A Research Report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
degree of Masters of Arts, Applied Ethics for Professionals
Johannesburg, 2016 / In this research report I will be investigating whether companies have an obligation to
shareholders or a wider group of stakeholders. If they have an obligation to a wider group of
stakeholders, then the question is whether planned obsolescence is an ethical practice that
should inform their business and what the role is of ethical leaders in addressing problems
such as job losses, environmental damage and conspicuous consumption that result from
planned obsolescence.
As part of my attempt to answer the research question I will discuss the evolution of views
regarding business and the profit motive in relation to shareholders, the multi-fiduciary model,
the enlightened shareholder approach and the inclusive stakeholder approach. I will then
focus on planned obsolescence as a pervasive business practice and what circumstances
morally justify negative consequences which are weighed against the positive effects.
Finally, I will propose ethical solutions to the issues raised around planned obsolescence,
aimed at achieving specific benefits whilst also limiting the negativity introduced by planned
obsolescence. / GR2017
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/21890 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Matisonn, Joanne Rona |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | Online resource (v, 81 leaves), application/pdf, application/pdf |
Page generated in 0.0072 seconds