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Do Companies Have an Ethical Responsibility To Employees?

Do Companies have an Ethical Responsibility to their Employees?

  • Yes! Its more than just handing out a paycheck

    Votes: 18 52.9%

  • No! a fair wage and a safe environment is enough

    Votes: 10 29.4%

  • No! You do whats best for the share holders, NOT the Emploees

    Votes: 2 5.9%

  • I dont know / Other

    Votes: 2 5.9%

  • I have sex with fruit & vegtables

    Votes: 2 5.9%
  • Total voters
    34
MaggieD said:
If I were that parsimonious piece of reprocessed excrement, I'd fire your ass immediately.

(And don't tell me "You are," 'cause I'll cry.)
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Don't worry, "parsimonious piece of reprocessed excrement" is a badge of douchebaggery that not just anybody can earn. At the very least, you've got to live up to Franklin's adage of "penny-wise, pound-foolish" and have OSHA on your case as a result. Paying less than industry standard and having fast-food turnover rates help, but they aren't strictly required.
 
American said:
This is basically Choice 2.
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Which is why I voted for...Choice 2. Surprise. Try harder.

This statement is completely wrong. The govt has plenty of competition getting good employees.
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Private companies live and die by how well they treat their best employees. The government lives regardless - which is why the best minds tend to go to private entities and not the government.
 
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I think if you are a good worker who helps your company profit, then they should see to it that you profit as well. Too many companies work people for nickels and dimes while CEOs make a killing and they put their first priority to shareholders and not the workers.
 
I'm not sure how to respond to the poll. Most of the ethical duty is to pay a fair wage and provide a safe environment. What other duty would there be?

Although the current law seems to be that companies must put the interests of shareholders over the interests of employees/the community/etc., I think that is absolutely ridiculous. Companies should have to balance the interests of all their constituents, similar to governments, and should make a reasonable effort not to harm outsiders either.
 
digsbe said:
I think if you are a good worker who helps your company profit, then they should see to it that you profit as well. Too many companies work people for nickels and dimes while CEOs make a killing and they put their first priority to shareholders and not the workers.
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Wow, if I worked for a company who didn't pay me I'd sure find another job.
 
There used to be an unwritten committment between employees and employers for each to take care of each other.
Employees <workingclass> used to take pride in doing a good job and were loyal to the company and the company in turn shared their prosperity with their employees. That relationship was destroyed by MY GENERATION the babyboomer generation. The greed level of babyboomer employers exploded, especially during the tech bubble of the clinton years...when a MORON could make a 100 million overnight by being in the right place. Since the Clinton years tech bubble, employees became and expensive nuisance to all the greedy employers who think their entitlements are to take whatever they can from anyone else and they are the only important ones, employees are dirt under their feet to be treated like dogs if necessary to squeeze a few bucks more profit for bigger bonus's
 
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Patrickt said:
Wow, if I worked for a company who didn't pay me I'd sure find another job.
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It should be more than meager pay. Many companies cut benefits and raises even when they are doing well just to maximize profit.
 
Can anybody define what an Ethical Responsibility would be to an employee?
 
theplaydrive said:
Which is why I voted for...Choice 2. Surprise. Try harder.


Private companies live and die by how well they treat their best employees. The government lives regardless - which is why the best minds tend to go to private entities and not the government.
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You are basically correct for small companies only, where the owner knows all the employees. But not in a company that has managers as employees. I’ve seen private company managers at various levels select among employees on the basis of race, sex, religion (down to the specific church) for promotion or dismissal and everything in between, not on performance. Therefore, the big difference between government jobs and private jobs you think is there is actually small.

I voted for choice 3, so what does that indicate?
 
Patrickt said:
I wonder if employees have an ethical responsibility to their employers. You know, to not call in sick and go skiing instead of working for example. For not padding their expense accounts. For not threatening to shut down the business if they don't get their way. Little things like that. An obligation to not sabotage work so they can get more hours in. An obligation to not assault workers who want to work.

I wonder if employees have an ethical responsibility to the customers. You know, to make a product that works. Or, to show up in the classroom and teach instead of parading around collecting bogus sick slips. When it's a public employee I think they have an even greater responsibility to the "customers".

I think everyone has ethical responsiblities to most others, except liberals. Liberals live in a world without real responsibilities.
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I’ve seen CEO’s do unethical things to insure their bonuses; therefore, cheating my stock investments in the company. This was in a company whose employees were basically ethical. I came up short in my expense accounts, e.g. flying coach when I could have had BC for an example. And the dollar figure the CEO was concerned with was probably larger than all the other cheating by lower level employees.
 
OhIsee.Then said:
You are basically correct for small companies only, where the owner knows all the employees. But not in a company that has managers as employees. I’ve seen private company managers at various levels select among employees on the basis of race, sex, religion (down to the specific church) for promotion or dismissal and everything in between, not on performance. Therefore, the big difference between government jobs and private jobs you think is there is actually small.
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Sure they select on arbitrary things, but again, companies live and die by how they treat their employees, particularly their best employees, which is why any business that wants to do well in competition, from small businesses to Google, will treat their employees well. If they don't, then their employees will go elsewhere (from Google to Facebook, etc.) On the contrary, government will always be in business so its motive to treat employees well is significantly less since it will stay in business regardless.

I voted for choice 3, so what does that indicate?
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I imagine it indicates that you believe "You do whats best for the share holders, NOT the Employees".
 
Mason66 said:
Can anybody define what an Ethical Responsibility would be to an employee?
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Not knowingly poisoning him while the employee is at work.
I like this one a lot because the USAF did this to me in a non-war theater. I got in trouble for finding out what I was breathing, which successfully kept the issue form going any further.
 
theplaydrive said:
I imagine it indicates that you believe "You do whats best for the share holders, NOT the Employees".
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Yup, the company might as well. It's the employees and the independent organization they select to protect them that is their most reliable protection from unethical treatment.
 
Companies certainly have an ethical responsibility to their employees. It may be legal to be a complete sociopath but doesn't mean it should be considered morally acceptable. I can't stand the bull**** rationalization that somehow its okay to screw people over if its just business. I have much more respect for those who admit that they are willing to hurt others for personal gain rather than make up excuses to deflect responsibility.
 
rathi said:
Companies certainly have an ethical responsibility to their employees. It may be legal to be a complete sociopath but doesn't mean it should be considered morally acceptable. I can't stand the bull**** rationalization that somehow its okay to screw people over if its just business. I have much more respect for those who admit that they are willing to hurt others for personal gain rather than make up excuses to deflect responsibility.
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rathi, one of the characteristics of a CEO is an excellent ability to feign surprise, sociopath also.
Companies are not people. Yup, it is legal to be a sociopath. Only if someone does something illegal does one hopefully get in trouble. Companies are latent sociopaths. They don’t have what most people have that keeps them from being socilpaths.
 
OhIsee.Then said:
Not knowingly poisoning him while the employee is at work.
I like this one a lot because the USAF did this to me in a non-war theater. I got in trouble for finding out what I was breathing, which successfully kept the issue form going any further.
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OK, obviously the employeer should not try to kill its employees, but above and beyond that what ethical responsibilities does it have?
 
theplaydrive said:
Which is why I voted for...Choice 2. Surprise. Try harder.


Private companies live and die by how well they treat their best employees. The government lives regardless - which is why the best minds tend to go to private entities and not the government.
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But you want to give govt more power. :lamo
 
Yes, companies do have an ethical responsibility to the employee as they are the reason that these CEOs/directors even make $$$, the employees do the heavy lifting.
 
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