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Ethics in Business


2010
08.31

Posted in Life in Amreeka, The Way I Am, The Way I See It | No Comments »

I think the corporation is one of the most underrated innovations in the history of commerce. Perhaps, to a certain extent, in the whole of human civilization. For the first time in history, we have given an entity the ability to live and grow indefinitely. And being humans, we have defined the only basis for its growth as monetary profit. Just by defining the corporation in the way we have, we’ve set ourselves up for failure.

I was reading the list of ingredients on my hand soap, trying to figure out what makes it smell as good as it does and I realized that soap manufacturers are not required to list all the ingredients on their product if the ingredient constitutes less than 2% of the whole. Since they’re not required to, they don’t. Why should they? The fewer unpronounceable names of toxic chemicals I see on there, the happier I feel and the more likely I am to use it. A lot of people would say it’s sneaky. Or that it violates the spirit of the law. I think it’s to be expected.

If the only thing a company is responsible for is making money, why should it bother about doing the right thing. I’m not saying no company ever does the right thing or that it should not. I’m just saying there are no incentives for a company to do the right thing. Walmart’s the best example I can think of. If Walmart started to care about where it gets the stuff it sells, or how the people who help sell the stuff get by, they wouldn’t sell as much stuff anymore. The only thing that keeps Walmart going is the “everyday low prices”. The lower the prices, the more junk everyone buys, the more profit Walmart makes and the more customers it attracts even in the middle of a recession.

The more I think about this, the more I feel that regulation is not the solution to the problem. It’s time for companies to be evaluated on more than their stock price. It’s hypocritical to want a portfolio that would help me retire by 35 and still want companies to do the right thing so our own conscience doesn’t hurt. We can’t keep hoping that huge corporations will feel sorry for the little people and be nicer to them and the environment they’re trashing. It just won’t happen.

I’ve wondered many times if I’m a socialist. Given how I would like to see a cap on growth, fair distribution of wealth and labor rights and just a generally equal society. I know I’m an environmentalist (whatever that means) given I am all for sustainable growth, less consumption and generally less trash. But now I realize, I’m just an idealist. I keep hoping for a future that rational thinking tells me will never happen.

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Add New Post


2010
08.04

Posted in Life, Randomness, The Way I Am, The Way I Say It, The Way I See It, Too Much Time | 3 Comments »

Here are some thoughts I had for blog posts. I can’t seem to be able to follow up on them and write a long enough or even a halfway decently structured post. It’s quite a mishmash but bleh! who cares?

Are Saris dying?

Why do such few women of our generation wear saris anymore? I’m not against western attire and I know jeans and kurtis are probably the new national dress of urban Indian women but it seems a shame that western business wear at work and “fusion wear” at weddings are the norm instead of just another addition to a woman’s wardrobe. I’m all for a little black dress on some occasions but I wonder how many woman have a sexy black chiffon sari in their wardrobes too… Nothing beats a sari for elegance, grace, sensuality and showing off your curves. And let’s not forget the added advantage of not having to shave your legs to wear one!

The Great Indian Family

What’s the Indian family like? What are some of the eccentricities that everyone can relate to? Can we agree on some standard characters? How many of these sound familiar?

There’s usually a wise old woman in every family who can tell you “the way things were always done” in the family, who seems to know everyone’s birthday and anniversary and the names of everyone’s kids… You know, the person who’s always at the center of every family photograph (sometimes even seated between the bride and groom in the “new family” photo).

There’s always an uncle or aunt who never tells you when they’re coming for a visit and refuses to take subtle (and not so subtle) hints about their departure. There’s usually a diabetic uncle or aunt who gorges on sweets and rice and complains about their knees. There are usually some cousins who want you to know how well they’re doing abroad (who always bring you a bag of Hershey’s candy and treat you like you’re their sole link to India).

There’s usually a bratty sister or brother, perhaps the youngest in the family, who thinks he/she’s always right who you can never please (hey! that sounds a little like me!). There’s the Buddha of the family. You know, the peacemaker, the person who can never admit that one person is right and the other wrong. They just refuse to lose composure no matter what the level of drama. Which brings us to the drama queen. And there’s usually a loyal servant too, somewhere in the picture. And lots of other people who tend to blend into the background except when there’s drama…

The Need for Well Toned Midriffs

There’s being comfortable with your body and then there’s just plain unsightly. Why can’t some people just hide their flabby/unattractive body parts (I was referring to arms, legs and beer bellies. What were you thinking about dusht buddhi?). I realize there are some unrealistic expectations out there. You’re supposed to be about 20 lb underweight but look curvy just the same. But just because you’re rebelling against the anorexic look imposed by the media it doesn’t mean you have to wear clothes that show off every bit of extra weight you’re carrying. Why is it politically incorrect to say, “Don’t wear a chiffon sari if you don’t have a well toned midriff”? or, just to expect people to wear well fitting clothes that make them look nice instead of well, you know what… I know… No one’s perfect all the time but you know what I mean…

Time Freeze

When we leave a place or person and go back after a long time, we’re always surprised to see that they’ve changed. It’s like the place/person is frozen in time in our minds and we just don’t want to accept that they’ve gone one with their lives. Being shocked by how much your parents have aged since you last saw them. Being thrown off by new trends that have become the norm since you were last in your hometown. It’s not just about familiar landmarks disappearing. It’s almost as if the culture/values you’ve anchored yourself by are suddenly lost. Someone who hasn’t been in India for over twenty years is shocked that young people in India date. I’m surprised by the shift from the sabzi mandi to supermarkets. That sort of thing. Why is it so hard to accept the change we haven’t been a part of?

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Indian Culture


2010
06.19

Posted in My Political Stand, The Way I Am, The Way I Say It, The Way I See It, Through a Woman's Eyes | 1 Comment »

How does one define “Indian Culture”? And more importantly, why is “Indian Culture” always defined in terms of what women should and should not do?

It is against “Indian Culture” for women to drink, smoke, to enter a pub, to be “caught” talking to a men, to wear anything that doesn’t cover one from head to toe (barring the six inches of midriff that a sari exposes), to talk back to one’s in-laws or one’s men-folk, to have a mind of her own, to protest against being bargained for, sold, raped, assaulted, verbally abused, harassed for dowry, be married off against her will, be groped by men on the bus who treat her like she’s public property, to be treated like a prostitute if she wears lipstick and well fitting jeans, to be a prostitute because her family sold her into it… It’s against “Indian Culture” for a woman to expect the husband to chip in with the chores even though she slogs in the office all day to earn as much or (God forbid!) more than her husband. It’s against “Indian Culture” for a woman to bear anything but a boy child. Against “Indian Culture” for a woman to even wonder, for a moment, what life would be like without the rules that constrain her. Against “Indian Culture” for a woman to even challenge why she is treated as an inferior human being just because of her gender. Against “Indian Culture” for an educated woman to question why she must “listen” to her in-laws and be led by what they say. And “Indian Culture” to believe that the purpose of her life is to serve others.

What about the men? Why is it ok for men to wear jeans and “western” clothes? For men to smoke and drink and go to pubs? If it’s against Indian Culture for a woman to ever have sex except with her husband (and to promptly get pregnant with a boy-child), who do the men get to have sex with? Each other? Oops! That’s against “Indian Culture” too. It’s acceptable for men to hit their wives, to demand dowry, to stay home unemployed, to have baby girls killed (either in the womb or otherwise) to sell their wives and daughters into prostitution, to harass in-laws, and generally act superior because they possess an extra appendage. It’s “Indian Culture” for a man to decide that he “owns” his wife and to make decisions without consulting her. It’s “Indian Culture” for a man to set his feet up and watch TV while his wife slaves in the kitchen. “Indian Culture” to assault a woman and then say, “She asked for it”.

Who defines “Indian Culture”, anyway? Where does “Indian Culture” come from? With Mohenjo Daro and Harappa? With the Aryans? With the Dravidians? With the Vedas that are now lost except for selective memory? With Kautilya who defined women and cattle as prized possessions? With men who are not man enough to accept that women are people too? Why are we defined by rules distorted over millennia? Why do we let Baba Ramdev tell us homosexuality is a disease that can be cured with yoga? Why do we let principals of schools decide that women “provoke” men and “ask” to be sexually assaulted? Why do we refuse to believe that child abuse exists? That Human Trafficking in India is close to the worst in the world? Why do we (Indian women) wrap ourselves in nine yards of silk just because we wonder what people will think if we refuse to do so?

I’m sick of people going on and on and on about “Indian Culture”. And I’m sicker still of the moderates who refuse to get a voice and do something about it. I’m sick of people who decide that they’re the keepers of the Great Indian Culture. Sometimes, I feel the Egyptians did well to abandon all of their ancient civilization except for the pyramids.

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