issue152 [practise] 公司的任务 是否跑题，想请大家讨论

SayyesUID: 2186610

ISSUE152 - "The only responsibility of corporate executives, provided they stay within the law, is to make as much money as possible for their companies."

outline：
TS：公司只求利益对社会有危害，有时仅法律难以管束，公司须自觉考虑公众利益
1，2，3三段如TS

The speaker asserts that it is the only responsibility of company's executives to make profit within the law. In my view, however, only considering in the purpose of making money could be dangerous and harmful to the society, and since the strictness of law is limited, the corporation should took charge of economic and social responsibilities voluntarily.

Admittedly, the main responsibility of company is making profits as much as possible, which seem to be the reason of existence of the company in a capital world. However, with the only aim of purchasing money and regardlessness of other social responsibility, the behavior of the company could be damage the market and lead to serious economic problems. The great depression, which is a social disaster that skakes the whole world and brings numerous unemployment, is largely arouse by the relatively larger productivity passing over the people's purchasing ability. Purchasing lager profit of company and hence decreasing the salaries of employees, the company made its workers with low incomes have no enough money to buy what they produce. The destruction power of the depression is driven by the longing for profit and disregardness of people's living. If the company's leader regards the profit as the only thing he will consider, the end of capital world would really go to its end as the Marx forcasted.

For the reason discussed above, people have been aware the harmful of absolute free market, thus the government try to restrict companies by making policies and laws. Though the laws in some degrees work effectively, the new problem immerges ceaselessly, for there are no such perfect law which could cover and foretell every possibilities of crimes and unjust. Take the stork market as a example. In some country as China, India, Russian, where the laws are immature, the stoke market is largely controlled by big stockholders. By holding the important information and hiding the real situation of the company, they could take lots of money from the market, while the smaller stockholders as victims lost painfully. The law could do nothing to stop them. for it could hardly restrict the company’s behaviors in any details and it always comes after the crimes. Thereby only relying on the laws could not reach social justices effectively.

Moreover, with large mergers and the development of new free markets around the world, major corporations now wield more economic and political power than the governments under which they operate. In response, public pressure has increased for businesses to take on more social responsibility and operate according to higher levels of ethics. For example, Wal-Mart faced criticism for paying low wages and for hiring workers part-time without paying health and other benefits. If the company want to operated well and continue making profit, the leader will have to consider the company's public figure. One good example is the Ford car company in 1940s, which doubled the minimum wage for his workers. Ford reasoned that if his employees earned more, the company would sell more cars to them and reduce employee turnover. Thus not only the company made profit, but the society became wealthier too.   

In sum, though it seems reasonable for the company's leader to put earning profit as the paramount goal through any way not against the law, it is harmful and dangerous for the regardless the company's social responsibility. Since the power of law is limited and the public pressure ask more about the charge of company, businesses should adjust their operations according to the competing goals of earning profits and benefiting society.

[ 本帖最后由 Sayyes 于 2006-8-16 20:29 编辑 ]

winsome_luoUID: 2146848

论述和逻辑似乎都有问题

1 great depression的例子, 说到供大于求, 用来论述利润最大化,有点不合适, 这个应该是管理者的策略失误

2 说到政府立法的问题时, 题目的意思应该是要论证企业在法律许可范围内, 管理者是否应该只以盈利为目的, 楼主有跑题的嫌疑

winsome_luoUID: 2146848

才看到, 原来你是武汉的 我也是哦,  hand

SayyesUID: 2186610

谢谢winsome_luo的指点，但我想解释一下：

1.great depression 是由于资本主义无限制追逐利益造成，现代经济学都认同这一观点，凯恩斯在之后的著述中建议政府宏观调控，制定法律等手段加强对企业的约束，使其承担更多的社会责任，以消除经济危机。注意那时是没有太多法律约束资本行为的，现代资本主义法制化，与大萧条时人们认识到自由市场的弊端有很大关系。
此例用来说明企业一味追逐利益对社会的危害，与企业管理者策略失误没有任何关系.

2.自认为本文逻辑和论述没有问题
主题反对题目观点，在法律范围内追逐最大利益不可。
1.追逐最大利益对社会不利（有经济学知识的对此很好理解，想想马克思的资本论也可以）
2.法律约束力不够，就是说光守法律还不够，仍会有危害。法律又不是万能的。(这好理解，如在中国，法律不仅不健全,而且很多时候形同虚设。）
3.企业应该主动承担社会责任，这对社会，对企业发展都有利。

这题是有些不好写， 欢迎大家都来讨论！