Works Cited

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“Enforcement.” United States Department of Labor. N.p., 09 Dec. 2015. Web. 05 May 2016. <https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/youthlabor/enforcement&gt;.

“Children Found Sewing Clothing For Wal-Mart, Hanes & Other U.S. & European Companies – National Labor Committee.” Children Found Sewing Clothing For Wal-Mart, Hanes & Other U.S. & European Companies – National Labor Committee. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2016. <http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/lwp/NLC_childlabor.html&gt;.

Hunt, Katie. “The 10 Worst Countries for Child Labor.” CNN. Cable News Network, 15 Oct. 2013. Web. 05 May 2016. <http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/15/world/child-labor-index-2014/&gt;.

Weller, Chris. “Most Antidepressant Users Have Never Had Depression.”Medical Daily. IBT Media Inc, 02 Apr. 2015. Web. 05 May 2016. <http://www.medicaldaily.com/antidepressants-arent-taken-depressed-majority-users-have-no-disorder-327940&gt;.

“Top Antidepressants Sales in the United States 2011-2012 | Statistic.”Statista. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2016. <http://www.statista.com/statistics/242644/revenues-of-top-depression-drugs-in-the-us-2011-2012/&gt;.

“Pharmaceutical Industry Cover-up Revealed in New York Times.”Pharmaceutical Industry Cover-up. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2016. <http://www.wanttoknow.info/050602pharmaceuticalindustrycoverup&gt;.

Yan, Sophia. “Toshiba CEO Resigns over $1.2 Billion Accounting Scandal.”CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 21 July 2015. Web. 05 May 2016. <http://money.cnn.com/2015/07/21/investing/toshiba-ceo-resigns/&gt;.

“Hitler Didnt Have Ethical Responsibility.” UKessays.com. 11 2013. All Answers Ltd. 05 2016 <https://www.ukessays.com/essays/history/hitler-didnt-have-ethical-responsibility.php?cref=1&gt;.

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In conclusion~

While success is desired by most, if not all people, there tends to be a thin line between success and greed. Once a person achieves success, its understandable why some could want more. Its when the actions of these successful ones abuse or neglect others for personal gain that success goes too far and becomes unethical. All of these posts share one common problem, success can blind and led some down a path of greed. Of course not all successful people or companies do unethical things, and not all people or companies that do unethical thing are successful. The few that abuse their power usually get caught, and with that some may lose any money, respect or fame gained. Will people stop using others for personal gain? I believe that this will never happen. As long as being successful means to have a lot of money or fame, someone or something will always receive the short end of the stick because greed is apart of human nature. I honestly think that the best thing any one could do is to make sure they don’t receive that short end.

Child Labor and Department Stores

Not all countries have child labor laws. Countries with a large amount of people living under the poverty line, like Somalia and Pakistan, will allow young children to work. Department stores like Walmart and Nike have been accused of hiring these child workers, maybe even some young adults, to work for pennies a day, 12-20 hours a day. While this may be normal in some countries, America find this unethical, outlaws child labor and penalizes any companies exploiting these loop holes. So then why do these companies go to other countries and employ kids to make their merchandise? Its simple, because cheaper production leads to more profit when sold. These already successful companies will turn to these inhumane solutions to increase profit margins, because success is a measure of the amount of wealth, power, and respect. More profit a company makes leads to more power that company has, which could mean more respect given these companies. Some companies can make so much more profit that even with the added fines from the government, more money is ultimately made with child labor than without. This is another case of when too much success breeds uncontrollable greed. If the goal of the company is to make more profit, its understandable why some would use the poorer countries that lack child labor laws to their advantage. But is it right for companies to abuse their power and wealth in other countries? One could argue that it helps the poor countries out by providing jobs, underpaid or not. While this could be true, American companies outsourcing jobs to increase their profits have in turn hurt the American economy, not to mention the horrible working conditions of these sweatshops. 

Antidepressants: Ungodly Amounts of Money.

I used to be prescribed antidepressants. They didn’t work for me, so I am a little bit bias towards the pharmaceutical companies that push these types of drugs but as far as success goes, these types of drugs have been wildly prescribed, proving they can and will bring in an enormous about of money for these companies. 11% of the American population take antidepressants daily. With roughly 323 million people and a quick use of the calculator, that’s around 35 million people currently prescribed and taking an antidepressant daily. In 2012, antidepressants alone bring in more than 8 billion dollars in revenue, A VERY, VERY successful and substantial part of some pharmaceutical companies income. This is where my opinion gets involved. Apparently, 11% of the United states population is “depressed” but I am unsure whether they are actually depressed or just labeled and prescribed these medicines to increase wealth. Surely, if 32 millions American are depressed then something must be done to combat this… So hey, lets give them medicine that blocks receptors in their brains, making them physically and mentally addicted, and milk these poor bastards for all they are worth. What else could these companies be thinking? Proof that some pharmaceutical companies pay to cover up long term effects their medicines and the fact that these companies do not have to disclose the results of this research to the public only raises more red flags. I feel this is honestly on par with the inhumane ways of Hitler. Again, my opinion, but these drugs are poisonous, inhibiting the brains natural functions, but are marketed heavily because of the absolutely massive profits. When anything is this successful, its only natural for greed or other unethical ideas to manifest. In this case, while these types of drugs may help some, it also severely hurts others. 

Dictators, CEO’s, and… Presidential Candidates?

Watching the debates for this years presidential election, I can only shake my head at some of the things that are said. With big names like Trump and Clinton flat out lying or attempting to cover up things, who would want such immoral people as leaders? Obviously, after becoming a leader of any country, most consider you a massive success. This then triggered the thought, “How many people have lied in order to gain or maintain that success?” Recently, Toshiba CEO Hiaso Tanaka lied and added about 1.2 billion dollars in profit. Even though I personally feel this isn’t unethical, some people believe differently. Well, what about truly unethical leaders? A then big name that everyone knows popped into my mind, Adolf Hitler. Hitler used massive propaganda campaigns to sway German people into believing in him as a leader. Some were blatant lies, instilling fear and hatred in his followers so he could claim absolute power. Then there was the Holocaust. Defiantly immoral and wrong to us now, but to Hitler it was apart of his path to success. So was Hitler successful? By our definition AND completely disregarding his inhumane ways, yes. Hitler was successful in achieving wealth, respect and fame, but how many lives were taken for that title? After adding all the wrong he has done he is no longer considered successful, more so evil. Lying, abusing power, and killing for your beliefs are all traits of unethical leaders who have had a taste of success to a degree. But at the end of the day, any one of those traits can strip you of your success. My point here is that one can be successful to an extent. Looking at this evidence it seems as though success breeds greed, then the greed is what ultimately destroys that success.

Stress + Money = Success (maybe)

In order to truly succeed in this world, its said that one has to attend some sort of college and receive a degree. In order to do that, that person has to first prove themselves to the college. Admissions tests like SAT, ACT and COMPASS are used to judge if that person has what it takes. If you make it past that stage, not only do you pay an outrageous amount of money, but your in for 4 or more years of constant mental trial. At Kennesaw State, to continue with studies, one has to maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA. While on paper this doesn’t seem too demanding, there are many other factors in a students life not just “attending classes”. Many students work while in school in order to pay for daily living expenses. When I think about it, I feel as if I am paying a business to mentally torture me with the constant stress of making a grade and in return, I am given an opportunity for the possibility of success. After all, success after graduation is NOT guaranteed. In college, its almost if classes are not about learning anymore, more so conditioning for the stresses in later life. But is this way of thinking immoral? Society almost forces us into going into financial ruin and being subjected to the stress of making the grade, for a shot at success. If you fail, with the right amount of money, of course you can try again for that degree, but then the cycle renews itself. I’m not suggesting that success should come without any sacrifices, but the pressure to achieve success and the expenses that go with college can prove too much for some people. Ultimately and unfortunately in this world, unless you complete college, chances are you will never be truly successful.

How high do we jump for success?

For most people, the ultimate goal in life is to obtain success. Success is defined as “the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame.” The desire to be successful is a big reason, if not the only reason, why people pay to attend colleges and pursue well paying jobs. Even though most of us strive for success, the point at which it is achieved comes down to personal opinion. One person’s idea of success will wildly differ from another’s idea, as will the boundaries willing to be crossed to aid ones path to success. At what point does the urge to be successful make a student decide to cheat on a test or plagiarize another students work? In history, there have been many different cases of leaders of governments killing their own people or engaging in war to gain power. CEOs of businesses hiding money or using cheaper methods of production like child labor to increase profits. Even whole industries will suppress the truth if it means making a profit. Some pharmaceutical companies have attempted to stop the research of the effects of medicines like antidepressants or natural medicines. These are examples of using unethical practices in order to achieve, what they considered, success. While achieving a successful status is the huge goal for most, this path has its boundaries and people or companies who resort to unmoral practices should not be considered successful.