The Corporate mindset has become the status quo in most of the institutions in first world societies. This influence is both implicit; with such effects as government bodies (such as the Department of Education and by extension, schools) and not for profit organisations (e.g. charities, lobbying organisations, etc.) now structurally resembling that of corporate entities, and explicit; with direct control or interference of governmental functioning. The corporate ethos has now been become the globally common, prevailing attitude for any institution that involves the exchange of monies; a profit is to be made for owner's/CEO's/shareholder's/the controlling group(s). In these societies the concept of corporate responsibility has become a widely discussed topic due to several high profile incidents in the last decade of people within or those controlling corporations committing crimes and/or highly unethical actions with large scale national and global consequences (Djelic 2008, Lankshear 2003, Fort 2000, Goyette 2011, Schepers 2003, Witt & Redding 2012). This essay will briefly discuss the historical development of the current corporate ideology and its connection to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) with reference to specific incidents, the ethics, morals and laws involved, corporate attitudes and actions towards government(s), the psychology of individuals involved, and the social effects in Australia and globally.
The current first world corporate ethos has its roots in religion. Calvinism as a branch of Protestant Christianity contained tenants of belief that can be summed up thusly; the collection of wealth is a way to prove you worthy of entering heaven, but only if that money is put back into the business. This was done in order to show humility to the attention of God and to remove the sin of inaction and excess material possession. This business ethic became popularised in the 18th century in Europe and expanded upon in the 19th century by business...