<p>“That’s a personal choice, not a matter of validity.”
Well, that’s sort of a cop out, isn’t it? All decisions are a matter of personal choice. That doesn’t necessarily mean that all decisions are just as good as any others from an ethical, societal, etc. point of view. I’m a big fan of moral relativism as a system but I don’t think that society at large would be willing to accept that, and there’s nothing worse than inconsistency and hypocrisy… at least that’s how I choose to see it.</p>
<p>“That’s a large assumption and far from a fact. While I don’t want to get into much larger issues than the one at hand, nearly every large company in the country has impacted you either directly or indirectly through their actions.”
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. It has helped define American society in ways good and bad. Still, if I were in the OP’s situation wrt McDonald’s, I’m not sure I could really make a compelling argument that since fast food contributes to obesity that I have a moral objection to working there. This sounds like making excuses… perhaps I’m misunderstanding your point. I don’t see a compelling reason to take anything into account for this decision except for the terms of the offer and agreement. Please tell me if I’m misunderstanding something.</p>
<p>“Once again, the right thing here is an opinion.”
This is true to an extent, at least, but I suppose what I’m getting at is that while it is a matter of opinion it is not - or should not, anyway - be arbitrary. Clearly, we could just make all of our decisions by rolling a die… it’s just an opinion, right? Well, I don’t think any reasonable person would do that, and I don’t think any reasonable person makes ethical decisions without at least some rudiments of an ethical system in mind. 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. Differences are the exception rather than the rule… in any event, I would like to stress my opinion - and I understand it is a fairly widely-held opinion in philosophical circles - that while there is not necessarily one right way to do ethics, you should at least think about it and use some way of doing ethics… a method to the madness, so to speak.</p>
<p>There are companies, managers and divisions that are run by the numbers but there are also organizations run by managers that care about their people. These managers can garner fierce loyalty and dedication by watching out for their employees, giving them development opportunities and giving them second chances when they run into problems (life, work, kids, etc.) and need extra time or flexibility. You are expected to perform but there are managers that know about the curves that life throws at you and will give you a break.</p>
<p>I recall a speech given about 16 years ago by one of our vice presidents at a groundbreaking ceremony. He said that this building was about the families supported by the work done in the building. The organization thought about the long-term and I’ve seen numerous cases of employer flexibility where I work.</p>
<p>Maybe I’ve been spoiled but I imagine that there are many other companies, divisions or managers that do take care of their employees. Is that worth a little integrity?</p>
<p>I don’t have to dream. I’ve been there and the company has been there for me when we had to deal with family health problems or difficult school schedules. You’ve never experienced management that cares about the employees? I’ve worked for the same group but in different companies for the last 25 years. We have people that have worked 30 years here. Several have retired. Some have moved to other jobs but we still have a lot of people in the 15-years to 25-years of service category. Why do you think there is so much loyalty to the company? Many of us could have gone for greener pastures during the tech bubble. Some did. Some tried to come back after the bubble burst.</p>
<p>I wouldnt 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
I would whole heartedly disagree that there are widely accepted norms across the board on things like retracting intern offers, I didnt say the OP should murder someone. </p>
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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 peoples employer. A company like McDonalds has notoriously had one of the highest turnover rates in the country, why? Lets 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 youll need to work more than one job or extra hours, of which, McDonalds doesnt 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 McDonalds website theyll 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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<p>Heres Nell, at 72 shes been near the top of her career for many years managing numerous locations. Shes dedicated her life to McDonalds and at 72 this poor elderly woman was still stuck in the grind. Up until now weve ignored the issues outside of employees like Nell, who are the ones directly affected by McDonalds, but lets 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 theyve been involved with and the countless articles written supporting those whove 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. Theyve 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, dont think starvation taste that good. Whether youre 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 theyre 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 theyve spent millions in lobbying efforts influencing the laws that affect not only you or I, but every other American
this is a quote from the KYOTO climate change conference where our world leaders sit and decide just how much theyre willing to be bought off by McDonalds and other mega corps.
In respect to the issue at hand, my point is simple. Im not saying its wrong to work for McDonalds or any other large corporation, you dont 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 dont think things should be like this, and I wish they werent. 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 companys do not care about you or your familys wellbeing.</p>
<p>Your personal past experiences don’t necessarily justify an ethical theory. In fact, it seems that your entire view of the business world has been tainted and all you are after now is retribution. Perhaps you are entitled to it, and perhaps so are your relatives, but I don’t think that vengeance is a valid basis for a mature ethical understanding of society.</p>
<p>I don’t think it matters whether McDonald’s is responsible for pollution and global warming and the recession and obesity and everything else that’s wrong with the world. I would know all of these things before accepting a position with them. Even if I had been ethically negligent and failed to acquire this knowledge before accepting the position, and found out after accepting, <em>that</em> would be my reason for cancelling… not that I had found a better position with Burger King. There is a difference.</p>
<p>And if companies want to maximize profit, you must understand there is a reason for this too. Maximizing profits is good for somebody. Perhaps it’s just one person, and one can wonder about whether this is right or wrong, but odds are that in any event it affects many people’s financial well-being… if the employer is generous, he will have less money to distribute, and if he is greedy, where will he make it up? If he is understaffed, who will make up the work? If he was overstaffed, why hire you in the first place… just for your benefit? And what about the other applicants?</p>
<p>There are more ethical issues at work here than you’re letting on. If the company has literally no problem with your not working there, in which case it’s ethically acceptable to cancel the acceptance, <em>all you have to do is to tell them the truth and they will let you go</em>. Whether they go by the numbers or have bleeding hearts, there’s no reason for them to lie to your face about something like that. They either need you and will hold it against you or they don’t and they won’t.</p>
<p>This is the crux of our disagreement. For me, I view all of the deliberate and negligent acts that McDonalds has perpetrated as grounds to consider only what is best for myself and my family in any deals I have made with them. </p>
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<p>As far as there being a difference between working for McDonalds or any other large company in general or reneging on a deal with one to work for another from an ethical standpoint is relatively useless even to consider. We’re not given a whole ton of choices, and outside of completely dropping out of society one must take part in it all at one level or another. My point is, and has been, that worrying about whether or not your decision is kosher with McDonalds (or any other company like it) is a waste of time and effort.</p>
<p>I decided not to retract my offer. I don’t think the company would care if I did, but if I’m wrong it could blow up in my face. Also, I don’t want to ask them if I can leave/retract my offer because they might say no and it would be a very awkward summer. I just feel like there is this bad unknown that I’m not accounting for and I don’t want to take the risk. </p>
<p>Seriously though, I’m kinda ****t for these companies to be recruiting so late…there’s at least 5 ones that I was very interested in…oh well I’m going to put it behind me.</p>