My Final Thoughts: Alfred L. Wolf Case


Netflix "Rotten" Official Trailer


Recently, I had been trying to be more conscious decisions about what I eat. Someone recommend that I watch "Rotten" a Netflix documentary series about corruption in the food industry. It was then that I first heard of the Alfred L. Wolff case. I thought the evidence was astonishing and I wanted to know more about the case. After diving in further, It seems to me that ALW sent Stefanie Giesselbach and Magnus Von Buddenbrock to their Chicago office to protect their more seasoned executives when they sensed that things might go wrong.  They continuously denied all allegations despite hard incriminating evidence and provided Von Buddenbrock with an attorney without doing the same for Giesselbach!


I feel that the actions of this company were completely selfish. They were more than aware of what the laws were concerning Chinese and adulterated honey and how disobeying would effect all the stakeholders involved negatively. The senior executives were only interested in saving themselves. They've shown no remorse for their actions. I also find it frustrating that the senior executives were able to evade any punishment. Even though most of them are fugitives of the law and can't leave Germany, they still got  to move on normally with their lives.


So I think it goes without saying that the company made numerous unethical decisions as this case unfolded. There's so much they could have done differently. Before the scheme was even uncovered , it is obvious that the company was very transactional in the way they operated, their thought process proved to be very teleological in practice. Transshipping honey through other nations to avoid paying expensive tariff imposed by the US government thus maximizing profits is a good example of  an "end justifies a means" type of thought process. If the company had taken a deontological approach to decision making, they'd have considered what the law states and their duty to provide customers with a safe product. They should have acted with good will by taking more responsibility for their actions by being more honest and transparent and not being so concerned on the outcome or how much money it would have costed.



Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ot6W_7hvrM

https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/5914e29cadd7b049348f32bc






Comments

  1. Drew DestinNovember 16, 2018 at 7:47 PM

    I completely agree with your sentiment that the company used Giesselbach as a scapegoat - that alone should have given away that this company not only does not care of the public's opinion, but even within their own organization they do not have loyalty. This correlates to the power structure of many organizations of how when you move down the hierarchy the level of protection in these types of scandals for employees dwindles. Ultimately I hope that Giesselbach received some financial compensation for the misery she had to endure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownNovember 16, 2018 at 8:25 PM

      Unfortunately the company never paid her anything for what she went through. In her book she wrote that she didn’t even give her the last paycheck she earned. This just shows the lack of care or concern for Giesselbach’s rights or well being.

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