Reference no: EM131122300

Self-regulation can easily become an instrument for subordinating consumer interests to profit making when the two goals clash. Under the guise of self-regulation, businesses can end up ignoring or minimizing their responsibilities to consumers. For example, nothing enrages airplane passengers more than being stuck on a runway because of bad weather and congested terminals, waiting for hours to take off, with little to eat or drink, overflowing toilets, and poor ventilation. (One passenger, made desperate after several hours trapped in a parked plane, made national news when he used his cell phone to call 911 to report that he and his fellow travelers were being held against their will. That call got authorities to empty the plane, but it also brought him a jail sentence.) The airlines, however, have avoided threatened regulation by successfully lobbying Congress to be allowed to solve the problem themselves. The result? Although a few airlines have committed themselves to release passengers after two or three hours, most have no rules at all. Do you think we should rely on companies to self-regulate or should we regulate industry? Or should it be on a case by case basis? Discuss the airline example in your response.