equipment division went on trial and the investigation expanded to include 270 former and current employees. There were various charges including the allegation that a former Siemens board member used Siemens money to support an employer friendly union to counter the Siemens worker union. By December 2008, Siemens agreed to pay a fine of $800 million to settle the charges and in July 2008, Siemens agreed to pay the World Bank $100 million for its role in bribing Russian officials. The ethical issue in this regard is the fact that Siemens used bribery as a method of obtaining contracts and bypassed the selection tests using money. This is unfair to other companies who competed for the same contracts using their merit and own abilities. It is against the free market policies and this practice gives an unfair advantage to Siemens. The culture of corruption had steeped through the company, from the top level executives to the lower level employees. There was a method to the corruption and this leads to Siemens becoming a company with absolutely no moral direction. Moreover, the sheer magnitude of the corruption suggests that all members of the company felt that the corruption wasn’t really an issue. A company blinded by profits and willing to compromise on such basic morals, would also compromise on the quality of the service they provide. Besides, since the selection is not done on the basis of merit and the best company might not have been necessarily selected, the quality of the work might be compromised as well. The safety of the people using the services provided by