Corporations as Moral Agents

[Corporations as Moral Agents]

[Fredrick G Minamyer]

[AIU]

[PHIL201 - 1403B - 12]

August 22, 2014

[Earl Barnett]

 Businesses today in the US are constantly being scrutinized not only for the cost and quality of their products, they are also being held to the fire for what they do or don’t do in/for the communities they are located in.  In consideration of an article in the NY Times “How Corporations Behave” (Jay Feldman, 2012) that basically chastises corporations for not doing enough to support society with their profits; from a philosophical standpoint, what is the moral responsibility of any business large or small at any given time? Its seems that over time in the US as the economy worsens and we see increased dependency on government social programs, businesses are being pushed harder and harder to add by a majority opinion of social conscience to contribute more and more of their profits to the neighborhoods around them. Let’s ask ourselves if in consideration of social demands and although businesses can have ethical standards, should Businesses be required to comply with society’s demands and be moral agents as well?

Businesses aren’t created to lose money or give away all of their profits through philanthropy.  What this article does is creates a blanket statement about business in America in general without breaking out what types or sizes of business’s it is targeting.  Is the writer angry at small local businesses? Is he referring to large corporations with multiple owners and shareholders? What is the delineation here? Business do have standards of ethics for their operations and their customer service, what they are not (regardless of the company size) required to participate in legally or morally is the notion of “corporate social responsibility” (Robbins, 2012).  

 Is it true then that the “bottom line” of business is profit and profit alone? Businesses are required to turn a profit or they go out of business and yes the “bottom line” is the first imperative used to gauge the health of a business.  

Profits are what sustain the business owners and support their livelihood.  A certain percentage of the owner’s profits must be saved in order to allow for expansion of the business or maintenance/replacement of tools, equipment, and facilities.  The business owner who experiences lower profits cannot always support community outreaches or social support projects.  There is a point where a business has to draw the line or close its doors. It’s not so much a moral disdain for corporate social responsibility as it is survival for the company.