Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
27 Feb 2005 11:40 PST
jax3-ga,
The subject of your question is one of my favorite topics, and I'd
love to be able to tackle this one for you. But so far...I can't
quite figure out just what you'd like from Google Answers.
Corporations exist all over the world...I've seen estimates that there
are 50 million of them. They operate in wildy different fashions due
to different national laws, different local customs, different
businesses, and differences in the particular corporate culture.
Internally, very few (if any) corporations are democratic in their
organization -- there are bosses at the top who rule the roost, and
that's that.
However, publicly-traded corporations have an element of democracy
thrust upon them, as shareholders get to do things like issue
resolutions, and vote on the corporation's actions.
Corporations in democratic countries probably take on some democratic
values, and may even be compelled to do so by national laws.
Lastly, international corporations are increasingly working under a
set of international guidelines imposed by groups like the World Trade
Organization. Whether these promote or hinder democracy depends a lot
on who you ask.
But democratic or not, there's no escaping the simple fact that the
bulk of the world's population still lives in poverty, and the actions
of corporations (and the subsequent wealth they create) haven't yet
benefited most of the world's poor and -- some would argue -- have
further entrenched their poverty.
With that as brief background, what sort of information would you like
to have on this compelling and important topic.
Let me know,
pafalafa-ga
