JULY 28th

THE ROLE OF CORPORATIONS IN THE ACTUAL CONTEXT

The last class was very interesting because we could wonder about something that influences so much our lives, we talk about " the role of corporations".

At the beginning of the class ,the professor explained us what this blog activity is about, we are going to summary each class and we are going to answer a question supported on what we saw in the session but also in some resources.

Then we saw a documentary called " THE CORPORATION" that shows how they have become extremely important for the world, as they generate enormous benefits and profits but also a lot of damage.

Before continuing, let`s define WHAT IS A CORPORATION?

A financial dictionary define it as " A legal entity that is separate and distinct from its owners" this is explain by Ambrose Bierce as " An ingenious device for obtaining profit without individual responsibility" .

As we saw in the documentary it is true because legally a corporation is not a group of people but a legal person that has the same rights and obligations of any other person, however, its first responsibility are its stakeholders and its main goal its to gain as much profits as it can.

How is that a legal person become so important for the world?

It is because some corporations are bigger than some countries

(1) Measured by value added or GDP, 2000, Million dollars.

Also they represent the most important external financial source of the developing countries (foreign direct investment), so their decisions have a strong impact in all aspects in the world.

As they are the most important non state actors today , they have gain so much power and their impacts bring both negative and positive things.

Positive actions of corporations:

• Much of them produce goods and services that make our life easier
• They generate employment
• They increases national income
• As they are key actors in the globalization boom, they carry with them the opportunity of transfer new technologies every where
• Globalization of products
• Investment increases in developing countries

Negative actions of corporations:

• Violation of human rights
• Child labor
• Environmental damage
• Driving toward cheaper & cheaper labour
• Exploitative practices

Sometimes these crimes go unaccounted or are just forgiven by a fine much smaller than the damage caused.

So it is clear that in the actual context which is call " globalization " , the corporations are playing a determinant role, they are making this world more profitable but at expenses of anything or anyone. To change this it is necessary the states to control the actions of these business, not closing the doors for them but regulating them more strongly in order that they prefer not a more profitable world but a better quality of life for all who live in it.

This kind of class make us aware of that , because sometimes the propaganda just influences us to gain money and then buy and buy a lot of things without thinking how that things were produce, by whom, where or over which conditions,we can require something better and in the future we have to be good ownerships or respectable and respected workers.

At the end of this class we discuss what we saw in the video and we all conclude that the end do not justify the means.

Bibliography

(1). Mortimore,Michael.2003."Globalization & trasnational organizations".Available at: http://www.eclac.cl/ddpe/agenda/4/15304/Globa-trans-corp.pdf

(2) "Positive and negative effects of Multinationals". Available at: http://www.socialscience.gardner-webb.edu/Faculty/craymond/Devdocs/DevMNCposneg.htm

(3) Corporation definition. Available at:http://www.investorwords.com/1140/corporation.html

(4) Financial dictionary. Available at: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/corporation