I wrote this paper for a white collar crime unit I completed as an undergraduate student at Griffith University. I was given the option of reviewing occupational crime, organised crime, or corporate crime and decided to investigate the latter with a case study of 7-Eleven and their underpayment of wages to staff. Before studying criminology, I worked in a number of financial institutions so was particularly interested in corporate crime and understanding how its many harms can be prevented.
The case study demonstrated to me how white collar crime and the exploitation of workers can occur in plain sight. I used to visit 7-Eleven stores on a regular basis and found it disconcerting to know that the workers I interacted with could have been taken advantage of. Previously, I would have associated employee exploitation with sweat shops overseas, not the local shop I would buy a sandwich from.
I was also reminded of the important role that governments and private businesses (in this case the franchisor) play as capable guardians in preventing corporate crime. In this case, exploitation could have been prevented if the migrant workers had been properly looked after and educated about their rights as employees.
When reviewing prevention strategies, I learnt how important it was to ensure that franchise models are fair and economically viable. Here the franchise model contributed to the franchisees experiencing both financial strain and a lack of control which ultimately contributed to the illegal activity.
These learnings helped to make this a very enjoyable case study to complete. I found that using a real-world example of corporate crime and applying theory ultimately helped improve my understanding of the topic and its many complexities.
Jane Greer