Re: Ethical Companies (no flame wars, please)

["Martin Page" <mpage -at- csl -dot- co -dot- uk>]

I was going to put just "not tobacco" and "not baby milk or torture
equipment to third world countries" - but Suzanne has made me think: there
are good pragmatic/selfish reasons for avoiding companies with unethical
business practices since, as in Suzanne's case, sooner or later they'll get
caught out and go to the wall leaving the employees high and dry.

For similarly selfish reasons, I'd also avoid companies with exploitative
internal cultures: e.g., I know of - but haven't worked for - an institution
with a macho tradition of presenteeism (sp?), when my friend goes for his
half-hour lunch break, he gets the "What? Are you working part time?" from
his colleagues. And that's all the time, not just when there's a rush on.

M

"Suzanne Chiles" <suzchiles -at- pobox -dot- com> wrote in message
news:147605 -at- techwr-l -dot-  -dot-  -dot- 
>
> In my case, it was a company I was working for, which sold large fax
> messaging systems to international country-wide Telco companies. The
company
> is now, thankfully, long defunct.
>
> I was required to write manuals for products/features that had been "sold"
> to the customer, but had not been, nor would they ever, be built. Just
> having the manual delivered to the customer was "proof" that they had
> delivered. The systems were so large and so complex that this so-called
> company would figure out a way to build that product/feature before the
> customer discovered the problem.
>
> I couldn't take it and I quit. In part, because I was so good at writing
> manuals for imaginary products and was rather ashamed at my part in this
> duplicity.
>
> Other evidence of unethical behavior at the company:
>
> - Employees were verbally harassed and subjective to threats and
profanity.
> - In the last three months of the company's existence, the company did not
> pay health insurance premiums to the health care provider, without telling
> the employees. This resulted in financial ruin for several employees who
had
> put in claims for surgeries and hospital stays.
> - Stuck all the profits in Swiss accounts and had no cash available during
> the bankruptcy proceedings and resulting lawsuits.
> - Stopped paying vendors months before the end.
>
> The saddest sight was each 2 or 3 months, after all the existing coffee
> service machines had been removed, was a new vendor bringing in his
> equipment.
>
> It was a horrible, horrible place.
>
> Suzanne
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From:  Geoff Purchase
> >
> > What I'd like to know is what are the definitions of "unethical"
> > companies?
>
>
>



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