Hypothetical Situation

[Shadowswift]

Hypothetical: I own a car company. I produce decent cars. They look really nice and fancy, and they have some pretty cool features that everyone thinks are just the cats meow, and to top it all off, they aren't terribly expensive. That's today. What you didn't know is that twenty years ago, I sold cars under a different brand name. They were very sub-par, not at all pretty, and would probably only last for a couple of years even with excellent maintenance. People bought those cars under the pretense that they were economical and dependable...and they were sold those cars at the highest price that I could possibly get away with. I did that for maybe three years and then vanished from the scene before everyone found out just how lousy my so-called economy cars were. I took all the money that I made from selling those things and used it to manufacture the nicer cars that I sell today. Most people don't remember the crappy cars I used to sell, so, as it stands today, I make a pretty comfortable living off of something dishonest that I did years ago. Now, I've taken a bold new step to further my own career. Recently, I put in a bid to become the new president and CEO of Nissan. Nissan is doing pretty well for itself. It's not on top of the game, but it isn't struggling either, not by a long shot. However, Nissan's company bylaws require a majority stock-holder vote for me to take the job. A great deal of stock-holders don't know about how I really started off. They think I started off making the nice cars that I make today, not the heaps that I used to make a long time ago. Recently, my dark secret was leaked, and a lot of stock-holders found out about it. Many of those who were going to vote for me have changed their vote. However, several others still either don't believe my dark secret to be true (mostly because I've openly denied it and smooth-talked my way around it) or because they don't think it's a deciding factor on how I'd be running Nissan. I've also made a lot of semi-radical promises for change, which I fully intend to keep. Some of those changes, like using excess profit to offer better pay and benefits to the company's employees, are rather appealing to a lot of stock-holders.

Question: How would you vote if you were a Nissan stock-holder knowing everything about me, my past, my present, and my potential future as president and CEO of the company?

[Cigan]

My vote would be "nay". I understand the concept is "scam artist goes legit" but, I don't believe the guy deserves a happy ending. Your story doesn't imply that he has paid for his scam artistry in any way so, now it's time to pay, pay with a lost opportunity which is directly related to his prior underhandedness. I believe it's called poetic justice.

[wicked_lord]

Doesnt matter to me personally I would never drive a piece of shit nissan. ill stick to ford. If you get the job even based on your past good for you and congrats. If not then i guess karmas a suc ker for crooks.

[Shadowswift]

My vote would be "nay". I understand the concept is "scam artist goes legit" but, I don't believe the guy deserves a happy ending. Your story doesn't imply that he has paid for his scam artistry in any way so, now it's time to pay, pay with a lost opportunity which is directly related to his prior underhandedness. I believe it's called poetic justice.

Thanks for your input.

"Scam artist goes legit" may seem to apply here, but how legit is it that the auto-maker never actually tried to make amends for his shady actions? Sure, he makes ok cars now, and even plans to improve an already successful motor company, but while that may be beneficial to some others, the auto-maker is still getting paid for it, and a rather large amount too, I might add. He never even owned up to his misdeeds. Just adding that in.

[Cigan]

ya, that's exactly what I was saying....

[Spike]

someone who has made mistakes in the past knows how to avoid them more easily in the future.
the key thing is that they recognise that it was a mistake even if they're not admitting it in order to try and save face.
all that matters here is whether the guy will increase the value of the stock more or less than the other candidates. honesty doesn't come in to it, quality is only a factor as far as the brand is concerned, and there's advertising for that - where dishonesty is often the best policy.
if the guy openly admitted to having ripped people off in the past, he would have no chance what so ever, so its hard to blame him for not admitting to these allogations, even assuming they're true.
besides, he clearly made money out of ripping people off, and wasn't arrested, so that's good, no?

for the stockholders, all that matters is how fast the stock rises in value.
the only effect his prior dodgy acts has is whether there's a backlash (read: boycots) from the public (or media that then affects the public).

[Cigan]

I disagree. The guy won't admit his faults because it may ruin him. This is a clear indication that he is still shady and arguably not a man at all. If I had stock in a company I wouldn't want to depend on a shady liability. I guarantee you there are are equally and even more qualified candidates that have nothing to hide. Why gamble your company on a "reformed criminal" when you can just as easily remove the gamble with similar or even greater results?

[damage_inc]

The shady auto-maker was, and still is, a liar and a cheat. That is known. As the person that I am in life currently: I vote no.

BUT... we're normal people you're asking a question about a hypothetical situation to which we have no realistic way of being qualified to answer.

For example, if you knew me personally, and you also knew, that I have lied to you... cheated you... manipulated you AND made promises to you that not only did I NOT keep, but instead did the exact opposite YOU more than likely would have NOTHING to do with me.

And yet we do nothing about those who run the governments and corporations(Banks) of the world in that very same manner! Money, it changes everything.