The article “Prosecutors allege persistent heating oil fraud in New York City” by Benjamin Mueller established illegal activities by nine companies within the city, which defrauded customer’s money and destroyed both buildings and the environment. The authorities revealed that nine companies dealing in oil pumped air in fuel tanks and used magnets to interfere with the meters, which are installed to ensure the flowing of oil into the containers (Mueller, 2020).
Additionally, customers lost approximately 10% of the oil they purchased (Mueller, 2020). The oil worth $34 million is believed to have been stolen through heating-oil fraud activities (Mueller, 2020). The fraudulence activity referred to as institutional corruption affected numerous infrastructures, such as hospitals, homes, and courthouses.
The effects and the consequences of heating oil fraud are far-reaching not only to the customers but also to the environment and businesses. Furthermore, pumping air into oil tanks ensured that customers do not get the quantity of fuel they bought from the companies, leading to the loss of millions in the process (Mueller, 2020). All businesses have a duty to ensure customer satisfaction; however, organizing or implementing a fraud scheme destroys confidence and trust.
Notably, the government is forced to use many resources to curb the actions of these unethical companies in order to protect the interest of public institutions and private customers from losing their money (Mueller, 2020). The organizations’ ethical values are at stake in relation to stealing and reselling of fuels that are ordered by their customers (Mueller, 2020).
The management’s philosophy is anchored on unethical behavior and practices, hence influencing truck drivers and delivery men to stealing oil (Mueller, 2020). It is important to note that businesses without a proper ethical foundation cannot maintain their customers and long-lasting working relationship with employees. Moreover, the companies that were associated with corrupt activities lose many customers to the industries that supply clean fuels.
Utilitarianism is popularly known as consequentialist philosophy. Rydenfelt (2020) stated that consequentialism judges actions by their consequences without considering the motivation or character of the individual. The consequence of actions is what determines whether an action is wrong or right under utilitarianism. Furthermore, the theory embraces the idea of consequentialism, which demonstrates that behavior should be evaluated based on its consequences (Rydenfelt, 2020).
It considers the interest of a larger society rather than individual interest, hence promoting the wellbeing of customers and the producers in the market (Rydenfelt, 2020). Thus, an organization is forbidden to make profits at the expense of the community or consumer interests. In the case of nine industries that advanced stealing of fuel by pumping air into fuel tanks, utilitarianism would consider the activities as wrong because of adverse outcomes such as loss of $34 million among customers (Mueller, 2020). Additionally, utilitarianism will recommend punishment to discourage the reoccurrence of such behaviors in the future.
Kantian approach emphasizes the importance of morality as based on the motive and not the outcome. Sticker (2020) stated that Kantian ethics promotes adherence to the rule of law, such as the code of conduct irrespective of the individual status in society. Additionally, Kantians believe that something that is not considered immoral by the whole society cannot be moral because few people are doing it (Sticker, 2020).
For instance, fraud and stealing are considered immoral in society, even though a few people practice them because of the profit or money they get (Mueller, 2020). The organizations involved in the stealing of clients’ fuel engaged in unethical and immoral activities, according to Kantian, because society does not approve of it.
References
Mueller, B., (2015). Prosecutors allege persistent heating oil fraud in New York City. New York Times. Web.
Rydenfelt, H. (2020). From justice to the good? Liberal utilitarianism, climate change, and the coronavirus crisis. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 1-8. Web.
Sticker, M. (2020). Kant, Eudaimonism, Act-Consequentialism and the Fact of Reason. Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie, 102(2), 209-241. Web.