Retracting Offers, professional integrity

[purduefrank]

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Well, that’s sort of a cop out, isn’t it?

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<p>I wouldn’t call it a cop out, I mean your statement assumed that my personal opinions were not valid under the pretence that your personal opinions did not agree with them. From an ethical standpoint like that you describe here

Deontological and utilitarian theories disagree in several instances, but for many common ethical situations most philosophers agree on what is ethically acceptable, obligatory, and prohibited.

I would whole heartedly disagree that there are widely accepted norms across the board on things like retracting intern offers, I didn’t say the OP should murder someone. </p>

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Fair enough, but I think we can agree that this is sort of a smokescreen. Sure, McDonald’s has had a huge impact on my life, although I’ve never worked there or known anybody who did.

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I don’t see a compelling reason to take anything into account for this decision except for the terms of the offer and agreement.

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<p>Everything, from their health insurance to the roof over their head to their elderly years spent either in peace or anxiety, rest on the shoulders of most people’s employer. A company like McDonalds has notoriously had one of the highest turnover rates in the country, why? Let’s look at this for a minute. The average McDonalds employee has little to no other job options and makes roughly 7.35$/hr, do you think you can survive making that? Probably not, so you’ll need to work more than one job or extra hours, of which, McDonalds doesn’t pay extra for overtime. However, while they refuse to pay you overtime they also churn out, as of 2008, 4.3 billion annually in profit. Now, if you go look at McDonald’s website they’ll tout the extraordinary benefits they offer their employees – but, scroll past the websites affiliated with McDonalds and you will start to find stories like this</p>

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72-year-old McDonald’s employee can finally retire thanks to lottery… During her 39 years with McDonald’s she managed five different locations. She started her career with McDonald’s in 1970 in Forest Park, GA and moved up to management in 1984. Since then she’s managed five different stores in the area… Pierce-Boykin paid off her house and replaced her '94 Buick with a new Toyota Camry. She now finally has the money she needs to stop working and do the things she’s always wanted to do.

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<p>Here’s Nell, at 72 she’s been near the top of her career for many years managing numerous locations. She’s dedicated her life to McDonalds and at 72 this poor elderly woman was still stuck in the grind. Up until now we’ve ignored the issues outside of employees like Nell, who are the ones directly affected by McDonalds, but let’s look at how you or I might also be experiencing some negative side effects of this mega corporation. </p>

<p>McDonalds has been notorious for suing those who speak ill about their practices, however, a great resource worth exploring the countless court cases they’ve been involved with and the countless articles written supporting those who’ve so-called defamed them can be searched for here [Issues:</a> introduction](<a href=“http://www.mcspotlight.org/issues/intro.html]Issues:”>Issues: introduction). They spend billions advertising the food that has surely caused both yours and my health coverage to increase dramatically over the years in order to pay for the health problems of our countries obese. They’ve helped deplete food supplies in some of the poorest countries on earth so that I can get my nuggets for a handful of change, and I, personally, don’t think starvation taste that good. Whether you’re a global warming believer or not, take a look at the street corner of your nearest metropolitan area and tell me if you see any trash scattered about with a big M on it. Despite their large negative publicity fighting efforts aimed to deceive you into thinking they’re doing their part to cut down on unneeded waste, surely you can agree they might want to look at doing a little more. They recently have admitted to using beef grown on depleted rainforest land which has prevented the forest from growing back. On top of all this they’ve spent millions in lobbying efforts influencing the laws that affect not only you or I, but every other American

McDonald’s group was the leading force behind this fall’s $13 million advertising campaign in the United States, which warned that strict reductions in greenhouse gases would cause catastrophic economic results and endanger the lifestyle of every American.

…this is a quote from the KYOTO climate change conference where our world leaders sit and decide just how much they’re willing to be bought off by McDonalds and other mega corps.
… In respect to the issue at hand, my point is simple. I’m not saying it’s wrong to work for McDonalds or any other large corporation, you don’t have much of a choice. However, I am saying that retracting an offer or maneuvering your way through our corporate landscape with your own personal agenda in mind is not only the right thing to do, but necessary in order to end up with a better situation at 72 than our elderly friend Nell.</p>

<p>Let me also say that I don’t think things should be like this, and I wish they weren’t. Hopefully, at some point in life people like you or I will be in the position to administer change… My father had his pension completely terminated after 30 years of service, the company lobbied heavily in Washington and persuaded the top courts to rule in favor of legally stealing over a million dollars from him. My uncle, a Vietnam special ops vet swam miles up snake filled canals at the seasoned age of 18 to slit the throats of enemy combatants while they slept – went on to fly F-18s, and eventually entered corporate America as somewhat of a war hero… today, with his pension also terminated after years of service, he works for less than I will make coming out of school. Others in my family have had similar experiences, thus, it is my belief that corporate dealings should be left impersonal – most of these people and their company’s do not care about you or your family’s wellbeing.</p>