Environmental Business Regulation

Running head: ENVIRONMENTAL BUSINESS REGULATION

Environmental Business Regulation

Environmental Business Regulation

In the past recent years, environmental problems have become an important topic of conversation for many people around the world. From global warming to the environmental devastation cause by hurricanes, many people believe that the environment and human health is being ruined. Another debatable topic in environmental regulation is the pollution caused by plants and industries. Many advocators for protecting the environment do not like to see companies come into communities for many reasons. In the scenario presented with, Alumina is accused of contaminating the water in Lake Dira and, in which, could be the cause of a resident getting cancer. This resident's parent is now suing the company for the potential damages

The Scenario

In the scenario, each team member picked the same options for solving Alumina's problem. The first step that we chose was to conduct an independent site study to see if the water was within the legal limits. Next, the group decided to allow for part of the environmental audit report to be released. Lastly, the group decided to mediate with the resident and her parent to avoid going to court, which in the long run, could be very costly and time consuming.

If having to do the scenario all over again, the group decided that they would not change any of the steps that were taken to solve the problem. Instead, we decided that the company should implement a few more cautious steps so that problems like this one would not happen again.

Solutions

Research indicates that companies should disclose information about their environmental standings on a periodic basis. It states that with this constant reminder, managers are knowingly more aware of their own environmental information. Indonesian companies who implemented this plan actually decreased its polluting emissions (Botelho, Pinto, & Rodrigues, 2005, 269).

Secondly, companies should develop an organizational culture based on being "eco-friendly". Employee positions should be implemented to collect, monitor, and evaluate the environmental information that is produced by the company. Supervisors should check among each other to make sure that each department is complying with the environmental laws. And lastly, structural programs should be in place to insure that all information generated is effectively evaluated across the company's spectrum (Stone, Joseph, & Blodgett, 2004, 68).

Even though many people will believe that Alumina should go to court with the complaining party, the trial would shed a very negative light onto the company. The key in this situation is to have and keep a very low profile. Settling with the plaintiffs out of court and reorganizing the company to better prevent issues like this one happening again can lead others to believe that this is the best way to handle situations like this one.

Dispute Perception

Litigation is costly in terms of money, time, and resources. Even though it appears that the facts of the case are on Alumina's side, our recommendation would be to settle the case of Alumina Inc. vs. Kelly Bates out of court.

Recent studies had come to light detailing how increased traffic in the Lake Dira area was the true culprit behind rising pollution levels and poorer water quality. We also had the result of our own water quality study showing that Alumina has remained well below minimum emission levels since the first infraction five years previous. If the investigation into the rate of cancer and leukemia occurrences came back showing average or lower-levels than other communities in the state, Alumina would have a solid argument in fighting the litigation. The most positive result to come out of a litigation win for Alumina would be the discouragement of future lawsuits by other members of the community thinking that they should try to get their own piece of the pie. If results were to come back showing Lake Dira to be a hot zone for cancer-like illnesses, litigation would be the last action the company would want to see.

If the case were to go to litigation, the press would make Alumina out to be the poster-child for evil factories poisoning children and indifferent to the plight of single, working mothers. Even if the case were to be decided in Alumina's favor, the bad publicity generated by an extended court case would be damaging to the company's image and reputation. If Alumina were to lose in litigation, the flood gates would open. Every member of the community who had come down with a serious ailment over the past 5 years would be lining up for their turn at the fountain of prosperity. With so many bad outcomes possible, the only way to mitigate Alumina's exposure to ruin was to accept AAA's intervention and have the dispute mediated.

Other Concerns

Another area besides the environment in which community stakeholders often make emotional arguments supportive of government intervention is that of big business and their marketing campaigns towards urban communities. Many times apparel companies do not think they have a social responsibility when developing their marketing campaigns. This type of thinking, eventually falls short of its original intent, and thus causes the companies to lose their credibility among consumers. One such company that is slowly but surely losing its credibility with its customer base (young African Americans) is Nike. Nike's ad campaigns target inner city youth. They have always advertised their products as the "in thing to have" or "you're nothing if you don't have it". Many believe that this hyper-commodification of gym shoes and apparel has led to a rise in inner-city violence as children scramble for the newest, latest while major sports stars like Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and Carl "the Mailman" Malone, promoted their products. However, according to The Nike campaign and African-Americans by author Louis Proyectone,