Do/should corporations have any social responsibilities beyond the almighty buck ?

Question

Do corperations have responsibilites to thier community or their nation ?

Are / should the actions of corperation be more closely monitored by government(s)

Are there any requirements that should be placed upon corperations for the health of the planet for the health of the citezens etc

If they have no responsibility should they exist in thier present form or should they be considered dangerous and out lawed ?

Answer 1

You should watch this Canadian movie called "The Corporation". Look for it on www.imdb.com

The movie poses the question whether modern corporations act like sociopaths. I think they do. The problem is, the directors of a corportation have do what is in the best interest of the company, not society. If they do not, they will be removed from their position. The corporation is in business to maximize profits, not to be a good corporate citizen.

Modern corporate society is just insane. I worked for a company in which no one wanted to do any real work. Managers would get into a position, and spend most of their time trying to get a different position. They would make flashy, pointless changes to impress their superiors, and then hope to be promoted. The changes they made were often of great detriment to the departments they controlled, but they looked good on paper.... at least in the short run. It was just a stepping stone to the next department.

I think the only solution for the bad behavior of modern corporations is to make their managers, VP's, Presidents, and CFO's and CEO's criminally responsible for the offenses the corporation commits. The Tyco, Enron, and other cases have started this trend, but one wonders how closely these businesses are being monitored.

Answer 2

Technically, corporations have no responsibilities beyond their profits and whatever laws are placed on them by governments.

However, many corporations are large enough that their actions can have major effects on things such as society, public health and the environment. Unless laws specifically forbid corporations from doing something that causes a harmful impact, corporations will have no obligation to change their actions to avoid this impact.

Therefore, while corporations should not necessarily be "considered dangerous", there needs to be a certain amount of responsibility placed on major corporations in the form of government regulation.

Answer 3

Corporations are a legal entity (created about 400 years ago)which have been granted existence and possible immortality by society. They have only those responsibilities society places upon them. Currently, corporations only responsibilities are to follow the laws (including tax laws) and provide as much return on their shareholders investment as possible. It is up to society to change this. I would like to see them made socially responsible (beyond just paying taxes), as citizens are through things such as the draft, jury duty, etc.. While corporations couldn't be required to perform military service, they could be required to prove they serve their country and community on a regular basis or be dissolved. I also think granting immortality to any legal entity is/was a big mistake. Corporations should have a legally defined lifespan to prevent them from amassing ever more wealth and power, just as we mere mortals are subject to illness, death, and inheritance taxes.

Answer 4

The Lord's name is Jesus. And my bible has God's name ALL OVER IT! Jehovah - 'A mispronunciation [introduced by Christian theologians but almost entirely disregarded b the Jews]of the Hebrew YHWH the [ineffable] name of God..this pronunciation is grammatically impossible it arose through pronouncing the vowels of 'Adonay' with the consonants of 'YHWH'...Jehovah is generally held to have been the invention of Pope Leo X's confessor Peter Galatin [The Jewish Encyclopaedia Vol7 p87-88] Isaiah 10v21 speaks of Mighty God - is that speaking of Jehovah then or Jesus? Thanks. Please note the WHOLE of the quote at Isaiah 9v6 - He will be called.....everlasting Father. Not only is Jesus Mighty God but everlasting Father also! Unless Jesus is God what does this scripture mean? But please only RELY ON A BIBLE WITH GOD'S NAME IN IT TO ANSWER - no WT or Awake publications. Rev 22v18 - Jesus calls himself the Alpha and Omega, the First and the the Last, the Beginning and the End'. So tell me are there TWO Alpha and Omegas then? :)

Answer 5

No, not imposed upon them.

If they so choose.

Absolutely not. Government has never met anything it cannot royally screw up.

There already are laws on the books that do just that. People also need to be personnaly responsible for their health.

Live free or die. Let em live and flourish.

Answer 6

Corporations are based completely on profit. they have no conscience as they are not one person. Watch the movie "The Corporation". Very scary that BGH was allowed to spread through children.

Answer 7

Definitely corporations have responsibilities to the community and their nation. The shareholders should realize that they ARE the community and by reaping a big profit they are damaging the community in which they live.

Answer 8

The way I see it certain people in the government line their pockets with money from big corporations, they look the other way or vote to help out the corp.

Answer 9

Yes, they have social responsibilities. And moral ones. But they have abdicated them. If big oil and companies like Microsoft were taxed 80% on their obscene profits they might rethink their positions.

Answer 10

They are subject to federal, state (provincial in your case, I assume), and local laws which pertain to them. Beyond that, their SOLE legitimate function is to maximize shareholder return. Period. I do not invest to change the world. I invest to make a profit.