OT: corporate responsibility, was Re: EVrelated(Siemens Electronic Brake)

[Bryan Andersen <bryan@visi.com>]

"David Roden (Akron OH USA)" wrote:
> 
> On 29 Mar 2002 at 12:41, Richard Furniss wrote:
> 
> >     Why would a gas valve company want to cheat getting there valve through
> > FMEA when they know chances are that it will ruin the company?
> 
> I wish it worked this way, but it doesn't.  Just as a teenager who takes up
> smoking can't believe that it may kill him in 40 years, the corporate
> mentality is such that short-term profit rules and consequences seem too
> distant to imagine.  At the design stage, legal consequences are years off
> and may never happen.  It's just too tempting.
> 
> Even if they do consider consequences, they know that throwing the money at
> attorneys and out-of-court settlements is more cost-effective than spending
> it on safety now.

Also remember is isn't your problem, it is your successor's 
problem.  With the speed corporate leadership changes hand, 
why spend money on safety.  They won't be around when it all 
blows up.

> [The nice thiing (for corporations) is that an out of court settlement means
> that nothing need be revealed to the public, especially when the plaintiff
> is bought off and signs a nondisclosure agreement.]
> 
> Let's face it, big corporations have it much too easy here.  They are less
> and less held accountable for their actions, and given more and more power.
> I may have missed something, but I don't know of any other country in the
> world where an automaker would actually attempt to sue a government entity
> over a law affecting it, as GM is doing with California.
> 
> Here in the US, corporations -- especially big fish like GM -- now actually
> have some rights that supersede those of individuals, and more immunity from
> prosecution.  That's why we need all the protection we can get, including
> legal standards.  The idea of self-policing sounds good, but in practice it
> doesn't work.  Unfortunately, Washington doesn't see it that way; they are
> deregulating industry as fast as they can.

Write your congress critters and speak your mind tactfully.  
Tell them your opinions.  Letters count allot.  Allot more 
than you think.  On average every letter is considered to 
represent 500-1000 silent opinions.  Do this for your state 
and local government critters too.

Speak up where you can be heard or forever hold your peace.

> Lee Hart has mentioned that what we need to keep corporations in line is
> something akin to Asimov's laws of robotics.  I think it's a good idea.

Off topic for EV stuff, but not for this thread.

Some good reading material can be found at these two sites:
    http://www.business-ethics.com/network.htm
    http://www.divinerightofcapital.com/is.htm

-- 
|  Bryan Andersen   |   bryan@visi.com   |   http://www.nerdvest.com   |
| Buzzwords are like annoying little flies that deserve to be swatted. |
|      "Linux, the OS Microsoft doesn't want you to know about.".      |
|   -Bryan Andersen                                                    |