Mattel has issued a massive recall because many toys that were made in China for Mattel and Fisher-Price (of which Mattel is the parent company) have been manufactured using paint containing excessive amounts of lead. It has just been announced that Zhang Shuhong, the CEO of the Lee Der Industrial Company which manufactured the recalled toys, committed suicide in one of company’s factories. While such news is shocking, it was cited in a CNN article it is apparently commonplace for a disgraced official in China to commit suicide.
Reading that, it leaves you pondering the business in the United States. In recent years, we’ve had our share of business scandals, including headliner stories such as the Enron and Tyco scandals. After reading about Zhang Shuhong killing himself because his company made nearly a million lead toxic toys, you have to be calling for business people in the United States to start following suit when they do something wrong.
The executives at Enron involved in the accounting fraud that basically pissed away the life savings, college funds, and pensions of thousands of Enron employees are the prime example. Those Enron executives should adopt a Bushido code and invoke seppuku. It’s the least they can do for ruining the lives of thousands and their families.
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