Business Ethics and the Connection to Communication: Does the Truth Really Matter?
It seems that with the recent headlines of high profile corporate corruption cases, the subject of whether ethics play much of part in modern business has come to the forefront. Connected directly to this would also be the role that communication plays in business ethics. The issues involved revolve around business ethics and how communication is used to either promote or reinforce good business ethics or is manipulated and abused to support more questionable uses. There are some that assert that for a business to survive in the modern economy, there has to be a certain level of compromise about ethics. My assertion is that corporations and their public relations firms use various methods to influence public opinion, and that these methods have varying degrees of basis in actual truth.
Increased competition has caused some companies to cut corners in order to increase profit. Still, a very limited number of corporations would exist without a customer base, and customers can be considered “investors” as much as actual stockholders. Why then do companies seem to not want to cater to their customers? “Taken collectively consumers are a reasonably predictable and reasonably manipuable mass, not a serious power over giant corporations.” (Estes 55) It has become that the corporations have the power to influence us and not the other way around. What can be seen is an inverse relationship between better quality and an increased cost for the manufacturer as there are many more products rushed to market without being fully tested. One of the major difficulties is that “For many goods and services, we face a single or few providers.” (Estes 59) This leaves us with little choice if we want a certain product and are willing to accept a lower standard. Instead of repaying their customer base with improved quality of product, lower cost of merchandise, and increased concern over the impact on health, safety, and the environment, these corporations seem to assert that
Increased competition has caused some companies to cut corners in order to increase profit. Still, a very limited number of corporations would exist without a customer base, and customers can be considered “investors” as much as actual stockholders. Why then do companies seem to not want to cater to their customers? “Taken collectively consumers are a reasonably predictable and reasonably manipuable mass, not a serious power over giant corporations.” (Estes 55) It has become that the corporations have the power to influence us and not the other way around. What can be seen is an inverse relationship between better quality and an increased cost for the manufacturer as there are many more products rushed to market without being fully tested. One of the major difficulties is that “For many goods and services, we face a single or few providers.” (Estes 59) This leaves us with little choice if we want a certain product and are willing to accept a lower standard. Instead of repaying their customer base with improved quality of product, lower cost of merchandise, and increased concern over the impact on health, safety, and the environment, these corporations seem to assert that
Cited: Callahan, David, 1965-. The cheating culture : why more Americans are doing wrong to get ahead / David Callahan Clark, Charles S. "Whistleblowers." The CQ Researcher Online 7.45 (1997). 24 July 2005 <http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre1997120500> Horn, Stacy. “Counting Corporate Crooks.” The New York Times 16 Jul. 2005, late ed.: A15 Huffington, Arianna Stassinopoulos, 1950-. Pigs at the trough : how corporate greed and political corruption are undermining America / Arianna Huffington Katel, Peter. "Lobbying Boom." The CQ Researcher Online 15.26 (2005). 24 July 2005 <http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2005072200>