Law Commons^™

Recognizing The “Bad Barrel” In Public Business Firms: Social And Organizational Factors In Misconduct By Senior Decision-Makers, James A. Fanto

James A. Fanto

The Article argues that laws dealing with business associations do not adequately address the group and organizational factors in misconduct by senior decision-makers of public firms. The law essentially adopts a “bad apple,” rather than a “bad barrel,” perspective: it considers senior-level misconduct to be essentially an individual matter, and group or organizational causes or factors to be insignificant in it. The Article contends that this approach contradicts the learning of those who study groups and organizations, social psychologists and organizational theorists. Since senior-level misconduct is often attributable to group and organizational factors, a response that focuses only upon punishing …