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Structural and Organizational Forces in the Etiology of Corporate Crime Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 12-1981 Structural and Organizational Forces in the Etiology of Corporate Crime Beti Thompson Western Michigan University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Part of the Criminology Commons Recommended Citation Thompson, Beti, "Structural and Organizational Forces in the Etiology of Corporate Crime" (1981). Dissertations. 2561. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/2561 This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STRUCTURAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL FORCES IN THE ETIOLOGY OF CORPORATE CRIME by Beti .Thompson A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Sociology Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan December, 1981 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. STRUCTURAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL FORCES IN THE ETIOLOGY OF CORPORATE CRIME Beti Thompson, Ph.D. Western Michigan University, 1981 In an effort to gain understaniing of the etiology of corporate crime, a theoretical framework for examining the problem has been developed. This framework includes structural features such as a capitalistic organization of society, the importance of political economy, the importance of market structure, and the importance of corporate influence over the legal environment, in understanding corporate crime. Corporations within this society are affected by the structural features of society. Organizations are organized according to capitalistic principles and effectively force their employees into certain kinds of actions and activities. It was theorized that such organizational factors might have an influence on corporate crime. Data for this study came from the Ford Pinto criminal case. Analyzing various data from Ford documents, NHTSA documents, trial transcripts, etc., a number of research questions, which were guided by the theoretical framework, were raised. The data showed, that in this case study, structural factors such as the profit motive, the ability of corporations to influence the political and legal environments in which they operate, and market structure were influential in the ability of Ford to manufacture and sell a defec- Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. tive automobile. In addition, organizational factors, such as the hierarchy of goals, the normative environment of the organization, and the basis for decision-making within the Ford organization, were examined for their explanatory power in understanding corporate crime. A number of directions for further research and examination were discovered. The theoretical framework can be further refined and developed through such research. The problem of corporate crime cannot be ignored; it is a costly and serious problem for all people in society today. Through an understanding of the etiology of corporate crime, some mechanisms of control of this serious problem may be developed. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation could not have been completed without the help of Doris Cubbernuss who knew exactly what I meant when I said: We do, doodley do, doodley do, doodley do, What we must, muddily must, muddily must, muddily must; Muddily do, muddily do, muddily do, muddily do, Until we bust, bodily bust, bodily bust, bodily bust. - Vonnegut Let them call me rebel and welcome, I feel no concern from it; but I should suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul. - Thomas Paine Beti Thompson ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INFORMATION TO USERS This reproduction was made from a copy of a document sent to us for microfilming. While the most advanced technology has been used to photograph and reproduce this document, the quality of the reproduction is heavily dependent upon the quality of the material submitted. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help clarify markings or notations which may appear on this reproduction. 1.The sign or “ target” for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is “ Missing Page(s)” . I f it was possible to obtain the missing page(s) or section, they are spliced into the film along w ith adjacent pages. This may have necessitated cutting through an image and duplicating adjacent pages to assure complete continuity. 2. When an image on the film is obliterated with a round black mark, it is an indication of either blurred copy because of movement during exposure, duplicate copy, or copyrighted materials that should not have been filmed. For blurred pages, a good image of the page can be found in the adjacent frame. If copyrighted materials were deleted, target note will appear listing the pages in the adjacent frame. 3. When a map, drawing or chart, etc., is part of the material being photographed, a definite method of “ sectioning” the material has been followed. It is customary to begin film ing at the upper left hand corner o f a large sheet and to continue from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. I f necessary, sectioning is continued again-beginning below the first row and continuing on until complete. 4. For illustrations that cannot be satisfactorily reproduced by xerographic means, photographic prints can be purchased at additional cost and inserted into your xerographic copy. These prints are available upon request from the Dissertations Customer Services Department. 5. Some pages in any document may have indistinct print. In all cases the best available copy has been filmed. University Micrdfilms International 300 N. Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 8205606 Thompson, Beti STRUCTURAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL FORCES IN THE ETIOLOGY OF CORPORATE CRIME Western Michigan University PH.D. 1981 University Microfilms International300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 Copyright 1981 by Thompson, Beti All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PLEASE NOTE: in all cases this material has been filmed in the best possible way from the available copy. Problems encountered with this document have been identified here with a checkV mark . 1. Glossy photographs or pages______ 2. Colored illustrations, paper or print______ 3. Photographs with dark background______ 4. Illustrations are poor copy______ 5. Pages with black marks, not original copy______ 6. Print shows through as there is text on both sides of page______ 7. Indistinct, broken or small print on several pages______ 8. Print exceeds margin requirements______ 9. Tightly bound copy with print lost in spine______ 10. Computer printout pages with indistinct print______ 11. Page(s)____________lacking when material received, and not available from school or author. 12. Page(s)____________seem to be missing in numbering only as text follows. 13. Two pages numbered____________. Text follows. 14. Curling and wrinkled pages______ 15. Other Two Pages 218 with slight difference. Filmed both.___________ University Microfilms International Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................... ii LIST OF TABLES...................................................V LIST OF FI G U R E S ................................................ vi Chapter I. THE P R O B L E M ............................... 1 Knowledge and Values in the Social Sciences ........... 5 Consequences of Corporate Crime , ..................... 17 Definitional Divergences . .27 Organizational Aspects of Corporate Crime ..............43 Structural Aspects of Corporate Crime ..................45 Summary of I n t e n t ..................................... 50 II. THE THEORY................................... 52 Capitalism............................................. 52 Political Economy . .65 Market Structure.................................. .77 Organizational A s p e c t s ................................. 79 Toward an Explanatory M o d e l ........................... 94 III. THE M E T H O D S ......................... 100 Part 1 ................................................ 100 Part 2 ................................................ 108 IV. THE EVIDENCE............................... 121 History of the Pinto . .............................. 122 History of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ....................................... 128 iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Standard 301 - Fuel System Integrity.....................130
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