It is difficult to teach a course in Economics or Finance without mentioning Business Ethics. In the Economically Speaking section following Chapter 3 on pages 62-63 of your text, the author comments on whether "Unfettered Free Markets and Capitalism" is a force of good or evil. He suggests that unfettered capitalism by itself is not "dark", but it is governments, businesses and citizens who choose to participate on the dark side and thus, allow it to flourish.
In a Market economy, increasing the per share (stock) value of the firm is the goal of management, however, it should be done in an ethical manner. The end does not always justify the means, particularly when sound business ethics and / or risk management principles are ignored corporate leadership. A prime example in this century is Enron Corporation, who "cooked the books" to deceive financial and business communities into thinking the company's financial health was on more solid ground than it actually was. Recently, a hit television show, "American Greed", documents that the darker side of financial success is not limited to large corporations and illustrates how small businesses and individuals bow to temptation.
For this assignment, cite an example of unethical behavior by a corporation or business in the past 100 years. Include the timing and consequences of those actions - for example, Who was harmed; What were the estimated financials involved; How was the situation resolved; and / or What was the final outcome - did the company actually fail, was taken over, etc.
A good place to start is to Google topics like "Unethical Business Cases"; "Corporate Scandals"; "Examples of Bad Business Ethics". While there are plenty of recent scandals to choose from, some of the best cases took place in the early 1900's. One or two paragraphs of solid business writing is sufficient, but feel free to write more if you like. Please try not to duplicate cases already written about.