The Corporation - Book Review

It's difficult not to be cynical about how “big business” treats the subject of ethics in today's world. In many corporations, where the

It's difficult not to be cynical about how “big business” treats the subject of ethics in today's world. In many corporations, where the

Nowadays, after the passing of several bills constraining the actions of corporations, acting in a similar manner would pose several legal and ethical issues. This is why, Freeman argues, this ancient idea of managerial capitalism is no longer effective.

With advanced technology comes the globalization and moving businesses to third world countries from U.S. This movement caused the rate of unemployment to rise and people see themselves in struggle to take care of their families. These issue are the complex of corporations in America. After seeing the movie (The Corporation) based on the book written by Canadian Professor Joel Bakan, we see that corporations are institutions that creates great wealth and profit but in the other hand causes enormous and hidden harm to people. Corporation cannot be imprisoned for criminal activities. Corporations are not humans they are designed by law to be concerned only for their stockholders. This is the issues that we see in our modern society the rich

“Unethical thinking is not just “bad business”; it is an invitation to disaster in business, however rarely (it may sometimes seem) unethical behavior is actually found out and punished” (Solomon, 1997:17) An ethical dilemma happens when an intricate circumstance which often originates from a struggle amongst the moral requirements of two persons.

As Friedman has argued, the role of business is to make money and a cost benefit analysis is a very useful tool in figuring out how to do so. When it comes to morals, however, cost-benefit analysis is much less useful unless one believes in utilitarianism. For other understanding of morality, a person should not be asking “what do I gain and lose” when trying to figure out what to do. People should be asking “what’s the right thing to do”. Cost-benefit analysis can’t really help with that. An examination of the Ford Pinto Case, the cost-benefit analysis, will help raise the awareness and understanding of the diminishing value of ethics in the business world. When Ford conducted the cost-benefit analysis, it analyzed what the potential benefit would be if they fixed every Pinto by installing the baffle piece. The result produced from the cost-benefit analysis may be interpreted to say that it would have cost Ford $137 million to fix the Pintos by installing the baffle piece when it would have cost $49.5 million to leave the cars alone and deal with the expenses of injuries and deaths from the crashes. Ford decided that, because it would be cheaper, it would not install the baffle piece. According to De George, Ford did not tell the consumer that the car was not as safe as others, nor did it inform consumers that they had the option of purchasing the baffle piece (De George, 1995). In Ford contention is that these decision are moral ones, and that cost-benefit analysis is

The story of Enron is truly remarkable. As a company it merely controlled the electricity, natural gas and communications sectors of the world. It reported (key word, reported) revenues over one hundred billion US dollars and was presented America’s Most Innovative Company by Fortune magazine for six sequential years. But, with power comes greed and Enron from its inception employed people who set their eyes upon money, prestige, power or a combination of the three. The gluttony took over sectors which the company could not operate proficiently nor successfully.

Can business thrive by profit alone? Barry (2000) described Milton Friedman’s short essay, in the 1970’s, as extremely controversial, in which he denied that corporate executives had any moral duty to relax the conditions of profit maximization on behalf of the wider interests of society. This example of the “bottom line” of business has been demonstrated within the past couple of decades by publicly criticized companies, for fraudulent activities, such as, Enron, WorldCom, and HealthSouth along with many others. These company executives were willing to sacrifice the vast majority and greater good of society for profit gains. This mindset left many of loyal investors, consumers and employees without a sound stabilized future. There are also many businesses that produce a high yield on their investments;

In the book, The Corporation Joel Bakan presents arguments, that corporations are nothing but institutional pathological psychopaths that are “a dangerous possessor of the great power it wields over people and societies.” Their main responsibility is maximizing profit for their stockholders and ignoring the means to achieve this goal, portrays them as “psychopathic.” Bakan argues that, corporations are psychopaths, corporate social responsibility is illegal, and that corporations are able to manipulate anyone, even the government.

The case study that was analyzed is, “Unauthorized Disclosure: Hewlett-Packard’s secret Surveillance of Directors and Journalists,” by Anne T. Lawrence, Randal D. Harris, and Sally Baack. The ethical issues presented through the case deal with Hewlett-Packard Company (HP). HP is a major international company in the computer and technology market. The company describes itself as a “technology solutions provider to consumers, business and institutions globally.” Their credo is called “HP way”, which focuses on points such as trust and respect for individuals, high level of achievement and contribution, business conduct with uncompromising integrity, objectives through teamwork, and encouragement of flexibility and innovation (Newman). The problems faced by HP’s board of directors were a lack of accountability with HP’s credo. If the “HP way” was followed by them, these ethical issues would be avoided. It also promotes a bad example by the high-level of management of this globally powerful organization.

The 2003 Canadian film documentary, The Corporation, is about the modern-day corporation. It critiques that it is considered to be a person, but since it has so many disregards to the human well-being and only cares about making as much money as possible, if it were an actual person it would be considered a psychopath.

In the book, The Corporation Joel Bakan, presents arguments: that corporations are nothing but institutional pathological psychopaths that are “a dangerous possessor of the great power it wields over people and societies.” Their main responsibility is maximizing profit for their stockholders and ignoring the means to achieve this goal. This in results portrays them as “psychopathic.” Bakan argues that: corporations are psychopaths, corporate social responsibility is illegal, and that corporations are able to manipulate anyone, even the government.

Is the deception of consumers worth making a profit? The Ford Pinto, popular car of the 1970s, made a profit off of a vehicle that endangered the lives of hundreds of people. In his essay “Pinto Madness” Mark Dowie, author and Pulitzer Prize nominee, exposed the unethical decisions made by Ford Motor Company. When it came to their customer’s safety and profit for the company, Ford made a decision that led to consequences their customers had to pay the price for. Should the business be held accountable for these actions? In his essay “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profit” Milton Friedman, powerful economist, discusses what a business should prioritize in the economic system. Friedman declares what a business is responsible for and the guidelines they must follow. Due to Friedman’s view, he would not have condoned the actions and decisions that the executives at Ford Motor Company took.

The problem with the personification of the corporation was the kind of person it would become. The "best interest of the corporation" concept which is now enshrined in most countries' corporate law pushes the mantra that executives' only goal is to maximize shareholders' profits. This has given the corporation a self-interested, uncompassionate personality that promotes its limitless pursuit of profit and power.

The overwhelming facts point to a shady underworld of self-dealing and opportunistic exploitation of the poor and working class, which was until recently, well hidden from the commoner. The executives of WorldCom and Enron provide real world examples of unethical business practices, where the desire to make money for their shareholders transcended into an addiction to greed and self-dealing that were displayed by their, “excessive pay, perks, and golden parachutes”(Carson 392) at the expense of all stakeholders. All is not lost, there are corporations that pride themselves in their sound business model and commitment to ethical business practices. Such companies as Eaton Corporation, and Weyerhaeuser, who according to Ethisphere.com, a business ethics watchdog, are among the “2010 World`s most ethical companies.” (Ethisphere)