Add a Comment   Up to OJB's Blog List

Social Responsibility

Entry 747, on 2008-04-18 at 19:45:49 (Rating 3, News)

Yesterday there were two major announcements from well known New Zealand businesses. One was from the ANZ Bank who said they would move 500 jobs from New Zealand to India. The other was from New Zealand appliance manufacturer Fisher and Paykel who announced they would close down a factory in Dunedin with the loss of 430 jobs.

Both companies are already making significant profits and seem to be simply trying to make even more by making these changes. The ANZ management claim that "No ANZ staff need lose their jobs" but this wording hints that they will need to make some major compromises to keep them. The unions expect most of the jobs to go but we will need to wait and see what really happens. Certainly neither the management nor the unions can be entirely trusted on this issue.

In some ways we can't blame the companies because when their competitors cut corners and take other cost cutting measures they really need to as well. Maybe what we need is some way to force companies into considering social and environmental factors as well as financial ones. Or maybe that's just unrealistic because the taxes and regulations necessary would just make everything far too expensive, complex, and bureaucratic. There are already companies which are more socially responsible than others and it would be nice if they were rewarded by consumers.

In the past I have bought a lot of F&P appliances because they had a fairly good reputation, but also because I wanted to support a local business. All of our F&P appliances are giving us problems of some sort so I will probably never buy another one now. I do currently bank with an Australian based bank (in the past all New Zealand banks were owned overseas so I had no choice) but I would go with New Zealand's Kiwibank if I was doing it again.

Maybe the saddest thing about the Fisher and Paykel decision is the cynical dishonesty. The chief executive said "Everyone at Fisher & Paykel prides themselves on the culture the company has developed and we operate within very close family values." So close family values means firing the staff so they can make a few extra bucks. Interesting definition. I have heard of a couple who both work at the plant who found out it was closing from a radio news bulletin. Nice family values indeed!

In some ways it would have been better if the CEO just came out and said: "Look, we are a corporation and we don't really care about much except making money. We have added up the numbers and this is the way we can make more profit so its what we are doing. Get over it". At least they would then possess the single positive attribute of honesty!

Comment 1 (1432) by Jim on 2008-04-21 at 14:21:41:

I'm not sure what you think OJB. First you seem to say you understand why the decision was made then you criticise the company and say you will never buy their products again. You seem very confused about this. Maybe its your left wing bias being mixed up with reality.

Comment 2 (1433) by SBFL on 2008-04-22 at 23:50:43:

Good point Jim. The greedy unions have only forced ANZ & F&P's hand. What's that saying? 'Don't bite the hand that feeds you'? Local and Australian firms need to remain competitive in the global world, but the lefties only look at NZ. A true socialist (they don't exist) would look at the bigger picture, and would see that jobs lost in NZ (very low unemployment so most will pick up a new job easily) mean wealth creation for families in India. Of course these lefties only care about India when some torch passes through it....

Comment 3 (1437) by OJB on 2008-04-23 at 13:57:12:

Oh so its all the unions' fault is it? What are you suggesting, that New Zealanders should work in virtual slave labour conditions like Chinese workers (who don't have unions to protect them). I'm sure all the rabid right would love that. Slavery has always been the most efficient economic system!

Is funny the way that every success in business is because of great management but every failure is always the workers' fault. Sorry, but neither of you have any credibility here!

You can leave comments about this entry using this form.

Enter your name (optional):
Enter your email address (optional):
Enter the number shown here:
Enter the comment:

To add a comment: enter a name and email (optional), type the number shown, enter a comment, click Add.
Note that you can leave the name blank if you want to remain anonymous.
Enter your email address to receive notifications of replies and updates to this entry.
The comment should appear immediately because the authorisation system is currently inactive.