We are told through media of all types from some of the biggest for-profit corporations that, for instance, our safety is their number one concern, or that protecting our credit is their highest priority, or that their care for the environment is their priority number one, and so on and so forth. Yet, as sweet as those words may sound, they are fundamentally not in accordance with the reality of the situation, especially in consideration, that the largest corporations in America, have not only a Board of Directors to answer to, but also the stockholders that collectively care a heck of a lot more about profits and growth, and not so much are concerned about safety or any other activities that would seem to take away from that profit and growth.
In a capitalistic society, the tradeoff between money and safety typically leans heavily to the profit side. Therefore, those in management want only to do what they have to do, to maintain some semblance of being safe in their activities. Though they may well have a department that addresses such, that department does not run the company but must itself toe the line within the company or else its funding or relevancy will be compromised. Indeed, the call for safety as being the number one priority is often no more than public relations, in which, the hope is that by saying the right words, or in being apologetic, or in promising to do better in the future, that this will make what has occurred, to be perceived as nothing much more than a one-time thing or considered then to be a tempest within a teapot.
It is vital that companies have values, and that these values have a necessary balance between the lust for profits and doing the right thing by society, and thereby protecting the general public, as well as the employees of a given corporation from undue harm. However, when it comes to gross margins, bonuses, stock options, and the focus of a company’s energy and effort, we find that again and again, that which could be done to bring forth more safety, safer products, or greater concern for environmental hazards created by corporations, and so forth, that doing the right thing, almost always takes a back seat to profit. This thus signifies that governmental agencies as well as journalists have a responsibility to hold to account these mighty corporations, for when they do not, all we get are apologies, and seldom do we get, the changes that are required for these corporations to actually be a good member in standing for society, at large.
Indeed, the more that we hear about how safety is the number one priority of a corporation, the more that we should demand of that company the proof that this is not only the actual mindset of such, but also all the evidence that would substantiate such, for when this is lacking, it is only fair to state that the words so being spoken, are empty and devoid of substance, and therefore these words are no more than misdirection and in their effect, an insult to the general public.