Are corporations people? When the Supreme Court made their famous Citizens United ruling, this question set off a firestorm. The flames were renewed, at least partially, with the Hobby Lobby decision.
I have opinions from the perspective of a small business owner, of course, but my opinion isn’t all that important. I have little to add beyond what you can read elsewhere.
That said, I will share one insight worth mentioning.
Corporations tend to have a life of their own. This corporate heartbeat is created by the founder and perpetuated by others in the company.
But like anything with a life of its own, a companies energy is unpredictable. The founders, employees, or leaders of the company might think they have control, but they often have less than they believe.
This corporate heartbeat is actually the culture of an organization. As an organization grows, the culture reshapes, and founders see their influence wane.
Mel Ziegler expressed it well in The Republic of Tea: How an Idea Becomes a Business
He writes, “… the business had its own mind, a mind at least as strong as mine, and it was that mind, given to needs other than mine, with which I frequently found myself clashing. It might seem odd … to some readers that a business tends to develop a mind of its own that is independent of its founder, but in fact it is quite a natural development. A business is a living thing, a confluence of energies, each of which wants to see its own self-interest served first. If you’re a young, hungry entrepreneur … you find it quite hard to make the distinction between you and your creation, but as the business grows, it becomes more concerned with its own survival than yours.”
This one section was worth the price of the book. Organizations of all types, from companies to hospitals to churches to academic institutions, need to recognize how fluid their company culture is.
This is not always a bad thing. Lots of companies start small, grow large, and do good things. Lots of founders are excellent at getting something started but not at growing it beyond a certain point. They should rightfully turn it over to others.
But it is critically important to understand these cultural shifts in an organization. Not only as a business leader, but as a culture maker and as a citizen. We want culture to be stable, but it is not, and we must understand these shifting sands.
So when I am asked, “Are corporations people?”, I tend to say no but I can see how companies can have human-like behavior. When I’m asked if a company has the right to assert the values of its owners, I tend to say yes, but I think such applications have to be handled wisely and in the context of our pluralistic society.
Notice, however, I write “tend to” above. The answer is not simple and there are unique circumstances in each situation.
What I will assert is this: people who are founders of a company, or any leader of any organization, must be aware of the fluid culture of their company, and they must understand the influence this culture exerts on our world. This is a huge responsibility; neglect is not an option.
Or as was said two thousand years ago, to those to whom much is given, much will be expected.