Was Feuerstein guided by morals or ethics?
In the business world, someone becomes a hero or heroine the moment they make a decision that
affects more the profitability than their ethics. The scale between right and wrong differs in each
individual moral scale, and following the thought of Mr. Feuerstein about, rather than simplifying the
action on what is right or wrong, thinking of what is to be done. In the case of Mr. Feuerstein, I believe
strongly followed his morals when he decided to keep for months the employees’ payroll payments and
rebuild another facility in the same city. He stated that for him there were no other options to take.
Based on his morals, there were no other actions regarding the situation. However, he was not guilty of
the incident. Would other actions have been considered unethical for a businessman? Or would the
other actions have been considered what is expected of a businessman?
Do you think he could have made the decision if Malden were a publicly traded company?
Mr. Feuerstein would have made his point and perhaps influenced some shareholders’ votes to his side.
However, it is very unlikely majority of the board would have voted in favor of Mr. Feuerstein's action. In
the real case, for being a privately owned company Feuerstein took the burden and consequence of his
decision instead of his employees. Now, if more people are involved in the decision, they will be affected
as well and likely would have found common ground taking the decision. An example could be accepting
to pay the payroll for an X amount of time but deciding to relocate later.
Why do you think he has critics for his decision?
I’d say his decision has criticism because of the consequences it might have for the future of the
company. Might argued that he made an unstable decision to keep his employees content and ended up
with a significant amount of debt. However, market volatility plays a significant role in the results of
Malden Mills' profitability. As David W. Gill mentioned in his article, Malden Mill's bankruptcy was
affected by “shifts in market conditions, competitive pricing, and the like” (Gill.) Therefore, it is unfair to
say that Feuerstein decision’s was the cause of failure in 2001.
Aerisman. “Was Aaron Feuerstein Wrong?” Ethix, June 2011, ethix.org/2011/06/25/was-aaronfeuerstein-wrong.
“Aaron Feuerstein's Malden Mills”. FIU Online, https://online.fiu.edu/videos/?vpvid=4b48d90f-5ce14b0a-85e1-fbe649bebcc9Links to an external site..