Discussion Scenario: The Johns Manville Corporation is a profitable company that makes a variety of building and other products. It was a major producer of asbestos, which was used for insulation in buildings and for a variety of other uses. It has been medically proven that excessive exposure to asbestos causes asbestosis, a fatal lung disease. Thousands of employees of the company and consumers who were exposed to asbestos and contracted this fatal disease sued the company for damages. Eventually, the lawsuits were being filed at a rate of more than 400 per week. In response to the claims, Johns Manville Corporation filed for reorganization bankruptcy. It argued that if it did not, an otherwise viable company that provided thousands of jobs and served a useful purpose in this country would be destroyed and that without the declaration of bankruptcy, a few of the plaintiffs who first filed their lawsuits would win awards for hundreds of millions of dollars, leaving nothing for the remainder of the plaintiffs. Under the bankruptcy courts protection, the company was restructured to survive. As part of the release from bankruptcy, the company contributed money to a fund to pay current and future claimants. The fund was not large enough to pay all injured persons the full amounts of their claims. Discussion Questions: After reviewing the learning materials in this Module, prepare an Initial Post (by Thursday, 11:59PM) that incorporates these materials to answer the following questions. Also, your grade in this learning activity relies on your engagement in the discussion through your Peer Replies (TWO or more by Saturday, 11:59PM).
Topic Questions: Is Johns Manville liable for negligence? Is it ethical for Johns Manville to declare bankruptcy? Has it met its duty of social responsibility in this case?
Reflection Questions: What specific knowledge and information did you gain from the learning materials and activities that you can apply to your experiences now? In the future? What are the social and ethical issues involved with the subject matter of this assignment? Which topics were confusing, complicated or contradictory? Why? Did you ask the class or instructor for assistance?