Tag: “Andrew”

Andrew comments on my earlier post – Why I do not believe in busiess ethics? (via Abqur)

On By southwerkIn business ethics

From Andrew –

“There is no religion and no moral philosophy with Milton Friedman’s dicta that corporations exist only to maximize profit anymore than we exist to maximize our bank account or our stock portfolio”

Except that a corporation is not a person. It is an organization designed and built around the sole idea of delivering a product or service to make a profit. Its business. If its not competitve, then it will die. How socially responsible is it for a company to allow itself to go under and risk the livlihoods of its employees just for the sake of doing whats “socially responsible”? Self interest creates jobs. Entrepreneurs, in the search for greater profits, will build bigger manufacturing plants, bigger offices, bigger everything. That creates jobs. How is that inconsistant with being “socially responsible”?

I dont understand the bipolar nature of this country sometimes. People expect for a corporation to act morally in the same way you’d expect a person to act morally, yet the very same people freak out when corporations are given rights the same as a person would (i.e. campaign contributions).

My Buddy, Andrew, Comments On The Posting – Are Businessmen Smarter Than Children

On By southwerkIn business ethics, Capitalism, Government Failure, Philosophy of Business

As usual, Andrew has something clever to add to one of my posts. I would like you to read it. jp

A few years ago, I did an internship at the CSX Rail Yard in Waycross, GA. One day in the middle of september, I came in to hear that the EPA man was coming today to inspect the yard. As the intern, I was at the bottom of the food chain, and it was my job that day to escort the EPA man around to all of the facilities in the yard.

The inspection lasted until a little after lunch time. At almost every facility we went to, he wrote stuff down in this book he carried with him. At the end of the inspection, we went and met with the Plant Manager of the Locomotive Service/Repair Station, who is the man in charge of the entire yard. That day, CSX got fined $350,000 for environmental hazards and failure to comply with EPA regulations.

What suprised me is the reaction to this. CSX considered this a victory! “We ONLY got charged $350,000!!”. I understand that type of money is a drop in the bucket for what the major railroads make, but the moral issue there is what upset me.

I just thought I’d share my example to help further verify what you learned in law school.

Chinese Worker Suicides, What Are The Ethics?

On By southwerkIn business ethics

“Andrew,” an Australian, writing on his web site, Good Honest Dollar $$, analyzes the suicides at the Hon Hai Precision Industry Company. Since, these companies produce electronics for a number of American companies including Apple, there are concerns in the United States that the Chinese company is mistreating its workers. Andrew concludes that based on the evidence before us, no action should be taken. He believes that only after further investigation, should actions be considered. But this analysis is definitely ethical in construction. So, it merits a read.