Tag: business ethics

US power company abandons reactor construction (via hisatomijapan)

On By southwerkIn business ethics

I am utterly astonished. I can’t figure this one out. The government is in the industry’s pocket. The American press really isn’t interested. The American public is opposed but if you have lived here any length of time, you know how little public opinion means. So, a utility is giving up builing a plant with loan guarantees from the federal government and indemnification if there were a crisis or future meltdown? I don’t get it.

Did some official in the company decided to exercise some judgment? Did somebody grow a backbone? Or did someone take out a calculator and figure out how much the building costs would increase if all the cures for the safety problems at the Fukushima plant were incorporated into the new plant’s design?

James Pilant

Not All Pirates Are in Somalia (via Off the Top o’ My Head)

On By southwerkIn business ethics1 Comment

This is some great writing. Many people are upset by the enormous salaries that CEO’s are pulling down and have conveyed their rage online. But few have explained the mechanics of the corporate system that make these salaries possible.

I visited “Off the Top o’ My Head.” I was impressed by the writing. This is a thoughtful author and he brings legal elements into his reasoning but not too much. The writing is very approachable. You should give this site a visit.

This is his business page.

James Pilant

General Electric Co. made news last month when it reported U.S. profits of $5.1 billion and worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, but paid no federal corporate income tax. GE even reaped a net tax benefit of $3.2 billion. What the newsies do not mention is that the government additionally subsidized the ridiculous wealth GE and other corporations lavish on their executives. Uncle Sam must miss a lot of sleep staying up nights to figure out how to p … Read More

via Off the Top o My Head

Native American Code of Ethics (via theshywitch)

On By southwerkIn business ethics2 Comments

I never saw this before. Quite an elegant set of ideas. Read and enjoy!

James Pilant

I recently found this on Stumbleupon and really loved it. The words resonated with me. I had to share this. Native American Code Of Ethics Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone. Pray often. The Great Spirit will listen, if you only speak. ~ Be tolerant of those who are lost on their path. Ignorance, conceit, anger, jealousy and greed stem from a lost soul. Pray that they will find guidance. ~ Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others … Read More

via theshywitch

Fukushima Gov. Slams TEPCO, Govt for ‘Betrayal’ (via TheResistance)

On By southwerkIn business ethics2 Comments

Betrayed.

Exactly right. The people of Fukushima were told those plants were perfectly safe. They were told they were the way to economic success. They were told that the power plants would bring prosperity and jobs for decades.

And what they got was a nuclear dead zone. Most will never be able to return to their homes.

They were lied to. If the nuclear industry were honest and stopped telling us how many chest x-rays their latest disaster was equivalent to, we might have an idea of how much nuclear power we want to use and where. But they are not. They are wretched lying propagandists, readily assisted by hack writers beguiled by the opportunity of turning the nuclear industry’s talking points into quick gotcha articles to persecute the tree huggers.

It gets old after a while. You get tired of seeing the same old talking points over and over again while new radiation plagues the earth.

James Pilant

InfoWars The Yomiuri Shimbun April 10, 2011 Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato has expressed anger at the central government and Tokyo Electric Power Co., saying both “betrayed” the people of Fukushima Prefecture with repeated assurances about the safety of nuclear power plants. “We feel we were betrayed [by the central government and TEPCO,” Sato said during an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun on Thursday, nearly a month after the March 11 earthquake a … Read More

via TheResistance

Moral Worth and Inclinations in Kantian Ethics (via manwithoutqualities)

On By southwerkIn business ethics1 Comment

Few understand the importance of Kant in business ethics. I appreciate any enlightenment offered.

By the way, this is a beautiful web site. There is also a strong implication of heavy intellectual lifting going on, so be ready for a challenge.

James Pilant

Moral Worth and Inclinations in Kantian Ethics Check out my chum and occasional collaborator Chris Onof’s paper Moral Worth and Inclinations in Kantian Ethics just published at Kant Studies Online. There are few philosophers around today that write with such exacting precision, such intimacy with their topic and with such philosophical breadth that Chris Onof does. … Read More

via manwithoutqualities

12 Ethical Principles for Educational Consultants (via Dr. Dore Frances PhD)

On By southwerkIn business ethics2 Comments

Business ethics is often a muddy field with many opposing points of view. I like this clear set of definitions. If the transnational entities followed anything like this, we would live in a different world.

James Pilant

As written by Dore E. Frances, Ph.D. Sometimes being compassionate is more ethical than keeping a rule Ethical values, translated into active language establishing standards or rules describing the kind of behavior an ethical person should and should not engage in, are ethical principles. The following list of principles join the characteristics and values that most people associate with ethical behavior. Ethical decision-making systematically co … Read More

via Dr. Dore Frances PhD

CSR statements are easy; sustainable procurement is harder (via Fair For All)

On By southwerkIn business ethics

I have written before about my doubts as to China’s coming status as the number one economic power. These kinds of articles and posting tend to reinforce my beliefs.

My great thanks to “Fair For All.”

CSR statements are easy; sustainable procurement is harder As Dell and HP have discovered this month, it’s a lot easier to write a CSR policy than it is to ensure that it is carried through. Their plight is not uncommon and is the unfortunate result of treating CSR as a public relations function, focused on appearance and not on substance. To be credible, CSR needs to be built into the operations of a business, which r … Read More

via Fair For All

Maybe It’s Time For A Movement – A Movement That Moves Beyond Doing Good To Doing Right (via First Friday Book Synopsis)

On By southwerkIn business ethics
My reply to the gentlemen at First Friday Book Synopsis.

It is time. Absolutely time.

How long are we going to live in a nation where the great economic units occasionally remark contentedly about how they have given a few thousand dollars to charity after ignoring, breaking and lobbying against the nation’s law.

The Struggle

I know what it is like to feel despair about what business is doing right night all over the United States. You feel helpless. But it is still a struggle. Totally one sided but still a struggle.

On the one hand we have those who believe in the great philosophies of history, in Christianity, in the development of civilization and finally those who believe in simple obedience to the law.

You’re right about all this.

James Pilant

There are times when I feel something close to a sense of despair.  It has to do with a simple question – should a business take seriously the call to do right? The despair comes from what I read — in a lot of places/books/articles, but especially in the book I have recently completed, All The Devils Are Here, on the financial meltdown.  The failure to do right is absolutely pervasive throughout the narrative. Doing right is different from doing … Read More

via First Friday Book Synopsis

Integrity (via Precocious Lotus)

On By southwerkIn ethics2 Comments

Posts on single word topics like integrity are common and usually terrible reading. This one is good reading. Integrity is little discussed. I tend to write more about hypocrisy and honor, the same kind of turf. But this author chooses integrity and does well with it.

Good read.

James Pilant

Integrity Integrity: “Integrity as a concept has to do with perceived consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations and outcome. People use integrity as a holistic concept, judging the integrity of systems in terms of those systems’ ability to achieve their own goals” ~ Dictionary.com This is a concept that I value highly. Without realising it and naming it I use the worth and personal reflection of this as a measure of a pers … Read More

via Precocious Lotus