35. I agree with the speaker that decisions and actions of businesses are too often
8 z' T/ i- v7 H) \, p# I"infected" by short sighted motives. Admittedly, attention to immediate results and
% F9 K. l/ e$ r/ O$ c8 }short-term goals may be critical, and healthy, for survival of a fledgling company.
5 g+ Q D6 |* P. z1 ~5 WHowever, for most established businesses, especially large corporations, failure to & p) z2 H0 y! Y' Z. Y/ V
adequately envision the long-term implications of their actions for themselves and for 1 e" o" L+ V9 I0 ~5 u/ s
others is all-too common and appropriately characterized as a "disease.", m2 i5 M# K. U& b8 h+ J
The business world is replete with evidence that companies often fail to envision
g7 n3 V# p W( }5 ?! c, T* Z' T/ bthe long-term implications of their actions for themselves. Businesses assume excessive * K5 l/ D8 R- V3 ~2 s- Y0 O, R
debt to keep up with booming business, ignoring the possibility of a future slowdown
( h2 H$ c) x4 v) R6 ?and resulting forfeiture or bankruptcy. Software companies hastily develop new
) [, t* n) a) b( R- ^* M) zproducts to cash in on this year's fad, ignoring bugs and glitches in their programs that . @7 _# {- B: G# A# D! Q' w( G, v
ultimately drive customers away. And manufacturers of inherently dangerous products 3 B# i6 W+ [# P+ j- p7 c
cut safety corners to enhance short-term profits, failing to see the future implications: ) I9 ~0 u! Y4 z9 T& G8 R4 p
class action liability suits, criminal sanctions, and shareholder revolts.
" |3 M3 a0 n1 [8 g Similarly, businesses fail to see implications of their actions for others. Motivated & `1 z5 u, U! S6 @
only by the immediate bottom line, movie studios ignore the deleterious effects that
" ^2 L+ O, o2 N4 i6 U( [movie violence and obscenity may have on their patrons and on the society at large. - V4 V9 V5 f/ s) B$ Q# b- c# ?' d
Captains of the energy industry pay lip service to environmental ramifications of
4 _! G3 g$ U- r6 B8 |7 V; I3 C" \& ?unbridled energy use for future generations, while their real concern is with ensuring , m$ |' Z# k; b4 q3 W
near-term dependence on the industry's products or services. And manufacturers of
) e; s% d9 F. ]& m+ D, G' E" m Pdangerous products do a long-term disservice to others, of course, by cutting corners in : {5 S8 [2 A+ K) e/ f
safety and health.* x! O6 x. C% }: E5 i
In sum, I think the criticism that businesses are too concerned with immediate 8 w2 v F/ n. u& k
results and not concerned enough with the long-term effects of their actions and 6 I* J- ]" G C! K. _
decisions is for the most part a fair assessment of modern-day business. |