According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, this is the definition of the word partiality:
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par·tial·i·ty noun \ˌpär-shē-ˈa-lə-tē, pär-ˈsha-lə-tē\
: an unfair tendency to treat one person, group, or thing better than another
: a tendency to like something or someone
***
While that seems true and is deemed to be the utmost correct term of that specific word, it seems like the systems of businesses/organizations of today’s society managed to give the word partiality a third meaning that should be added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. As of December of 2013, the Merriam Webster Dictionary’s definition for the word partiality should look like this:
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par·tial·i·ty noun \ˌpär-shē-ˈa-lə-tē, pär-ˈsha-lə-tē\
: an unfair tendency to treat one person, group, or thing better than another
: a tendency to like something or someone
: the thing that gives many companies the drive to stay open
***
Now the question is why? Why are those two extra definitions necessary to add to the dictionary? Well quite frankly, that is a very good question. Most would that consider those two extra definitions to be blatantly off topic. Well they’re not.
Every single company in this world needs money in order for it to stay open and running. There is not one company or organization out there that is able to run and be stable free of any charges. For instance, let’s take a look at the convenience store/pharmacy franchise best known as CVS (or Consumer Value Stores). CVS, on a day-to-day basis, is selling products to consumers, then re-buying those products in order to sell it/them to the next wave of consumers. This topic isn’t going to be stretched out and hung to dry, but that was just a little example explaining the importance of money in an organization and how it allows them to stay open and be successful every single day of the year.
While that method has been successful for many organizations, it is the WRONG thing to do. With “wrong” being said, they are very unethical and unfair to their workers, but they’re also going against something that they agreed to when in the beginning stages of founding their company. This thing that they’re going against is called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Companies that practice CSR are required to abide to international norms and ethical standards. In other words, they have to treat every person equally, regardless of what characterizes them. Remember, the CSR must be practiced in an organization in order for it to legally stay open, even though many companies disregard this act. As the chapter continues, examples will be presented of companies that neglect the CSR even though they are open and successful corporations.
To get the ball rolling, let’s take a look at the first definition for impartiality that was added to the top. This definition of impartiality reads:
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: the thing that gives many companies the drive to stay open
***
This definition of impartiality is pretty much stating that there are a lot of companies in the world that have the ability to stay open if they would like to, but the attributes of being impartial and unequal are what give the overseer(s) of a company/most companies the drive and compassion to keep a business up and running. As a first example, let’s take a look at three of the most successful companies in the United States, Walmart, Target, and J.C. Penny. According to an article written by Rick Ungar through Forbes back in April of 2013…
“Meanwhile, Costco’s primary competitor, Walmart, saw an anemic 1.2 percent rise in sales, while other competitors such as J.C. Penny and Target experienced even greater disasters in their sales results.”
When Rick Ungar wrote this quote in his article, he’s pretty much saying that Walmart had a surplus in sales, while J.C. Penny and Target experienced a decline in sales. Continuing on with this notion, let’s look at these two quotes from Fool.com:
“Target actually improved its employee happiness by 12%.”
***
par·tial·i·ty noun \ˌpär-shē-ˈa-lə-tē, pär-ˈsha-lə-tē\
: an unfair tendency to treat one person, group, or thing better than another
: a tendency to like something or someone
***
While that seems true and is deemed to be the utmost correct term of that specific word, it seems like the systems of businesses/organizations of today’s society managed to give the word partiality a third meaning that should be added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. As of December of 2013, the Merriam Webster Dictionary’s definition for the word partiality should look like this:
***
par·tial·i·ty noun \ˌpär-shē-ˈa-lə-tē, pär-ˈsha-lə-tē\
: an unfair tendency to treat one person, group, or thing better than another
: a tendency to like something or someone
: the thing that gives many companies the drive to stay open
***
Now the question is why? Why are those two extra definitions necessary to add to the dictionary? Well quite frankly, that is a very good question. Most would that consider those two extra definitions to be blatantly off topic. Well they’re not.
Every single company in this world needs money in order for it to stay open and running. There is not one company or organization out there that is able to run and be stable free of any charges. For instance, let’s take a look at the convenience store/pharmacy franchise best known as CVS (or Consumer Value Stores). CVS, on a day-to-day basis, is selling products to consumers, then re-buying those products in order to sell it/them to the next wave of consumers. This topic isn’t going to be stretched out and hung to dry, but that was just a little example explaining the importance of money in an organization and how it allows them to stay open and be successful every single day of the year.
While that method has been successful for many organizations, it is the WRONG thing to do. With “wrong” being said, they are very unethical and unfair to their workers, but they’re also going against something that they agreed to when in the beginning stages of founding their company. This thing that they’re going against is called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Companies that practice CSR are required to abide to international norms and ethical standards. In other words, they have to treat every person equally, regardless of what characterizes them. Remember, the CSR must be practiced in an organization in order for it to legally stay open, even though many companies disregard this act. As the chapter continues, examples will be presented of companies that neglect the CSR even though they are open and successful corporations.
To get the ball rolling, let’s take a look at the first definition for impartiality that was added to the top. This definition of impartiality reads:
***
: the thing that gives many companies the drive to stay open
***
This definition of impartiality is pretty much stating that there are a lot of companies in the world that have the ability to stay open if they would like to, but the attributes of being impartial and unequal are what give the overseer(s) of a company/most companies the drive and compassion to keep a business up and running. As a first example, let’s take a look at three of the most successful companies in the United States, Walmart, Target, and J.C. Penny. According to an article written by Rick Ungar through Forbes back in April of 2013…
“Meanwhile, Costco’s primary competitor, Walmart, saw an anemic 1.2 percent rise in sales, while other competitors such as J.C. Penny and Target experienced even greater disasters in their sales results.”
When Rick Ungar wrote this quote in his article, he’s pretty much saying that Walmart had a surplus in sales, while J.C. Penny and Target experienced a decline in sales. Continuing on with this notion, let’s look at these two quotes from Fool.com:
“Target actually improved its employee happiness by 12%.”
“Based on the variety of products sold in Costco, Target, and Wal-Mart, a customer would have a difficult time telling one apart from another. But when the products are set aside, one thing does, in fact, separate Wal-Mart, Target, and Costco from one another – the happiness of their employees.”
Walmart is very well known for not treating all of their co-workers equally and being very unfair when it comes down to how much everyone is getting paid and what benefits are being received. With that being said, you can see that while the companies that treat their co-workers with respect (like Target and Costco) have a higher happiness percentage, they’re in the end not making as much money as possible. Where on the other hand, the companies that are being very impartial to their co-workers (like Walmart) are making more money in the end, allowing them to be the more successful company.
Although most people would rather have a stable job that treats each other with equal respect, most people will work anywhere. Because of the horrible economy is today’s day and age, people are left desperately begging for any job that is open for them. With that being said, companies like Walmart couldn’t care less who they are hiring in the end, as long as they’re saving money, not spending a lot on benefits, and keeping everything under control.
To close things off, it most certainly seems like that third definition should be an addition to the dictionary. It seems like many people are unaware of the impartiality of companies like Walmart. These people could easily be educated on this topic if it were to be placed in the books that are opened millions of times per year.
Walmart is very well known for not treating all of their co-workers equally and being very unfair when it comes down to how much everyone is getting paid and what benefits are being received. With that being said, you can see that while the companies that treat their co-workers with respect (like Target and Costco) have a higher happiness percentage, they’re in the end not making as much money as possible. Where on the other hand, the companies that are being very impartial to their co-workers (like Walmart) are making more money in the end, allowing them to be the more successful company.
Although most people would rather have a stable job that treats each other with equal respect, most people will work anywhere. Because of the horrible economy is today’s day and age, people are left desperately begging for any job that is open for them. With that being said, companies like Walmart couldn’t care less who they are hiring in the end, as long as they’re saving money, not spending a lot on benefits, and keeping everything under control.
To close things off, it most certainly seems like that third definition should be an addition to the dictionary. It seems like many people are unaware of the impartiality of companies like Walmart. These people could easily be educated on this topic if it were to be placed in the books that are opened millions of times per year.
Additional multimedia
I asked my friends on Facebook
a question that I felt like was a good
piece to help unify this entire chapter.
The question is...
In your opinion, what is the
responsibility of corporations?
It was very interesting to see all of the
ideas commented onto the status. Take
note that every person that commented
on this status is in high school. So although
the ideas may contradict, and possibly
negate one another, it's interesting to see
the ideas on corporations for once come
out of the minds of the young.