Introduction
David Rockefeller is among the richest people in the world, but his wealth is connected to the family empire that was established by his parents. He is the last born in the family, and his success started when he was working as the chair of the Manhattan Chase Bank. His family’s investment in the fossil industry has immensely contributed to the growth of the Rockefeller Empire. Although he has managed to amass significant amounts of money, his organization has been criticized for engaging in unethical practices by influencing the country’s policy making process. A good example is his alleged support for renewable energy, yet the Rockefeller business is a major player in the petroleum sector, which deals in fossil fuels. This essay provides an ethical analysis of David Rockefeller based on the utilitarianism ethical theory and the concepts discussed in Chapter 8 of the book Organizational Ethics: A practical Approach by Johnson (2012).
Overview of the Leader’s Story
Having been born in 1915, David Rockefeller is the oldest member of the Rockefellers family, which is among the richest in the world. He is a former banker who was born and raised in New York. After completing his education at the Harvard University, he started working for Chase Bank in 1946. The institution mostly dealt with corporate clients and offered wholesale banking services. The Rockefeller family has been in business for many years, which has enabled it to diversify its interests. For example, Chase Bank has a strong connection with the Exxon Mobil Company, which is one of the major ventures of the folks.
The petroleum firm was founded in 1999 through a merger of Exxon, which was once the New Jersey arm of the Standard Oil Company, and Mobil Company, which was the former Standard Oil Company of New York. In 2014, ExxonMobil was ranked as the 6th largest by Fortune Magazine among the top 500 companies (Fortune, 2014). Unfortunately, most of the major corporations operating in the United States have engaged in various unethical practices, such as price-fixing, the breaking of environmental rules, overcharging clients, and violating market rules. David Rockefeller’s precedent of influencing the market by initiating policies that are favorable to his venture violates the market rules because it keeps other competitors at bay by denying them the knowledge they need to keep up with it.
Ethical Analysis of David Rockefeller
Rockefeller’s kin has been one of the wealthiest in the world for over 100 years. As one of the oldest and few remaining folks of the family unit, David Rockefeller has been a key player in advancing the empire. By using the resources at his disposal, he has been pointed out as one of the business leaders that have greatly influenced the nation’s economy, politics, and public policy (Johnson, 2012).
The Rockefellers have been exposed as a family that is out to conceal their interests; for example, David Rockefeller started opposing the use of fossil fuels in the country and the world urging that it was one of the major human activities that led to an increase in global warming (Johnson, 2012). The statement was a sharp contradiction considering the fact that, during the formation of the ExxonMobil, the two Standard Oil Companies of New York and New Jersey had both been founded by John. D. Rockefeller and helped him to become the first billionaire in the country. As a result, his decision to shift to policies that are against the use of fossil fuels is not in the interest of the public but an opportunity to expand the business empire through the sale of renewable energy (Energy & Environment Legal Institute, 2016).
The ethical issue raised in the way David Rockefeller conducts his business is the fact that the influence the family has on the various sectors and institutions, including public and private, gives its businesses an advantage over its competitors. The network of the Rockefellers foundations together with the financial grants offered to universities and other institutions has enabled the family to have a significant impact on different sectors, such as health, agricultural, energy, and environmental. This is because of the authority that Rockefeller Empire wields in influencing public policy in addition to accessing inner information on the same; thus, it uses the strategy to gain from new adjustments to the market.
Since the time the family started engaging in philanthropic tactics, it has swayed important policy changes by devising a social cause that carries the interest of the Rockefellers. Influencing policymaking and accessing firsthand information hinders effective competition in different industries across the country. For instance, David Rockefeller has been the major benefactor of the climate change activism, which has been done at both the federal and state levels.
Utilitarianism
Deciding between the right and wrong actions in an organization has been an issue of contention prompting the formulation of different theories to explain the human knowledge of the issue of ethics. The Utilitarian ethical theory classifies the actions of the investor into right or wrong based on the consequences that they have received (Chonko, n.d.). Rockefeller’s actions can be explained using the utilitarianism theory because of the influence that his empire has when it comes to policy formulation and decisions made in both the public and private sectors. The influence of the Rockefeller Empire has played a major role in the growth of the family business because of the ability to access knowledge on the shifting trends in the global economy. Utilitarianism mainly focuses on promoting fairness by ensuring that most people benefit from the action that is taken by an organization. The two types of utilitarianism, include act and rule, both align with the fact that personal actions are meant to benefit more people and also adhere to the law of the country.
David Rockefeller’s influence on U.S foreign policies started when he concurrently chaired the Chase Manhattan Bank and the Council on Foreign Relations. His influence in the structuring of the U.S foreign policy enabled the business empire to take advantage of global initiatives. David is involved in four major charities, including Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Rockefeller Family Fund, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Rockefeller Foundation, and Rockefeller Family Fund. The foundations’ involvement in funding different projects both internationally and locally was also a strategy of positioning itself in the global market as it came prior to terming fossil fuel usage as a critical cause of global warming.
Recommendations
In addition to focusing on the interest of the business and expanding the empire of the family, David Rockefeller should also target solving the exact issues facing the public. According to Chonko (n.d.), the teleological ethical principle focuses on the consequences or results of an action. In increasing the wealth of his family, David Rockefeller focused on the outcomes of his actions. Before investing in renewable energy, he knew that he had to influence the institutions and government into establishing policies that would help him make renewable energy more appealing to the public.
At the end of chapter 8 of the book, Organizational Ethics, the author examines the factors that can hinder the implementation of ethical principles. The barriers are ill-conceived goals, motivated blindness, and indirect blindness, slippery slope, and overcoming values. The goals synchronize well with David Rockefeller because of his art of accessing firsthand knowledge about the market by using his power to interfere with the different institutions concerned with policy formulation (Johnson, 2012).
Conclusion
References
Chonko, L. (n.d.). Ethical theories. Retrieved from http://www.dsef.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/EthicalTheories.pdf
Energy & Environment Legal Institute (2016). The Rockefeller way: The family’s covert ‘climate.’ Retrieved from https://eelegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Rockefeller-Way-Report-Final.pdf
Fortune (2014). Exxon Mobil. Retrieved from http://fortune.com/worlds-most-admired-companies/2014/exxon-mobil-27/
Johnson, C. E. (2012). Organizational ethics: A practical approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
