Decades ago, the most fundamental principle for old-school businesses was honesty. That meant that most — if not all — businesses were focused on being successful without lying to or cheating their customers.
When Taiwan was transforming from an agriculture-based economy to an industrial one and most people were struggling to make ends meet, everyone did what they could and what they should to get by, while both small and large businesses valued their reputations and worked hard to earn their customers’ lifetime trust.
This code of business ethics may sound simple and straightforward, but it is now becoming an increasingly difficult way to do business in Taiwan. Soon, these virtues may vanish entirely, especially if companies and corporations do not learn lessons from the spate of food safety scandals that have emerged in recent years.
Of course, extreme cases of irresponsible food manufacturers may only be one small part of this phenomenon of immoral businesses. Taiwan still has many good companies, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co in the high-tech sector and Wowprime Corp in the restaurant industry. Both of these firms are recognized not only for their management style and ambitions, but also for their willingness to provide employees with a stable working environment, favorable benefits and bonuses.
Regardless, all Taiwanese must consider the following question seriously: In what state is the morality of the commercial sector today?
Even if the public believes the promises made by business leaders of their commitment to fix these problems and the authorities mete out heavy punishments to companies that break the law, all Taiwanese have to deal with the damage that has already been done to the trust between society and the business sector. The public must also think about how the nation can move forward with less fear and more confidence.
The latest food scandal highlights the crisis regarding morality in business, but it also indicates the need to develop a more socially responsible business world, where the spirit of credibility takes center stage. Certainly, it will take time to compel all companies to behave responsibly and it is unrealistic to hope that the adoption of stricter laws and heavier penalties will immediately rectify bad business behavior.
Most important of all, everyone needs to realize that businesses are as much an integral part of society as any other sector and what is needed now more than ever is for society to re-engage the commercial sector to help strengthen its partnership with communities, not alienate it. All the parties involved in this interaction are in the same boat and should endeavour to work together for society to progress.
It is undeniable that Taiwan also needs to adjust its social values, which have in recent years increasingly prized instant success based on short-sighted greed and an egomaniacal mindset.
Still, the bottom line is that businesses must take their role in society seriously and ensure that what they do is legal, socially responsible and environmentally acceptable. Business have to do this if they are to rebuild their credibility and regain the public’s trust.
The first Donald Trump term was a boon for Taiwan. The administration regularized the arms sales process and enhanced bilateral ties. Taipei will not be so fortunate the second time around. Given recent events, Taiwan must proceed with the assumption that it cannot count on the United States to defend it — diplomatically or militarily — during the next four years. Early indications suggested otherwise. The nomination of Marco Rubio as US Secretary of State and the appointment of Mike Waltz as the national security advisor, both of whom have expressed full-throated support for Taiwan in the past, raised hopes that
There is nothing the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) could do to stop the tsunami-like mass recall campaign. KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) reportedly said the party does not exclude the option of conditionally proposing a no-confidence vote against the premier, which the party later denied. Did an “actuary” like Chu finally come around to thinking it should get tough with the ruling party? The KMT says the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is leading a minority government with only a 40 percent share of the vote. It has said that the DPP is out of touch with the electorate, has proposed a bloated
Authorities last week revoked the residency permit of a Chinese social media influencer surnamed Liu (劉), better known by her online channel name Yaya in Taiwan (亞亞在台灣), who has more than 440,000 followers online and is living in Taiwan with a marriage-based residency permit, for her “reunification by force” comments. She was asked to leave the country in 10 days. The National Immigration Agency (NIA) on Tuesday last week announced the decision, citing the influencer’s several controversial public comments, including saying that “China does not need any other reason to reunify Taiwan with force” and “why is it [China] hesitant
A media report has suggested that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) was considering initiating a vote of no confidence in Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) in a bid to “bring down the Cabinet.” The KMT has denied that this topic was ever discussed. Why might such a move have even be considered? It would have been absurd if it had seen the light of day — potentially leading to a mass loss of legislative seats for the KMT even without the recall petitions already under way. Today the second phase of the recall movement is to begin — which has
RSS