MH17

Arol wrote:

Daryl wrote:Sorry to differ but I spent the last 11 years of my work dealing with US arms manufacturers. As a friend said at the time, the same guns for hire seem to work for tobacco companies, US military/industrial firms and major oil companies. Many was the corporate battle I had with VPs from (inset well known names here), and they were very nearly all immoral and unethical excuses for human beings.

Look, it is right and proper that you should be proud of your country and its people, and the USA is a great democratic country. However you are not well served by many of your industrialists or political leaders.

There is no doubt that the dealings of large American multi-nationals like Haliburton have at times shown a decided lack of ethics or morals, sometimes even bordering on the illegal.
But are they really alone in that? Or is their sheer size that makes them an easier and more obvious target?
Truth be told there probably isn’t a country with any appreciable foreign export trade that hasn’t had a case of a company paying kick-backs, or direct bribes to land a contract. But they are usually small potatoes, and are as a rule only reported in the local press. But when Haliburton or one of the others majors get caught with dirty fingers, not just the American, but the international media goes into a feeding frenzy.
It’s a matter of size, not only of the backhander but also who is paying it.
For a long time the American economy has been the big frog in the big pond, but other big frogs are now moving in. China to name an example, and their actions, business practices and reputation in Africa among others isn’t exactly sterling.

Arol wrote:There is no doubt that the dealings of large American multi-nationals like Haliburton have at times shown a decided lack of ethics or morals, sometimes even bordering on the illegal.
But are they really alone in that? Or is their sheer size that makes them an easier and more obvious target?
Truth be told there probably isn’t a country with any appreciable foreign export trade that hasn’t had a case of a company paying kick-backs, or direct bribes to land a contract. But they are usually small potatoes, and are as a rule only reported in the local press. But when Haliburton or one of the others majors get caught with dirty fingers, not just the American, but the international media goes into a feeding frenzy.
It’s a matter of size, not only of the backhander but also who is paying it.
For a long time the American economy has been the big frog in the big pond, but other big frogs are now moving in. China to name an example, and their actions, business practices and reputation in Africa among others isn’t exactly sterling.

Tenshinai wrote:

Arol wrote:There is no doubt that the dealings of large American multi-nationals like Haliburton have at times shown a decided lack of ethics or morals, sometimes even bordering on the illegal.
But are they really alone in that? Or is their sheer size that makes them an easier and more obvious target?
Truth be told there probably isn’t a country with any appreciable foreign export trade that hasn’t had a case of a company paying kick-backs, or direct bribes to land a contract. But they are usually small potatoes, and are as a rule only reported in the local press. But when Haliburton or one of the others majors get caught with dirty fingers, not just the American, but the international media goes into a feeding frenzy.
It’s a matter of size, not only of the backhander but also who is paying it.
For a long time the American economy has been the big frog in the big pond, but other big frogs are now moving in. China to name an example, and their actions, business practices and reputation in Africa among others isn’t exactly sterling.

I believe there is quite a big difference.
The foreign affairs ministry here has repeatedly held unofficial "classes" for companies that are dealing with USA or in USA, this due to the drastic differences in business culture, because it´s common for European business, especially smaller companies to run into problems due to US business often being "excessively ruthless", and because the basic underlying goals are very different.

An average businessman from here wants the best deal, for all involved. The average US businessman commonly wants the most maximised profit, end of story.

When the ministry does similar for trading with other countries, it´s usually a matter of easing representatives into the cultures without too much of a clash, with USA it´s a matter of preparing them for "anything goes that gets the sale".

Daryl wrote:...We had exactly the same experience, and higher level government buyers here also had special training to deal with US firms. Those US firms seemed genuinely puzzled that we held previous unethical behaviour against them when they tried to do new business, "Nothing personal boy, just the way we do business"...

Arol wrote:

Daryl wrote:...We had exactly the same experience, and higher level government buyers here also had special training to deal with US firms. Those US firms seemed genuinely puzzled that we held previous unethical behaviour against them when they tried to do new business, "Nothing personal boy, just the way we do business"...

I once asked my brother-in-law; a retired VP of a large American corporation, about the mind set of upper level executives in American corporations. How they could foster one financial scandal after the other.
This in the wake of Worldcom, Madoff, etc.
From what I could get out of the discussion was that it founded in simple ambition and greed! Something we all have in us. American nature was simply, that it was more deep-seated.
Another thing he explained was that at executive seminars they regularly attended, lectures on Marketing and corporate strategies, were often peppered with words of wisdom not just from the great economists and marketing gurus, but from military strategists like Sun Tzu and Clausewitz.
That being he case it’s not a far guess that they might also have re-written Admiral Fishers axiom:
"The essence of war is violence; moderation in war is imbecility."
To:
The essence of business is profits; moderation in competition is imbecility."

Daryl wrote:Has anyone else noticed how having large armed militias in the Ukraine has turned out.