Summarize Carr’s Argument. Do You Agree with Him? Does Bluffing Pass Hooker’s Generalization Test in Poker? Does It Pass the Generalization Test in Business? Discuss

Summarize Carr’s argument. Do you agree with him? Does bluffing pass Hooker’s generalization test in poker? Does it pass the generalization test in business? Discuss

• Albert Z. Carr had a very different view on corporations and their motives then those of his peers. Carr argues that the main motive of corporations is to make profits and he mentions various examples to illustrate his points which are summarized below:

According to Carr executives who are marketing their company as ethical are not actually very ethical behind the shadows there is lobbying, bribery and various other unethical practices some which are legal but not moral. Corporates can get away with these issues because of loopholes in the law. Either there is no law existing for such unethical practices or even if they do corporations can hire specialist lawyers to find loopholes. Hence governments cannot interfere until a law has passed. Carr talks about the following topics:

Pressure to deceive

Everybody is in a pressure to deceive. From executives to jobseekers deception is something which is a common practice among individuals and corporations. Executives cover up truth as it will hurt business for example not launching a better product although it is ready so that the all the stock of the not so good product is finished. A job seeker may lie or market themselves to be something they are not to find the job offer or lie in the interview. And the fact of deception is that it does produce results.

The poker analogy

Carr compares business to poker. In poker no one expects to play the game by ethical standards or morals set by religion. But everyone plays the game to win. Even if it means bluffing your friend or family at the end those who are very good in bluffing will win. A poker player who really wants to win will try all sorts of tactics to get other players drunk or distracted at the same time the player is not cheating the player is abiding the rules of poker. Businesses are same they seek to find an opportunity to profit and try the best to be competitive by outwitting competition while abiding the laws but taking advantage of the loopholes in business laws at the same time. This can be compared to the poker face.

We don’t make the laws

Carr mentions that businesses do not make the laws governments do. And when a business makes a product which is of some kind of use to the end user but can be used by thieves for example master key for cars. The manufacturer of those keys does not care if their products are purchased by regular people or thieves. In order for them to thrive and survive they need sales and profit. It is the responsibility of governments to prevent citizens from committing unlawful acts not businesses.

Cast illusions aside

Ethics is just used as a decorative