Marketing and Trends

The Corporation

The documentary “The Corporation” examines the nature, evolution, impacts, and possible futures of the modern business corporation. The word corporation is defined in the documentary as “a group of individuals, working together to serve a variety of objectives, the principle one of which is earning large, growing, sustained, legal returns for the people who own the business,” and thus viewing themselves, a corporation, as “one person.” With this main motive possessed by corporations, many questions arise, and the documentary strives to unveil such inquiries. In learning about the beginnings and evolution of corporations, we, as students, have the possibility of creating brighter futures in the modern Marketing world!

What is the corporation? This definition is the first obstacle the documentary seeks to conquer. In this segment of the film, the producers reveal the hidden truths of what a corporation really is in hopes that its viewers are no longer left with a botched perception of what a corporation is in reality. The corporation is “today’s dominant institution”, but many people are in question about the lack of public control over these corporations. It is because of a small percentage of “bad apples” in the market of the corporate world, that such accusations of corporate illegitimacy and infidelity are brought forth. The documentary makes a claim that the corporation is important, but it cannot be the only part of the puzzle. A corporation must be like a family unit, everyone working together for a common goal. However, corporations have been given so much power, that they have overlooked the welfare of the publicm revealing their means to the ends as sometimes unjustifiable and illegitimate.

Second, the documentary discusses the “birth” of the corporation. The corporation evolved from the industrial era, where more production per man-hour was the sought after goal in every area of worldly production. Today, the system is the...