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corporate responsibility
« Previous EntriesCan we trust China’s new code of ethics?
Thursday, March 11th, 2010The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Chinese politicians are maneuvering themselves into position for big changes in the government. Seems that a major shift in power is expected two years from now, being spurred by the National People’s Congress and the Chinese people themselves.
Some of the candidates-in-waiting are already mounting [...]
You want a latte with that handgun?
Friday, March 5th, 2010It can’t be easy to run Starbucks these days. Even before the recession hit, the wildly popular coffee chain had become the poster child for extravangant self-indulgence. All too often, if personal finance gurus wanted to demonstrate how little sacrifices add up to big savings they’d point an accusing finger at the decidedly [...]
The ethics of training orcas
Monday, March 1st, 2010The death of Orlando SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau last week has raised a firestorm of debate about whether it’s right to train big predators to entertain the public. Ms. Brancheau was killed by a 22-foot male orca named Tilikum. No one really knows what caused Tilikum to grab Ms. Brancheau by the hair [...]
What really tripped up Toyota?
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010Seems as though almost everyone who writes about business has a theory about what landed Toyota in its current fix. Some pundits blame a failure of leadership in Toyota’s management, others claim that Toyota failed to stay true to its brand, and still others tag Toyota with the arrogance that comes from being a [...]
Wall Street missed its moment during the Superbowl
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010So, how about those Saints? Regardless of which team you favored, this year’s game was terrific. It also broke records in another respect. This Superbowl was among the most-watched televised sporting events ever, and ads broadcast during the game have been all over the Internet ever since.
In other words, [...]
Is McDonald’s abusing the legal system?
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010The attorneys at McDonald’s certainly seem to be of the “take no prisoners and damn the torpedoes” school of legal thought. The fast food giant has had Egg McMuffin all over its corporate face on two separate occasions this week. There was the employee in the Netherlands who successfully sued McDonald’s for firing [...]
Will special interests abuse campaign contributions?
Monday, January 25th, 2010The Supreme Court stunned the nation last week with its decision to allow corporations to exercise free speech rights by running election campaign ads. Suddenly, huge companies and unions with millions to spend will be able to innundate voters with a tidal wave of attack ads targeting candidates who oppose their interests. Less [...]
The Ethics of “Avatar”
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010Recently, I had the pleasure of seeing James Cameron’s new blockbuster, “Avatar.” Cameron has given us the mythical planet Pandora, a confection of a world, sparkling with a million gorgeous colors and lit with magic from within. Of course, it’s also a source of a valuable mineral that covetous corporate executives and military [...]
Please, corporate America, help out in Haiti!
Friday, January 15th, 2010Today, I’m interrupting my Friday series on keeping your business out of court to focus instead on the mounting crisis in Haiti. Apparently, as many as fifty thousand people have died in the wake of the earthquake that demolished the island four days ago. According to news reports this morning, the people of Haiti [...]
Kudos to Google for its (belated) challenge to China
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010Google announced today that, unless the Chinese government allows it to stop censoring its search engine there, it will withdraw from China altogether. That’s a remarkable statement from a company that currently commands about 30% of Chinese Web access, and Google’s gambit is already drawing lots of commentary across the blogosphere. Some people [...]
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