No I am not talking about Karl Rowe...
Leesa did a post last week that reminded me of my disillusionment with American Business culture. I look at what many corporations are doing to their retirees, employees, customers and vendors and I get angry at the short sightedness and the lack of humanity demonstrated by folks like Wal-Mart, LTV, Wells Fargo and NorthWorst Airlines among others.
Business is supposed to be "people trading goods and services" The theory is that by the most efficient (and least inefficient) producers trading, then all will have more. A real win/win Fine and dandy and it usually works OK. Some where though many companies forgot the lesson and they are determined to squeeze everything they can from those they trade with. Not just a win/lose scenario but a "I want it all/I do not care about you" scenario.
Management say they are responsible to "the owners". Do I believe them? NO! The owners are you and me and millions of others like us who have funds tied up in IRA's, 401K's and other devices. Management does not answer to us. Management answers to themselves. How else would you explain an airline in bankruptcy paying bonuses to the management that put them there?
Are there good corporate citizens out there? You bet! Folks like TARGET, Rohm Haas et al are decent corporate citizens but the ones who have forgotten their humanity are frightening in their existence and depressing in their number.
Was Tom Peters totally off base?
6 comments:
YOU’RE BACK!!! I’m stoked :- ) I’ll be back to read the post as well. Just wanted to say hi.
Toodles!
We mostly shop at Target over Wal-Mart for some of the very reasons you listed.
I think the rise of the soulless, bonus-reaping CEO beasts has pretty much corresponded with the decline of unions and workers' bargaining power.
On another totally separate note, I hope you weren't on 35W particularly on the Mississippi river bridge yesterday evening. It's hard to imagine such a thing can happen in this day in age.
I figured up this morning that I've probably spent 8 hours of my life on that bridge through the years.
Mal,
35W?? I dearly hope that you, your friends, and family will are safe. I'm heartened that the death toll is still so low, but 20 missing is awfully frightening.
Ed- it seems more folks are making similar decisions
FW- I wonder though which led which? Certainly the Unions themselves had reached a point where they no longer served the needs of their members first.
Ed, Jessica-Thank you, I appreciate the concern. I drove over that bridge 2 hours before it went down and of course you think nothing of it at the time.
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