Abstract
Implications of corporate disasters as a result of irresponsible corporate actions/decisions have been significant. Impacts on the society and environment and their affects are seen after many years. Previous research on directors’ duties and responsibilities towards stakeholders other than shareholders is scarce, due to the reason that the legislative requirement of directors is to act in the best interests of shareholders. This paper explores the duties and responsibilities of directors and officers on environmental disaster and their impact on society and environment using a sample of 6 case studies around the world. The finding of this study shows that a shareholder primacy approach has negative impacts on the other stakeholders who are affected by the activities of the firm. Even though corporate governance codes refer to stakeholder interests, the focus of corporations’ laws is on shareholder value. Given that the impact of corporate disaster on society and environment is still happening even in 2013, this study recommends that the corporations law in relation to duties responsibilities directors’ and officers’ should be extended to other stakeholders other than the shareholders.
Highlights
Environmental disasters in the past have brought much attention to the ethical responsibilities of a corporation
According to Blair and Stout (1999), who constructed the team production model of corporate governance, corporate law in the United States is more consistent with their model and that the legal conception of the company may already be largely consistent with the stakeholder conception
The above cases pose the question of where was the accountability of the boards and the officers that operated these companies. n the Bhopal case withholding medical information by the directors and officers of the organisation was unethical and irresponsible
Summary
Environmental disasters in the past have brought much attention to the ethical responsibilities of a corporation. Corporate disasters in the recent past have brought much attention to the duties and responsibilities of directors and officers. These disasters in both developed and emerging markets countries have been partly attributed to the failure of directors’ duties of oversight. This paper will analyse case studies on environmental disasters of six corporations located around the world in order to understand a company’s responsibilities in relation to the duties and responsibilities of directors to other stakeholders who will be affected by the activities of the firm
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Journal of Business Systems, Governance and Ethics
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
