American Express: A History of Innovation and Risk

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Introduction Since their start in 1850, American Express has been there to help people in need as a freight and valuables delivery service for the rapidly expanding nation that had an unreliable postal service. They have carved out a niche in places that no one had gone before and offered a service to ship larger parcels and valuable items such as jewelry, cash, stock certificates and other merchandise that helped people but also made them money. They have also taken a few chances with their money like in 1914 when they agreed to honor American letters of credit when European banks would not (Woolsey, 2005). They seemed to have balanced the art of taking risks and being profitable, so this issue is not any different than the many issues …show more content…

It has been suggested that we consider refusing to hire smokers to help reduce these costs. Other companies such as Weyco, The Cleveland Clinic, and the Massachusetts Hospital Association have already implemented such a policy. Statistics show that smokers cause increased health care costs and lower productivity, due to increased absenteeism and more breaks, if smoking is allowed on the premises. Although it is illegal to discriminate for race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, it is clearly an employer's right to choose not hire smokers. This could save medical costs but at what other costs? If something is legal, is it always ethical? Will smokers, non-smokers, and society feel this is fair treatment? Where does American Express draw the line? What about other groups that could cause increased medical costs, such as women in their child-bearing years, overweight employees, people with diabetes or other medical conditions, and those involved with dangerous hobbies or sports? What about those who drink …show more content…

Do all smokers increase costs? Would this decision be a positive or negative impact on our social responsibility? As a way to keep good employees, we could offer a smoking cessation program or a wellness program where employees have to have a certain "fitness score" that would have a direct correlation to the amount the employee contributes to their health insurance premium (Segarra, 2014). What is ultimately best for the company, our employees, and society? Recommendations American Express is aware of the following expenses that smokers can cause:  smokers miss an average of about 6.16 days of work per year, as opposed to 3.86 days missed by non-smokers  a smoker taking four 10-minute smoke breaks per day actually works one month less per year than non-smokers  for each smoking employee, an employer shoulders an additional $3,391 per year in costs — including $1,760 in lost productivity and $1,623 in excess medical expenses, and  in a year’s time, smokers make more hospital visits per 1,000 employees (124 vs. 76), have a longer average length of stay (6.5 vs. 5 days) and make six more visits to healthcare facilities than non-smokers (Gould,

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