A modern supply chain is a complicated thing. That car you drive might be made in the U.S.A., but — as we learned from the Takata airbag recall — the parts inside it, from raw elements to fully-assembled electronic systems, come from a tangled web of companies all over the world. Which is why it’s a big deal affecting consumers all over the world when one company’s parts turn out not to be at all what they were supposed to be. [More]
scandals
Study: Firing CEO May Be “Solution Of Choice” For Companies In Ethics Scandals
By 5.15.17
Not that long ago, when you saw a news story about a corporation doing something unethical — pollution, corruption, graft, fraud, to name just a few — you might holler “fire the CEO!” at the TV, but that was about as far as it got for many people; odds were you didn’t even know who that CEO was. Now, we not only have the CEO’s name and history at our fingertips, but also the means to repeat and amplify those calls for accountability, and a new study confirms that more top execs are indeed being fired for ethical concerns, even if it’s just to hold someone responsible. [More]
Collusion Scandal Grips Rug Accessory Industry
By 12.16.15
We’d like to think that only huge corporations — titans of telecom, colossi of crude, barons of beef — run by guys who look like Rich Uncle Pennybags are involved in sketchy backroom collusion. But even players in “I didn’t know they even existed” markets try to get overly clever and rig the system to their advantage. [More]
Report: Best Buy CEO Probed Over Relationship With Female Employee
By 4.12.12
The plot continues to thicken in the story surrounding this week’s sudden departure of Best Buy CEO Brian “I Like My Burgers Well” Dunn. As some had suspected when he stepped down on Tuesday under the cloud of a “personal conduct” probe, new reports claim that the 28-year Best Buy vet was being investigated for possibly misusing company assets while involved in a relationship with a female employee of the electronics retail chain. [More]
Domino's Booger Woman Gets Sentenced
By 11.22.10
On Friday the woman who narrated the Domino’s booger video that made national headlines plead guilty and received sentencing. [More]
Mortgage Scandal Of The Day: Forced-Placed Insurance
By 11.11.10
In a dark cranny of the mortgage-servicing world a “force-placed insurance” scandal is brewing. When a homeowner’s insurance lapses, the servicer steps in and buys them a new one, at a price several factors higher than their original. And the company they buy it from is essentially themselves with a different name. Now investors are finding out about the incestuous self-dealing and kickbacks and they’re pissed. [More]
Google's Tax Responsibility Gets Lost In Bermuda Triangle
By 10.22.10
Bermuda is not only a land of beautiful beaches — as well as a cornerstone of a famed mysterious triangle known for making things disappear — it’s where Google goes to protect billions in profits from the sticky fingers of Uncle Sam. [More]
HP CEO Resigns Following Revelation Of Inappropriate Relationship
By 8.6.10
After five years as CEO of the world’s largest maker of personal computers and printers, Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark “That’s What I” Hurd stepped down from his post on Friday after the company discovered he’d been intimately involved with a former contractor… and falsified documents to cover it up. [More]
Samsung Sues Journalist For Satirically Pointing Out That Its Chairman Keeps Getting Convicted Of Crimes
By 5.11.10
Did you know that the chairman of Samsung, Lee Kun-hee, was convicted in 2008 for tax evasion in South Korea? Or that he was convicted in the 90s for bribing politicians? A British journalist, Michael Breen, wrote a satirical column in a South Korean newspaper last December, and now the electronics giant is suing him for libel. If found guilty, Breen could face jail time. [More]
Here Are America's Most Corrupt Industries
By 4.28.10
Do you work in a corrupt industry? The Daily Beast took a look at data gathered by Transparency International, a “global anti-corruption think tank,” and put together a list of America’s most corrupt professions. Everyone may be hating on Wall Street right now, but the worst offenders according to the criteria used are utilities. In second and third place were Wall Street and telecommunications, and media came in fifth, well before banking, insurance, or retail. [More]
China Introduces "Made In China" Campaign
By 1.8.10
China has caught on to the fact that it doesn’t enjoy a stellar reputation over here as a manufacturer of quality goods, especially after the tainted food and product stories of the past few years, so it’s doing what any good profit-minded business would do: running an image rehabilitation campaign. [More]
Gibson CEO Takes Leave Of Absence From Rainforest Group While Feds Investigate Imported Wood
By 11.19.09
When agents raided Gibson Guitar’s manufacturing facility earlier this week, some articles pointed out that the company’s CEO Henry Juszkiewicz was on the board of the Rainforest Alliance, a group that certifies businesses to sell their goods under an environmentally sustainable label. Now the group has postponed its annual certification of Gibson Guitars, and Juszkiewicz is temporarily stepping down from the board.
Infamous Domino's Where Gross-Out Video Was Recorded Closes Doors
By 9.28.09
Remember that Domino’s Pizza, the one in North Carolina where Kristy and Michael recorded themselves doing gross things to the food? The Charlotte Observer has reported that the location has gone out of business, at least for now—”closed signs have been placed in the windows and the phone has been disconnected.”
Former Domino's YouTube Gross Out Girl Can't Get A Job Now
By 5.6.09
Kristy Hammonds, the woman who filmed her friend Michael doing inappropriate things to the food they were supposed to be preparing, needs a job to feed her two kids. She says she’s been trying to get work at other fast food restaurants, though, which might be part of the problem.
Arrest Warrants Issued For Domino's Outlaws Kristy And Michael, While Domino's Prez Apologizes Online
By 4.15.09
The saga of Kristy and Michael, the two (former) Domino’s employees whose on-the-job shenanigans made it to YouTube earlier this week, continues. Now there are warrants out for their arrests, and Domino’s says it plans to sue them. Seriously, if you work in the food industry and are nursing some grudges, just… try to hold them in until you can find a job better suited to you.
Kellogg's Brand Reputation Takes A Hit After Dumping Phelps?
By 2.24.09
Supposedly, Kellogg’s “brand reputation” is in the gutter after canning Phelps over the pot photo, slipping from #9 to #83 in a list of 5,600 companies. We’d believe it more if this “reputation index” chart from Vanno, a brand index company, didn’t look like someone was given PowerPoint and 3 minutes and told to produce some convincing evidence for a press release.
Minerals Management Service Take Pay-For-Offshore-Oil-Play Scandal "Extremely Seriously"
By 9.11.08
THE QUOTE: In an interview, MMS Director Randall Luthi said the agency took the report “extremely seriously”
Did FAA Allow Southwest To Fly Unsafe Planes To Avoid Flight Disruptions?
By 3.7.08
Yesterday the FAA sought $10.2 million in civil damages from Southwest Airlines for neglecting to inspect the fuselages of 46 of its planes.
