The more things change, the more they stay the same.
The attitudes of Americans toward U.S. corporations have never been particularly positive. Now, however, with the severe economic troubles our country is facing, these attitudes are becoming increasingly negative and severe. The most recent generation of corporations to spark the ire of Americans were Enron, Tyco, and Arthur Anderson. Now we have AIG and the U.S. automakers General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler to loathe.
These companies want our money to bail themselves out of bankruptcy while the rest of us struggle to make ends meet. What makes it worse is that their CEOs are "earning" millions in salary each year and are giving millions of dollars in bonuses to their employees with their bailout money. And they wonder why Americans' attitudes are so negative.
You've Gotta Roll With the Changes
With the volatile nature of business, corporations need to be willing and able to make changes to keep up with both their competition and their constituents. To do this, they need to remain true to their mission and values while not forming the reputation of being sellouts. This is a fine line that will be tiptoed along, but it is an important aspect of change that MUST be mastered. This is an ongoing process that needs to be constantly reevaluated; those companies that are resistant to change or think "This doesn't concern us" will feel the negative effects of playing possum.
Art Imitating Life
The "factional" accounts of U.S. corporations aren't likely to go out of style any time soon. The seed was planted with dramas like The China Syndrome, Erin Brockovitch, and Wall Street. Comedies like Trading Places also showcased the negative aspects of the business world. Now we have farcical films like Thank You for Smoking poking fun at the tobacco industry. Until some sort of good news about big business comes to surface, this trend of negative portrayals of corporate business will continue.
I agree, I feel our economy is a mess right now. But as individuals there is not much we can do but as you said "roll with the changes". These companies feel they only have to stay true to themselves. They can care less about how we feel about them. They are in the business of success, not comfort and reputation. When things go bad the focus goes off of us, and on to how they can still generate revenue in this bad time. Once things start looking better for companies is when their mind frames will change back to the consumers. As of now a lot of mission statements are out the door and they can care less about if they are sellouts or not. They just want to survive.
ReplyDeleteMaggie made some good points I agree that with the current economic situation we do need to roll with the changes. Unfortunately for the people that want to do something about the economic situation are in the minority. There could be boycotts and holdouts but the way the business world is now the few people that would have the guts to do this type of action would not affect the businesses at all. The shame with our society is that there are movies and other media that protest the economic situation of our society but no one can or will do anything about it. Until the economic situation affects the upper management’s pocket books, nothing will change with our economic situation.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Maggie made some good points regarding the current economic situation, I feel some points were overlooked.
ReplyDeleteCould the current economic situation have been avoided?
Yes.
Why was it not avoided?
Stupidity.
Who is at fault for the current economic situation?
It can be anyone, depending on who you talk too of course.
For example: Fannie Mae & Bernie Mac (The Housing Crisis)
Who is at fault?
The government for it's lack of regulations towards housing requirements.
Fannie Mae & Bernie Mac in taking riskier loans during the housing boom.
Realtors focusing on commission profits from potential homeowners buying higher priced homes.
Potential homeowers purchasing homes beyond their current and (possible) future finicial means, simply because of inflated approval amounts of housing loans.
So who is to blame? My personal opinion, all of the above.
And why? Personal experience. Basically, I was raised that "there is no free lunch". I work hard for what I have. I have worked hard to obtain finicial security, and decided that I was going to become a homeowner. I had done all my "homework" but I was even surprized in the amount approved for my loan. The attitude of the first realtor (it is a thirty year loan and I'll make more money in the future, therefore, I could afford a higher priced home now).
Yes I took advantage of the housing boom and lack of regulations. But I had determine the price range to work with, and because of this decision I have a home that I am very happy with and can afford. The best part is I will have the house paid for by the middle of 2015 just on my current income. Therefore if I earn more money, I can put it towards additional payments to my house and have it paid off sooner.