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Oponium, a laptop manufacturer, offers a variety of gaming laptops at discounted prices. However, the laptops have been designed in such a way that they have performance issues after being used for six months, thereby generating revenue for the company through service charges. In this scenario, Oponium's business conduct is:

a. legal but unethical.
b. legal and ethical.
c. illegal but ethical.
d. illegal and unethical.

1 Answer

1 vote

Final answer:

Oponium's business conduct is legal but unethical because they intentionally design their laptops to have performance issues after six months to generate more revenue.

Step-by-step explanation:

In this scenario, Oponium's business conduct is legal but unethical. It is legal because there are no laws that specifically prohibit this business practice. However, it is unethical because the company intentionally designs its laptops to have performance issues after six months, forcing customers to pay for repairs or services.

This practice is an example of planned obsolescence, where companies design products with a limited lifespan to encourage customers to buy new versions or pay for additional services. While planned obsolescence itself is not illegal, intentionally creating performance issues to generate more revenue is considered unethical.

This situation is similar to a case involving Apple, where they were found to have intentionally slowed down older iPhones through a software update. Apple faced legal action and eventually settled with affected users, highlighting the unethical nature of such practices.

User Cory Roy
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