Karl Edwards presents Working Matters

Tag: ethics

  • The Gift of Work -> Chapter 5: Not a Trivial Pursuit

    thought-leadersWe have become a culture of “preventative ethics.”

    That’s my term for what Bill Heatley identifies as ethics that confines itself to avoiding either litigation or offending people. There’s a problem with defining or limiting anything to what it is not.

    gift-of-work1I hear the grieving of what has been lost in terms of moral vocabulary, social mores, and behavioral standards. Being the veritable pragmatist that I am, though, I want to move immediately to thinking through creative options for facing this current reality, however tragic, and creating, developing and experimenting with alternatives for maturing into a working community that is, in fact, characterized by love, goodness and justice.

    It might be more effective to have our working communities back into their ethics. If it’s not going to work to begin with the concept and move to the practice, then let’s talk together about our practices. Teams would discuss and agree upon what behaviors they would like their working relationships (more…)

  • New Line Cinema: How Greedy Can You Get? Writers Take Heed!

    So the big news today is the lawsuit being filed by the estate of JRR Tolkien against New Line Cinema and its parent company, Time Warner. Of an agreed 7.5% of the gross earnings of the Lord of the Rings triology they are due, the estate has been paid… you guessed it… nothing!

    How greedy can you be? Not only have the movies and ancillary products earned over $6 billion, the lost interest/earnings related to the delay alone are worth a mounting fortune.

    How greedy can you be? The entertainment industry seems to glory in its shame. I’m sure they’re all patting themselves on the back for being able to postpone payment for as long as they have.

    Ironically enough, the writers are on strike for a share of the earnings related to what their works are earning on the internet. The studios may as well go ahead and promise whatever percent they like. The writers will never see it. They’ll never be able to audit or gain access to audits of the studio’s earnings. Who are the fools here? Seriously.

    I‘m sure New Line Cinema is preparing an articulate set of words (read excuses) to sooth, reinterpret reality, and extend the entire process.

    Whatever the legality, it’s an abuse of power. That’s my take. What’s yours?