My Station And Its Duties: The Value Of Business

French author François de La Rochefoucauld once wrote “Self-interest makes some people blind, and others sharp-sighted.” In the movie Margin Call, the self-interested CEO, senior partners (owners), and other top decision makers of investment firm MBS become aware of high volatility in the firm’s mortgage-backed securities. As the plot progresses, these decision makers conclude that the only way to save themselves and their personal financial security is to sell the firm’s toxic securities while knowingly turning a blind eye to the economic fate of its employees and the market. As seen in the movie, putting one’s own interests ahead of one’s responsibility to a company is wrong and can result in micro and macro economic consequences similar to that of the 2008 mortgage crisis. The chapter “My Station and Its Duties: The Function of Being a Manager” in Management Ethics, by Norman E. Bowie and Patricia H. Werhane points out that a manager is the agent of the stockholders and should act in the best

From 2012 to 2014, I was employed at ConAgra Foods in a corporate accounting position where I experienced the fallout of lost profit and unexpected layoffs of what I consider a self-interested decision by ConAgra’s executives and Board of Directors in the acquisition of Ralcorp Holding. ConAgra had made multiple attempts to acquire Ralcorp prior to finally closing the deal in mid fiscal year 2013. In doing so, ConAgra agreed to purchase Ralcorp’s shares using a set price per share based on a prior valuation of Ralcorp’s portfolio, which included Post Cereal. However, the executives and Board of Directors made a self-interested decision to make a name for themselves by closing the deal without inclusion of Post Cereal, which had been divested from Ralcorp. This resulted in a large overpayment that had resounding effects across the years I worked for