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Individualism Mechanism in Modern Corporations
Without guidance from morality, it is naturally that corporations move towards individualism to some extent. In modern corporations, the imbalances of enterprise ethics aggravate the phenomenon of individualism, which is also an extreme reaction. Bakan describes the corporation as “the pathological pursuit of profit and power”. A value of “the profit is the only rule” causes nothing but negative effects on corporations. Only under a principle and moral corporate system constraints, the corporation can achieve long-term development. In this paper, I will primarily discuss the key negative individualisms existing in corporations, mainly reflected in their responsibility to society and employees, leading to effective resolutions for business management.
The corporation is an institution – a unique structure and set of imperatives that direct the actions of people within it (Bakan 1). The corporation itself is an organic whole, and every single employee is part of the whole. In this case, it is mutual responsibilities between the employee and the corporation for each other. A truly preeminent corporation should build an outstanding culture, which is that the corporation’s excellence is not from the demands to their employees but how to treat their employees. However, for the employee, concerning the corporation should be initial issue. On the basis, they should help to create and protect a favorable image and reputation for their corporation.
Individualism is of two kinds in corporations: one is positive individualism and the other is negative individualism. Positive individualism is in the context of collectivism, to pursue and maximize their interests based upon protecting common benefits. However, the important characteristic of negative individualism is self-centered and egoism, which basically is behaved in two respects, the social responsibility and the employee responsibility.
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