http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/11/a-new-business-strategy-treating-employees-well/383192/
The article cited above references corporations that are working to treat their empolyees like people and not having their needs or wants come in last place. As we discussed in class, the mistreatment of workers has had a long history in both the U.S. and around the world. Many corporations seem to believe that profits must be made this way. However, I do not believe this to be the case. As this article referenced, there is a long-term view for these companies that treat their workers with respect and dignity. As the world spreads information more and more rapidly, gaining a good reputation becomes more important for companies. People do not look to work at companies they have heard horrible things about when they know of other options where they can be paid more and treated better.
These companies are forming these policies and ideas without national or international regulations demanding that they do such. These companies make a great deal of profit and have been around as long as (and longer than many) companies that treat their workers horribly. Obviously, a profit is important in the world of business but these corporations have realized that by treating employees better they have a higher productivity, are more likely to stay, and gain more qualified employees in the long run as well.
This is nice to hear that companies are putting their workers first. I just hope that it is something that will remain consistent and be communicated to other companies. I also hope for the companies that are still exploiting their workers that it becomes viral and gets shut down. In the end it would be great for companies to recognize the importance of each individual and putting them first should mean more than making an extra dollar. This is the right move forward and I hope more and more companies want good reputations and better qualifications for their workers.
ReplyDeleteProfits will always be important to business, it is the point of business. But treating workers horribly does not help with profits today. Word travels fast, like you said, with the advances in technology. This means one of two things. People don't want to work for your company and people do not want to buy your products. This seriously damages companies profit margins, so now they are adopting friendlier policies. However, this doesn't seem to be the case for large companies such as apple and nike. They horribly abuse their workers for the sole purpose of increasing profits, yet no one stops buying Iphones and nike shoes.
ReplyDeleteWell, in economics there are plenty of practices related to treating employees relatively well and creating growth as a result of that. For example, many companies pay out what's call efficiency wages, which theorizes that that it may benefit firms to pay workers a wage higher than their marginal revenue product. Paying them a higher wage may lead to increased productivity, company loyalty, etc. Many of the best and most successful companies thrive because of how well they treat their workers in regards to benefits, which in return becomes more productivity.
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