The reading that was investigated consisted of an article from Michael Novak entitled “Michael Novak on Capitalism and the Corporation”. Novak (1997) dissected the chronology of corporations and posed many compelling convictions on differences between corporations in the United States, Britain, and Europe. While his convictions are, direct and come across as assaults on corporations they, command the reader to broaden their perceptions of capitalism as it relates to corporations. I will examine five discussion questions which Jennings (2009) posed in a case study that is related to Novak’s (1997) article “Michael Novak on Capitalism and the Corporation”.
The first discussion question posed was, “How long has the corporation existed” (Jennings, 2009, p. 89)? Novak (1997) wrote corporations have been in existence since the Middle Ages. Those primitive corporations were different from those of today. Novak (1997) wrote corporations of the early Middle Ages consisted of burial societies, monasteries, towns, and universities. As time progressed throughout the Middle Ages, corporations started to grow and move beyond the common monastery and town entities. In fact, joint-stock companies started to sprout up in the late fifteenth century. Tran (2008) wrote that the earliest documented joint-stock corporations traced back to the Middle Ages.
The second discussion question posed was, “What is the difference between the British and European corporation and the U.S. corporation”? What does Dr. Novak feel is the result of the difference (Jennings, 2009, p. 89)? The British and European corporations were massively grounded in the rights of association. Corporations in the Europe and Britain were owned by the privileged and were ...
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...he origins and implications of western corporations. The American Economic Review, 96(2), 308-312. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/pss/30034664
Jennings, M. (2009). Business ethics: Case studies and selected readings. Mason, OH: South- Western Cengage Learning.
Tran, T. K. (2008). Growth of joint stock companies in the seventeenth century (Master’s thesis). Retrieved from http://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/3511
Wallerstein, M. (2008). Social democracy as a development strategy. In D. Smith, J. Frieden, M. Golden, K. Moene, A. Przeworski (Eds.), Selected works of michael wallerstein: the political economy of inequality, unions, and social democracy (p. 443). Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=PTgLXXMngBAC&oi=fnd&pg=PA9&d q=social+democracy&ots=6rVnQthB5w&sig=znulNhI5uRpfdTrdJzj3szDVZj4#v=onepa ge&q&f=false
In the article White states, “Agriculture was the chief source of wealth during the third quarter of the eighteenth century. Commerce was second (principally the re-export of colonial tobacco, sugar, and Indian cotton) while manufacturing may have been in a temporary decline in terms of relative importance. Smith wrote before the mechanization of the cotton industry, the growth of the factory system, and the large accumulations of capital via the joint stock company.” A joint stock company is a company whose stock is owned jointly by the shareholders; capitalism. Trade tends to be the main importance of smith’s novel. On the
In American Colossus: The Triumph of Capitalism, 1865 - 1900, H.W. Brands worked to write a book that illustrates the decades after the Civil War, focusing on Morgan and his fellow capitalists who effected a stunning transformation of American life. Brands focuses on the threat of capitalism in American democracy. The broader implications of focusing on capitalism in American democracy is the book becomes a frame work based on a contest between democracy and capitalism. He explains democracy depends on equality, whereas, capitalism depends on inequality (5). The constant changing of the classes as new technologies and ways of life arise affect the contest between democracy and capitalism. By providing a base argument and the implications of the argument, Brands expresses what the book attempts to portray. Through key pieces of evidence Brands was able to provide pieces of synthesis, logical conclusion, and countless
Evan, William M. and Edward R. Freeman. “A Stakeholder Theory of The Modern Corporation: Kantian Capitalism.” Advanced College Essay: Business and Its Publics. Ed. Pat C. Hoy II and Denice Martone. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002. 329-38.
Michael Moore’s film of Capitalism: A Love Story is an examination on how much of a financial impact that corporation has on the lives of Americans. Capitalism seems to emulate a love affair gone wrong, with lies, abuse and betrayal towards the American people. Moore moves the film from Middle America, to the halls of power in Washington, to the global financial epicenter in Manhattan in order to answer the question of what price do Americans pay for the affection of capitalism. There is irony in the title of this film because there is certainly nothing to love about capitalism when families have to pay the price with losing their jobs, their homes and their savings as a result of the risky investments that the rich and powerful have at their disposal. With more than 14,000 jobs being lost, residents being evicted from their homes and banks stealing away families’ savings, one must wonder if there is an upside to capitalism at all. True democracy is the biggest threat to corporate America because of the one person one vote system. In order for this to take place, the growing number of people would have to come together and expose capitalism for what it truly is, a corrupt and greedy system for the wealthy.
Alan Trachtenberg’s theme of Incorporation of America is to study the “effects of the corporate system on culture, on values and outlooks, on the way of life” By “the incorporation of America”, he means, “the emergence of a change, more tightly structured society with new hierarchies of control, and also changed conceptions of the society, of America itself.” He contends that America experienced cultural and social changes due to the growth of industrialization and urbanization following the Civil War, arguing that corporations were the dominated reason for social change.
Many people believe that capitalism has made a positive impact on the world, making it a better place to live in. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, in his article, “Making capitalism more creative” supports this belief. He emphasizes how capitalism has transformed this world and how it would make life better off in the future. Gates also stresses on how governments and different companies can involve new people in the capitalist setup to decrease economic disparity. However, capitalism is not as beneficial as Gates puts it. It has a dark side with respect to economic inequality, government involvement, new markets and social responsibility.
According to Mallor, Barnes, Bowers, & Langvardt (2010) “modern corporation law emerged only in the last 200 years, ancestors of the modern corporation existed in the times of Hammurabi, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire. As early as 1248 in France, privileges of incorporation were given to mercantile ventures to encourage investment for the benefit of society. In England, the corporate form was used extensively before the 16th century. In the late 18th century, general incorporation statutes emerged in the United States” (p. 1009).
Capitalism as an economic system has not been around for a very long time. Stanford indicates that this economic system began in the mid-1700s in Europe . For a considerably young system, it almost seems impossible to imagine a different way of living. Capitalism has become deeply embedded in our social structures; it is naturalized as a way of doing day to day things. If this is the case, then we as humans have a long way to go if we are to achieve social and economic justice. The question I aim to explore is whether capitalism is capable of achieving socio-economic justice. I am arguing that it cannot achieve justice because there is too much focus on profit rather than people and it dislocates the consumers from the modes of production which indirectly promotes social inequality. Our current economic system which I will be interchangeably using as capitalism throughout the paper will examine why the focus on profit is detrimental to the social well-being of people and explain how capitalism is divisive and why this can pose negative outcomes for individuals and communities. It is with these arguments that outline the need for a fundamental change to how our economy is structured and managed.
Firstly, Wood starts off her argument by rejecting the Commercialization model of Capitalism, which is that markets had always existed—the transition to the capitalist market is a change in quantity rather than quality. She disputes the idea that Capitalism is a kind of natural human progress. The distinctive characteristic of the c...
The political analysis of an organization begins with the identification of the stakeholders “groups that have a shared ‘stake’ that is affected by what the organization is and how it carries out its activities (Ancona et al., 2005: M-2, 35)” The CEO of Dynacorp is ultimately responsible for the turnaround of the company and its success versus its competition. The front end of the company is divided into three geographic areas. Carl Greystone, Executive Vice President of US Customer Operations, manages the largest of the geographic areas (Dynacorp Revisited, 2005: M-2, 86-87). The geographic areas are divided further into regions; Ben Walker is a Vice President overseeing the Northeast Region and reports to Greystone (Dynacorp Revisited, 2005: M-2, 87).
A corporation was originally designed to allow for the forming of a group to get a single project done, after which it would be disbanded. At the end of the Civil War, the 14th amendment was passed in order to protect the rights of former slaves. At this point, corporate lawyers worked to define a corporation as a “person,” granting them the right to life, liberty and property. Ever since this distinction was made, corporations have become bigger and bigger, controlling many aspects of the economy and the lives of Americans. Corporations are not good for America because they outsource jobs, they lie and deceive, and they knowingly make and sell products that can harm people and animals, all in order to raise profits.
Capitalism is an economic system where a country’s production, distribution of goods and services, for profit are controlled by private owners in a competitive free market. Capitalism is the economic system that the United States has always been using and is commonly associated with the American Dream; where anyone can become rich and successful regardless of background and environment. In Joseph Heller’s satire, Catch-22, Heller satirizes multiple vice and follies that exists in the United States such as religion and bureaucracy of the U.S government. One of Heller’s criticism of society, capitalism, is still a prevalent issue to this day. In Catch-22, the squadron’s mess officer of the U.S Army Air corps in Pianosa, Milo Minderbinder, is a satire of a modern businessman and a character that Heller uses to expose how dangerous the profit-mentality of capitalism can be. Heller’s text in challenging a specific vice or folly through satire proved to be exceptionally effective as today’s current issues continue to mimic those in Catch-22.
The Principle of Separate Corporate Personality The principle of separate corporate personality has been firmly established in the common law since the decision in the case of Salomon v Salomon & Co Ltd[1], whereby a corporation has a separate legal personality, rights and obligations totally distinct from those of its shareholders. Legislation and courts nevertheless sometimes "pierce the corporate veil" so as to hold the shareholders personally liable for the liabilities of the corporation. Courts may also "lift the corporate veil", in the conflict of laws in order to determine who actually controls the corporation, and thus to ascertain the corporation's true contacts, and closest and most real connection. Throughout the course of this assignment I will begin by explaining the concept of legal personality and describe the veil of incorporation. I will give examples of when the veil of incorporation can be lifted by the courts and statuary provisions such as s.24 CA 1985 and incorporate the varying views of judges as to when the veil can be lifted.
It is known that corporations play a large part in making the world go around. Many times we read, hear or see stories on companies and why something was done a certain way. The film “The Corporation” has given a whole new insight to not only how businesses operate but what motivates them and their decisions that they make to keep their businesses thriving.