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T.A.Stobie_SFO
Guest
I would appreciate comments on and suggestions for my latest webpage, “Thoughts on Corporate Responsibility”
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Orionthehunter
Guest
I totally disagree with your first point. Corporations are creatures of man and not of God. God expects his creatures to be good and moral. He doesn’t expect hammers, nails, cars and footballs to be moral. Concurrently, He has no expectations of corporations. I think that as soon as we try to “ensoul” our creatures we become like God.
I think what you are getting at is related to people need to take God to their work place. It isn’t “corporations are accountable to God for their actions” but the people working at corporations from the CEO all the way down the lowest person on the ladder.
And, there is danger in expecting corporations to be responsible for what is our personal responsibility as they become our surrogate. God doesn’t ask hammers to love His ensouled creation but He asks us to love our fellow mankind. Too many people “delegate” their social justice obligations to the government. Similarly, we shouldn’t delegate our economic justice obligations to a soulless corporation. Each and every one of us needs to engage our heart, mind and soul every day to doing God’s will. This is our calling and not to delegate it to a corporation.
As I go on to read the other points, I equally disagree with them. Corporations are tools of people. It is the employees who have an on obligation to their owners (employees steal by taking what isn’t theirs or by not giving their best effort). It is employees who have an obligation to the customers. It is managers who have an obligation to their subordinates.
Finally, it is people who have an obligation to their fellow man who live in their community.
As much as I respect the OP in so many ways, I wholly disagree with any projection of human attributes to a tool of man whether it be a computer, a lawnmower or a legal entity.
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mvinca
Guest
Man, don’t take any organizational behavior classes then.
Of course, to a point I agree with you, it always comes down to the human element of anything. But a corporation is more than a tool, it is a collection of people, and in that collection, there can be a collective thought. But ultimately that does boil down to the thoughts of individuals. Using human descriptions on a corporation is somewhat like shorthand for “the prevalent though of this collection of humans is…”
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Orionthehunter
Guest
I totally grasp your point and understand it. But I still oppose even the shorthand as it then becomes an excuse of immoral behavior. “I’m just following orders”. Let me give you an extreme example- Hitler’s Nazi Germany. The “prevalent thought” of the organization was patently evil. I’m sure nobody disagrees. But while what was done by the organization was patently evil, the moral responsibility rests with the individuals. God will not condemn the organization to Hell. He will condemn individuals.Man, don’t take any organizational behavior classes then.
A corporation is a tool that allows for the orderly combination of labor and capital in order to efficiently perform an economic activity. Such activity may or may not be moral. And the individuals who participate are responsible for their role in the activity.
But I do agree that a corporate philosophy and mission can lead to “collective thought” that has two ramifications. First, the corporate philoshophy and mission can be grounded in greed that inspires immoral conduct. This creates issues of mitigating circumstances that affect the sinfulness of individuals in the corporation (mortal vs. venial sin). But, in the end, because of consent to work there is voluntary in most situations, grave immoral conduct may be mortal for the individual. Second, for the people at the top, they are inspiring others to sin and their consequences are most grave and consequential. But in both ramifications, the responsibility and consequences still are imputed to the leaders and not the corporation itself (corporations will not be in Hell- only their employees/owners).
My whole point is related to the idea that when we impute the morality to a tool, we do a disservice to the people in the organization. They mistakenly reach a conclusion that “i’m just following orders” or “it is part of the game”. They then never face their own personal responsibility. Until they acknowledge their sin, they can never ask for forgiveness. I want to keep the eye focused on individuals who ultimately face the consequences and not something that is only a tool.
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