How hard is it to kill a Fortune 500 company?

by newguy 17 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Simon

  Hi Newguy
  

  I would really love if Simon Green himself could reply to this. As the creator of this forum, I wonder if he thinks he can take down the Tower with this forum.

  
  I have no plans for world domination just yet, lol. Seriously, if you believe that I or anyone else is out to 'ruin the WatchTower corporation' then you are seriously mistaken. First of all, I have better things to devote my life to such as my family. Secondly, what would it accomplish? I am not out to destroy anything or anyone but just want to help a few people if I can to avoid going through what I and others that I know of have gone through and if I can't stop it happening to them then at least I can provide a place where they can get some support.

  This main purpose of this forum is to help people to freely get the information they need without fear of any retribution so that they are able to make up their own minds about how they live their lives. Also, I hope it provides some support for people whether they choose to stay in the organisation or not.

  I hope Simon has the courage to answer this and isn't afraid of someone who doesn't bow down to his greatness and just blow them away when they happen to disagree with him like the might WT he derides does.

  
  Why would I be 'afraid' to answer post like this? I don't claim to have any greatness and don't bestow any titles open myself unlike some other groups of men. On the contrary, it is the WT that seems afraid to answer those who disagree with it and don't 'worship' it.

  One thing I do find strange is that you seem to be almost worshipping the society and celebrating it's vast wealth. Do you really think that this fits in with bible prophecy? Hasn't it become the very thing that it has spent so much time condemning? Shouldn't your devotion be directed to your God?
• 

  Simon

  One thing that will happen though is that enough pressure will forces the society to change some of it's behaviour and the practices that are forced on it's members. The society has a long history of making changes when forced to.
• 

  larc

  Newguy,

  The Organization has enough resources to avoid total collapse. However, they are on a decline in all countries that use the internet. This decline should continue for at least 10 years since their number getting baptized has declined by 30-50% in such coountries over the past ten years and shows no signs of reversing. Although some here are not interested in helping such a decline, I am, and will do what I can to help it along. Also, there is a thread here which does talk about what can be done to inoculate the public from the Witness influence. I plan to join in that effort in my neighborhood.

  Regarding the Fortune 500, I am sure that if I went back to 50 year old records of the stock market I could find examples of companies that either went out of business or are much smaller today. I am too lazy to bother with it. There are numerous examples, of once large companies that are much smaller today. Some examples are, American Motors - now part of Daimler - Chrysler, and NCR Corp. NCR at its peak had 125,000 employees. Now they have less than 40,000. I don't know their size at the time, but examples of companies that have gone out of business that were well known in their day are: Nash, Studebaker, and Overland Willeys.

  So, using you analogy. Are the JWs vulernable? You bet.
• 

  expatbrit

  Here's an example of a Fortune 500 company driven into bankruptcy by a grass roots effort. Dow Corning is again an active company.

  Implant deal draws critics

  Dow Corning plan falls short, attorneys say
  February 18, 1998

  BY DAVID ASHENFELTER
  Free Press Staff Writer

  Too little money, too long to get it, but a step in the right direction.

  That's how attorneys and advocates for women who complained of health problems after receiving Dow Corning breast implants described the Midland company's new plan to settle 177,000 claims resulting from the silicone products.

  The plan, announced in a telephone news conference Tuesday, offers $4.4 billion to creditors -- including $3 billion for women with breast implant claims -- to settle all claims against the company so Dow Corning can emerge from bankruptcy.

  "Dow Corning is again offering too little too late," Sybil Niden Goldrich said Tuesday. Goldrich is co-founder of Command Trust Network Inc., an information clearinghouse for women with silicone breast implants. "I am extremely disappointed that Dow has failed again to provide fair compensation in a timely way for women who have suffered."

  The company, saying women are likely to find the plan more attractive than their attorneys do, voiced optimism that its latest reorganization plan would fare better than one U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Spector of Bay City rejected in November on grounds it was inadequate.

  "We wouldn't expect the trial lawyers to instantly jump on board with this plan," Dow Corning President Gary Anderson said. He said the company based the plan on settlements paid by other breast implant manufacturers, the results of focus groups with women who have implants and Spector's objections to the previous plan.

  "We are highly confident that we're going to have a very high acceptance rate of this plan, and we think women will find this plan very attractive," Anderson said.

  Goldrich and several lawyers complained that the plan, which the company filed Tuesday in Bay City, encourages women to accept $1,000 in exchange for giving up future rights to sue if they develop medical problems. She also said the plan restricts most sick women to payments of $10,000 and that many would have to wait 10 years or longer to have their claims settled, which a company spokesman denied.

  The company, a 50-50 joint venture of Dow Chemical Co. of Midland and Corning Inc. of Corning, N.Y., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1995 after tens of thousands of women filed lawsuits alleging health problems resulting from silicone breast implants. Dow Corning was the leading maker of silicone implants until it withdrew them from the market.

  The company said $3 billion of the money would be used to settle breast implant claims in the next 16 years, offering women 15 settlement options that provide from $1,000 to $200,000 per woman depending upon the severity of illness or disability. Some women could get more money if they have uninsured medical bills that exceed their settlement payment, the company said.

  The plan provides $640 million more in breast-implant settlement money than the earlier plan. The other $1.4 billion of the $4.4-billion plan would be used to pay off lenders and other commercial creditors. The amount is $100 million greater than Dow Corning proposed in the earlier plan. The money is to come from cash reserves, future earnings and money from insurers.

  The judge is to decide whether to put the latest plan to a vote of creditors, including the women with claims. A two-thirds majority is required to move the plan forward.

  Associated Press contributed to this report.
• 

  newguy

  expatbrit:

  Yes, and Corning was doing quite well until the telecom bubble burst. (and still isn't doing too bad -- it's rate of growth has only stagnated, but its revenues still grow at a good clip)

  But, that example isn't terribly relevent is it? The company was not totally destroyed now was it.

  Ginny: I didn't bother to run a spell checker on my posts. I am a victim of whole language in grammer school. If you don't want to believe I have a degree that's fine, but I bet the records department at my school would disagree with you and that's all that really matters in the end. Reality.
• 

  expatbrit

  Newguy:

  The point of the example was to show that even extremely large companies are vulnerable to consumer backlash. Corning survived because it reached settlement with those it had harmed. Otherwise it would be history. Looked at in that light, there is some relevance.

  However, really the whole exercise here is not relevant. After all, the WT is not a business or a Fortune 500 company, it is a religious sect. Apples and oranges. To be relevant, you would have to consider whether any very large religions have ceased to exist through history when they become too damaging to society or when people simply no longer believe the religions doctrines.

  There are many such religions. Granted, these are mostly ancient religions, but this is the modern world. Things happen faster. The WTS may be a footnote of history in as little as a century.

  To return to your Fortune 500 analogy. A very significant percentage
  of the Fortune 500 companies of 1985 no longer exist in that recognizable form. They've been bought, or merged, or changed into substantially different companies.

  The Watchtower, too, must either change or die in the coming decades.

  Expatbrit
• 

  Michael3000

  "It seems to be the dream of many here to put the WT corperation
  out of business. "

  What, specifically, led you to that conclusion? I haven't seen anyone here "plotting" anything of this nature - although it may the wish of many here. It doesn't mean we're trying to put them out of business. Besides, with all the built-in "return customers" they have for the mags & books they publish, it would be rather difficult.

  --Michael

  michaelsidoti
• 

  unanswered

  i would have to chuckle a little if the wt org. fell apart, but i would much rather see them screw themselves than be taken down by others. i too, have rarely, if ever, heard people plotting the demise of the org. on this board. are you having a bad day, newguy?