Introduction
Corporation raises a number of ethical issues and discusses unethical aspects that can be identified in the world of business. A list of several issues mentioned in the movie follows.
Analysis
- Ray Anderson (Interface CEO) underlines several unethical things he was able to observe in corporations:
- Environmental harm (corporations know that their activities are harmful, but they do nothing to stop their growth);
- Questionable sustainability (people who lead corporations cannot be sure of what they do and why they try to do something);
- Legalized destruction (there are laws and legal explanations of the actions and services introduced by corporations, and people can do nothing to stop their activities);
- Externalities (the consequences of industrial and commercial activities that may affect a number of people, without any benefits offered in return).
- Richard Grossman (Program on Cooperation) explains the role of a corporation:
- A misunderstanding that a corporation is a gift that can serve the public good.
- Robert Monks (Institutional Shareholder Services) explains the characteristics of a corporation:
- Doubtful loyalty (people who are not considered necessary are neglected and forgotten);
- Cost-effectiveness (corporations deal with business decisions; nothing personal is observed).
- Jonathan Ressler (Big Fat Inc.) does not want to hide the truth:
- Undercovered messages (people want to use the information they hear);
- Carlton Brown (Commodities Trader) introduces one more important unethical practice:
- The possibility of using devastation to increase opportunity.
- Lucy Hughes (Media General) is ready to accept the fact that:
- Manipulating children is a method used by many corporations.
In fact, child manipulation seems to be one of the most unethical entries on this list, because a number of areas of human life undergo considerable changes and challenges. Of course, there are many corporations that base their activities and services on advertising. Still, when corporations start searching for benefits from advertising aimed at children and earning based on children’s needs, the worth and ethical aspects of such situations raise a number of questions.
Advertising is a powerful weapon in today’s world, and children, as well as their parents, are in danger of being defeated by such weapons. Child development, a person’s psychological state, and even the perception of this world undergo considerable changes.
The video shows that numerous incidents of napping bother American and Canadian parents day by day. It is hard to visit a shop and not to hear some napping from a child. It seems to be an ordinary thing to observe a child reaching for some products and crying. This is one of the most serious consequences arising from the actions of corporations. Some representatives even admit that if their task is to sell a product; they do not care if children or adults may undergo some influence. Such truth is both dramatic and painful to contemplate.
Conclusion
In fact, with regard to the ideas offered in the movie, it is hard to believe that any kind of company, organization, or corporation could be ethical and follow practices that do not violate human rights. The heads of corporations admit that they have a number of sins, they understand how dangerous their activities could be for multiple generations, and they know that many people could suffer because of the growth of corporations. Still, they cannot or even do not want to do something to change the world.
Their main goal is to achieve some profit. Ethical concerns are superfluities that can be ignored in the majority of cases, or else underlined if attention to ethical issues can bring some benefits. It is a terrible fact, but it is a truth that cannot be neglected.