Corporate Duties To Society

Responsibility of Corporations

Attempting to address a corporations responsibility to community and employees is a complex matter that involves far more then the standard of morale in this country. The effects of large corporations are deeply woven into American economy and society. Standardization is now a way of life, as super-efficient production sends countless products down the assembly line cheaper and faster then ever before. The once unique sense of place in individual communities is replaced by a series of big stores and factories, bringing with them jobs for everyone, an new economic boost and a strange and dangerous dependence on the corporation for daily survival.

How Corporations Affect Communities

There is no doubt that corporations explode local economies with jobs and increased cash flow. Employees have more money to spend which opens doors for even more small businesses to sprout around the area. But when these companies have become a lifeline for a community, their decisions to change operations can be a matter of life and death for that area.

Because corporations are so large, they control a significant portion of the local economy. They hold many of the local jobs and provide much of the local income for a that community. Employees, small businesses and even the local government are strongly depending on these corporations for income, cash flow, and tax revenue.

But where is the obligation to these people and their community? Corporations are somehow create towns and then abandon then for cheaper overseas labor leaving the community completely lost without them. Should this be allowed? Should cities like Flint Michigan sit in such disarray while corporations like General Motors continue to increase profit for stockholders? Probably not, but solving the problem would seem to go against everything that business has stood for in America.

First of all, corporations would not exist if not for their benefits to investors. The surge of jobs they bring to a community only exist because at some point, an investor was willing to take a financial risk on that company. If all corporations