Values & Attitudes

When it comes to the values that each one of us have and the attitudes that we demonstrate in certain situations, we cand find a certain kind of conflict among our thoughts and those of other people. This excersice demonstrates us that for every situation we have different points of view which are all respectable.

The Alligator River Story

There lived a woman named Abigail who was in love with a man named Gregory. Gregory lived on the shore of a river. Abigail lived on the opposite shore of the same river. The river that separated the two lovers was teeming with dangerous alligators. Abigail wanted to cross the river to be with Gregory. Unfortunately, the bridge had been washed out by a heavy flood the previous week. So she went to ask Sinbad, a riverboat captain, to take her across. He said he would be glad to if she would consent to go to bed with him prior to the voyage. She promptly refused and went to a friend named Ivan to explain her plight. Ivan did not want to get involved at all in the situation. Abigail felt her only alternative was to accept Sinbad’s terms. Sinbad fulfilled his promise to Abigail and delivered her into the arms of Gregory. When Abigail told Gregory about her amorous escapade in order to cross the river, Gregory cast her aside with disdain. Heartsick and rejected, Abigail turned to Slug with her tale of woe. Slug, feeling compassion for Abigail, sought out Gregory and beat him brutally. Abigail was overjoyed at the sight of Gregory getting his due. As the sun set on the horizon, people heard Abigail laughing at Gregory.

After reading the story i'll rank the characters from the one that I perceive as most offensive (5) to the one least objectionable (1).

Abigail (5): I totally disagree with her attitude and i reproche it because i think that if you dont respect yourself how will you respect others? for me, the fact that she slept with Sinbad in order to get what she wanted is disrespectul for helself and also for Gregory her supposed boyfriend, she SHOULD have declined Sinbad's proposal. Not only her cheating attitude is gross but also when she cheered once Gregory was beaten by Slug. I think that she could have handled things in a better way.

Slug (4): He had nothing to do with the situation and yet he went to Gregory and hit him brutally without any justification. Even though he might have felt compassionate for Abigail that does not mean that he can go and attack someone. I think his attitude is unnaceptable.

Sinbad (3): His proposal was very rude and indecent, and I think he wanted to take advantage of the situation that Abigail was in. He could have helped her for free, but yet there is always some kind of interest involved. Even though he asked Abigail to have sex with him it was her fault to accept it as the only solution for her "problem".

Ivan (2): His fault was that he didnt act as a true friend for Abigail. He opted to stay out of the whole situation instead of helping her plan different solutions so she could see Gregory. He could have been more supportive.

Gregory (1): He had the most acceptable attitude of all. His attitude was to be expected because he was cheated on and he had all the right to end up his relationship with Abigail, he came up with the wisest decision.

HOW WOULD YOU RANK THEM ???

Picture taken from http://www.followsteph.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/right-and-wrong-decisions.jpg

The Corporation

Should individuals (directors, employees, shareholders) bear any responsibility for the actions of a corporation? If so, to what degree?

Even though corporations are “legal persons” and have the same rights and legal protections as regular people, unlike humans, they do not have a life of their own, meaning that they don’t make decisions, carry out their own actions and are not directly responsible for what they do. Their status of legal persons is just fictitious and it was created so companies could gain more power. Behind every corporation there is a group of people who seek to obtain major benefits without giving importance to the damage that they may cause to society.

In a major or minor degree every person involved in a corporation is responsible for the actions of the corporation, because humans have been raised up with values, morals and they are able to acknowledge what is ethically right or wrong. But I think a big part of the responsibility should fall on the shareholders and executives because they are the ones taking decisions and carrying out actions in name of the corporations, whereas employees sometimes don’t have other options than to follow the rules of their superiors. Individuals working inside the corporations are TOTALLY responsible for the damage they cause to society; may be in their daily life basis they can be the kind of person that worries about the environment, human and animal exploitation, poverty and work for their community, but inside the corporations they become part of that giant monster that threatens us all.

Unfortunately, humans have been characterized as being selfish individuals that seek their own benefits without thinking about the rest of the people. They are only worried about the outcomes and their main objective is to increase their profits. So basically, every time businesspeople come up with decisions they don’t see public health, poverty, pollution, illnesses, exploitation and the degradation of the biosphere as relevant factors to take into account before deciding something.

Throughout the years we have seen many corporations that have been sued for not obeying the law, for damaging the environment, or committing an outrage against the health of the people because of the excessive use of chemicals, and all they do is pay a fine and they go back to the same actions once again. Nowadays, as the degradation of the environment and the severe diseases affecting humans have become important issues, governments should strengthen their positions towards corporations and they must impose more severe sanctions for them.

What is the relation between national identity and corporate culture?

Culture has a strong significance in our life, the way we act, we talk, our beliefs and traditions have all been shaped by our culture. So, as part of any nation we are touched by what authors call national identity that is, the culture that characterizes a national group, influences the behavior of its members and differentiates them from other groups.

In a few years from now, once we graduate we will become part of a company or we will establish one of our own. Either way we will be touched by another form of culture that happens inside organizations, and it is known as corporate culture which is “the total sum of the values, customs, traditions and meanings that make a company unique. Corporate culture is often called "the character of an organization" since it embodies the vision of the company’s founders. The values of a corporate culture influence the ethical standards within a corporation, as well as managerial behavior” [1].

But what is the relation between national identity and corporate culture?

I think that corporate culture is molded by national identity. This is due to the fact that within organizations the founders, CEO’s, and managers are the ones in charge of coming up with and applying the customs, values, and symbols that they want for their company to make it an excellent place to work in. It is about what the members of a certain organization think about the corporation and feel towards it. Those values and costumes implemented can be strongly influenced by the ones that they have grown up with, the ones that they have learned through their life, and they will use them as guiding principles to run their companies.
We should give importance to corporate culture because it can determine whether your company will be successful or not.

As culture differs from country to country, corporate culture also differs from a company to another. Watch the clip above and think how working in Google differs from working in a company in your hometown.


[1]. Montana, P., Charnov, B. (2008) Management (4th ed.), Barrons Educational Series, Hauppauge:NY

Different approaches of Culture

Picture by: Ariel Arrieta

"Culture is the shared knowledge and schemes created by a set of people for perceiving, interpreting, expressing, and responding to the social realities around them".
Lederach, J.P. (1995). Preparing for peace: Conflict transformation across cultures. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.

"Culture consists in those patterns relative to behavior and the products of human action which may be inherited, that is, passed on from generation to generation independently of the biological genes".
Parson, T. (1949). Essays in Sociological Theory. Glencoe, IL.

Culture is “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society".
Tylor, E.B. (1871). Primitive Cultures.