A Good Corporate Citizen

[dismal]

“Mr. Chisolm discarded the left-overs from the line before the last half unit was in the chow hall. He then realized that there were more inmates to serve so he rinsed them off, reheated them in the oven and instructed the inmates to serve them,” read one email. “They refused, so he and Miss Gibson proceeded to serve them to the remaining inmates.”

You think Mr. Chisolm and Miss Gibson are greedy executives?

Chisolm is VP of Cleaning up Leftovers in Prison Kitchens and Gibson is EVP of Serving Meals to Inmates?

Since mr. chisholm was instructing line workers it sounds like he's in management to me.

tl;dr yes

Wasn't the previous goalpost greedy executives?

So, your suspicion is what, that a guy who is cleaning up leftovers in a prison kitchen is motivated by his stock options?

 

[Axulus]

The fact that it is in jail is irrelevant. The gross misconduct amounting to immoral disregard for people's safety was caused solely by greedy private profit motive of the contracting corporation. It is a example among countless others of the fact that profit motive is incompatible with human decency and ethics and that community level (i.e. government) oversight, restrictions, and punishments is essential to restrain the inherent harm that profit motive will cause to communities if left unregulated. Profit motive only checks itself when unethical acts are likely to harm profits, which is only a fraction of the time given that much of the harm goes undetected or unattributable, and corporations ability to just rename and rebrand "guilty" subsidiaries.

The fact that this corporate greed occurred within the context of prisons is the main reason why their culpability was discovered.

Sounds like it was lazy workers not greedy corporate executives.

I doubt the executives of Aramark spend a lot of time in prison kitchens.

And thank goodness government never has the problem of lazy workers - government, in it's infinite wisdom, pays top dollar and uses the best motivational techniques possible. Government never serves spoiled food as a result. Only the purest and freshest ingredients.

If only this prison had some government workers on staff, this whole problem could've been avoided.

 

[Axulus]

also

In other instances, the company breached contract by simply failing to provide enough food.

Sounds like management to me, unless they have lineworkers calling in the food orders . . . which would still be a management issue.

How ksen and ronburgundy imagine the typical executive meeting:

Greedy executive 1: "Ok guys, how do we make more profits?"
Greedy executive 2: "How about we breach all of our contracts?"
Greedy executive 1: "Brilliant plan! Surely that's the way to obtain success and profits!"

Room fills with evil laughter.

 

[ksen]

“Mr. Chisolm discarded the left-overs from the line before the last half unit was in the chow hall. He then realized that there were more inmates to serve so he rinsed them off, reheated them in the oven and instructed the inmates to serve them,” read one email. “They refused, so he and Miss Gibson proceeded to serve them to the remaining inmates.”

You think Mr. Chisolm and Miss Gibson are greedy executives?

Chisolm is VP of Cleaning up Leftovers in Prison Kitchens and Gibson is EVP of Serving Meals to Inmates?

Since mr. chisholm was instructing line workers it sounds like he's in management to me.

tl;dr yes

Wasn't the previous goalpost greedy executives?

So, your suspicion is what, that a guy who is cleaning up leftovers in a prison kitchen is motivated by his stock options?

Is that my suspicion?

Or is my suspicion that the invisible hand of the market doesn't fix jack shit when it comes to bad corporate behavior?

 

[dismal]

“Mr. Chisolm discarded the left-overs from the line before the last half unit was in the chow hall. He then realized that there were more inmates to serve so he rinsed them off, reheated them in the oven and instructed the inmates to serve them,” read one email. “They refused, so he and Miss Gibson proceeded to serve them to the remaining inmates.”

You think Mr. Chisolm and Miss Gibson are greedy executives?

Chisolm is VP of Cleaning up Leftovers in Prison Kitchens and Gibson is EVP of Serving Meals to Inmates?

Since mr. chisholm was instructing line workers it sounds like he's in management to me.

tl;dr yes

Wasn't the previous goalpost greedy executives?

So, your suspicion is what, that a guy who is cleaning up leftovers in a prison kitchen is motivated by his stock options?

Is that my suspicion?

Or is my suspicion that the invisible hand of the market doesn't fix jack shit when it comes to bad corporate behavior?

I thought it was the government that hired these people.

 

[ksen]

I thought it was the government that hired these people.

Yes, the government hired a private, free market contractor.

 

[Axulus]

I thought it was the government that hired these people.

Yes, the government hired a private, free market contractor.

So government, with its non-greedy and pure motives, sure made a brilliant decision on that one, huh?

And, as we all know, dismal and I have always argued that free market means no one ever breaks the law or breaches a contract...or not. Perhaps you are also arguing against a figment in your imagination?

 

[dismal]

I thought it was the government that hired these people.

Yes, the government hired a private, free market contractor.

Yes, exactly. You put your finger on the problem.

What happens when a private party hires a private free market contractor that gives crappy service?

You do realize private firms enter contracts with each other? Corporations might even hire Aramark to run a cafeteria for them.

Do you think corporations manage to keep Aramark's greedy executives in charge of cleaning up kitchen leftovers under control?

What do you think happens when greedy executives who want good service in their cafeteria collide with greedy executives who want to serve bad food?

 

[ksen]

Yes, the government hired a private, free market contractor.

So government, with its non-greedy and pure motives, sure made a brilliant decision on that one, huh?

And, as we all know, dismal and I have always argued that free market means no one ever breaks the law or breaches a contract...or not. Perhaps you are also arguing against a figment in your imagination?

If you and dismal have not argued that the invisible hand of the free market can cure all ills if just left alone by government then the OP was not directed at either of you.

 

[ksen]

Private health care contractor ends up being much more expensive for local governments and much more dangerous for prison inmates.

 

[dismal]

So government, with its non-greedy and pure motives, sure made a brilliant decision on that one, huh?

And, as we all know, dismal and I have always argued that free market means no one ever breaks the law or breaches a contract...or not. Perhaps you are also arguing against a figment in your imagination?

If you and dismal have not argued that the invisible hand of the free market can cure all ills if just left alone by government then the OP was not directed at either of you.

Tip: Government contract not equal market left alone by government.

 

[Axulus]

So government, with its non-greedy and pure motives, sure made a brilliant decision on that one, huh?

And, as we all know, dismal and I have always argued that free market means no one ever breaks the law or breaches a contract...or not. Perhaps you are also arguing against a figment in your imagination?

If you and dismal have not argued that the invisible hand of the free market can cure all ills if just left alone by government then the OP was not directed at either of you.

How can a company be left alone by the government if the government is the one doing the hiring and paying the bills? In fact, the government (the customer) leaving them alone would be exactly what a private customer would _not_ do if the one you were paying was providing shitty service, and also a customer would take basic precautions to monitor the work of the supplier.

Why didn't the government workers at this prison, with their non-greedy and pure motives, monitor the quality of the service at this cafeteria? Why did government choose to go with this company as opposed to any others?

Is it your contention that some make the argument that private companies never have employees that screw up, slack off, lie, cheat and steal? Who is making these arguments that you claim?

 

[krypton iodine sulfur]

What do you think happens when greedy executives who want good service in their cafeteria collide with greedy executives who want to serve bad food?

They think, "Ah fuck it; it's not us personally eating that slop anyway" then split the difference in price between good and shitty food as profit for the supplier and a price reduction for the consumer. Then they go our for hookers and blow, or whatever is fashionable these days since I guess it's not the 90s anymore. I mean, that's one option.

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

I wonder what your comment has to do with the topic of this thread, which is food service in a jail.

The fact that it is in jail is irrelevant. The gross misconduct amounting to immoral disregard for people's safety was caused solely by greedy private profit motive of the contracting corporation. It is a example among countless others of the fact that profit motive is incompatible with human decency and ethics and that community level (i.e. government) oversight, restrictions, and punishments is essential to restrain the inherent harm that profit motive will cause to communities if left unregulated. Profit motive only checks itself when unethical acts are likely to harm profits, which is only a fraction of the time given that much of the harm goes undetected or unattributable, and corporations ability to just rename and rebrand "guilty" subsidiaries.

The fact that this corporate greed occurred within the context of prisons is the main reason why their culpability was discovered.

Nonsense. The fact that this was in a jail is VERY relevant. It was a captive audience the likes of which the company could not have any other way. Also, the fact that it was in a jail is relevant, that makes this a government function whether done by the government or by a company contracted by the government.

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

I thought it was the government that hired these people.

Yes, the government hired a private, free market contractor.

The government hired a contractor, yes. You have an excess couple of words.

 

[Axulus]

It's so great that the prisoners in Abu Ghraib were treated so humanely by non-greedy and non-profit driven government employees who have only the purest of motives. If only this prison had such people running their kitchen, this never would've happened.

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

also



Sounds like management to me, unless they have lineworkers calling in the food orders . . . which would still be a management issue.

How ksen and ronburgundy imagine the typical executive meeting:

Greedy executive 1: "Ok guys, how do we make more profits?"
Greedy executive 2: "How about we breach all of our contracts?"
Greedy executive 1: "Brilliant plan! Surely that's the way to obtain success and profits!"

Room fills with evil laughter.

Don't forget underpaying the workers. They don't have to actually produce anything for the company to market, they just have to be underpaid and that will lead to profits.

 

[Axulus]

More non-greedy and non-profit driven pure government employees at work, just doing their jobs the best they can, with government paying them really well so only the best of the best are in these kinds of jobs:

A California parole agent was accused of soliciting one of his parolees to kill another. Numerous corrections department employees allegedly had sex with inmates, including juveniles. And a prison guard was suspected of carousing regularly with prisoners, even joining them as they drank a form of booze the inmates manufactured themselves.

The incidents are among 278 cases of alleged employee misconduct detailed in the latest report by the independent inspector general of the state corrections department.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/03/california-prison-abuse-d_n_3009926.html

 

[laughing dog]

It bid in an open market for this contract. The fact that the customer is the government does not negate the free market aspects. And it was the customer (the gov't) that caught Aramark in its fraudalent and disgusting practices. Unless someone is arguing that at least Aramark engaged in this disgusting deception at a lower cost than the government would have, I see no relevance whatsoever in their responses except to contort reality in defense of their irrelevant utopian views.

 

[dismal]

What do you think happens when greedy executives who want good service in their cafeteria collide with greedy executives who want to serve bad food?

They think, "Ah fuck it; it's not us personally eating that slop anyway" then split the difference in price between good and shitty food as profit for the supplier and a price reduction for the consumer. Then they go our for hookers and blow, or whatever is fashionable these days since I guess it's not the 90s anymore. I mean, that's one option.

You say this as if there are times when you're not partying with hookers and blow.