Scenarios for question B. Choose one scenario if answering option B.
1. A manufacturer of children’s sleepwear treated its stock with the flame
retardant agent, TRIS, which has been found to be a carcinogenic agent. TRIS treated textiles are now banned from sale in the UK and US, so the company sold its large stock of the banned products to underdeveloped countries which had no such ban.
2. Tiger Automotive recently acquired a patent for a fuel-efficient device,
which has been proven to increase the average car’s mileage by 45%. Given that Tiger is protected from direct competition by its patent, it has priced its new product at £45 to auto parts dealers even though it costs less than £1 to produce and distribute.
3. A company encourages its accountants to seek out innovative ways to avoid paying taxes, and find loopholes that follow the letter but not the spirit of the law. This is just about classifiable as tax avoidance, which is legal.
4. A security company advertises its products by a powerful advert aimed at elderly people living on their own, designed to create fear and terror in the viewer.
5. A computer manufacturer decides not to market a new chip that would enable computers to be upgraded, without the need for a new computer, because even though this reduces electronic waste, it also reduces sales of their computers which means a definite reduction in revenues in the short term, while the long term pay-off is uncertain.
