NCJ Number
95733
Date Published
1982
Length
215 pages
Annotation
This text develops an organizational analysis of deviance by large corporations, when employees cannot be labeled deviant compared to other corporate employees.
Abstract
Corporations are shown to be composed of positions and influential administrative coalitions; some of the ways that corporate positions and administrative coalitions produce corporate acts are identified. The corporate deviance-defining process is examined, and is said to include accusers, corporations, and audiences. The corporate deviance framework is applied to four types of deviance: against owners, employees, customers, or the public-at-large. The Equity Funding scandal is analyzed, and analysis reveals that corporate deviance against owners can occur, because they lack the power to enforce their normative rights. Equity Funding elites were able to violate stockholder rights because of the separation of ownership from management. Evidence indicating that corporate ownership and control patterns are changing is presented, and the possibility that corporations may be forced by institutional investors to pursue stockholder interests that violate the rights of employees, customers, and the public-at-large is addressed. Employees' right to work environments free of known and knowable hazards is defined, and organizations which needlessly exposed their employees to asbestos dust are examined. Price-fixing is discussed, and corporate violations of the Corrupt Practices Act are addressed. Ways to control corporate deviance are considered. Approximately 350 references and 10 tables are included.