This text investigates the mechanisms through which organizations, rather than isolated individuals, engage in deviant and harmful behaviors within contemporary society. M. David Ermann compiles a comprehensive reader that examines the structural and systemic factors contributing to corporate and governmental misconduct. By integrating foundational theories with contemporary research, the book provides a framework for analyzing how organizational goals and bureaucratic pressures facilitate unethical actions.

Experts recognize this volume as a foundational reader for students of criminology and organizational sociology. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the effectiveness of the selected case studies in illustrating complex sociological concepts.