Moral Corporations or Corporate Morals?

When we see corporations, we first and foremost see an entity selling a product (for the most part). These entities may actually have brand names (Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola), but regardless of their characteristics, we look at their product and judge whether or not we should buy it. Because of this, obviously, said corporations are going to try to persuade us using advertising, which more often than not leads to flashy designs, catchy slogans, sex appeal, and...

...morals?

Granted, Durkheim's definition/idea of a corporation may not be exactly like what we see today, but nonetheless, his claim that, "if we deem [a corporation] indispensable it is not because of the services it might render the economy, but on account of the moral influence it could exercise" (xxxix) still rings true...sort of. Starbucks prides itself on its environmentally friendly production methods, social equality for employees, and charity work. Food producers make a point to show how animal-rights friendly they are (or at least claim to be), and even Microsoft, Apple, and Sony are trying to sell products by hyping social interaction and efficiency (in both man & machine). These companies, like almost every other major brand name, are selling us ourselves. Or at least what we want to be, and what we care about.

Are these things actually 'morals', in the strictest sense? Probably not. But when we see Wal Mart negotiating with workers for higher salaries or Starbucks tweeting about how many community service hours their employees worked, are they not trying to appeal to our humanity? Maybe they're not selling us a Mocha while saying it'll create world peace and wipe misogyny and racism off the face of the earth, but giving you a 10 cent discount on your drink when you bring in a reusable cup has got to factor into your sense of moral preservation somehow (granted, this just opens up the controversy if we can be morally aware without a financial stimulus, but let's conveniently avoid that topic for now...).

I might be taking some liberties with Durkheim's theories here, but there is something afoot between corporations and our own sense of moral decency. The exposing of child labor or foreign sweatshops lead to a sales drop in clothing manufactures, and when embezzlement or fraud rears its ugly head within the walls of energy companies or banking institutions, we tend to think twice about doing business with them. Maybe corporations aren't quite the moral leaders that Durkheim makes them out to be (in theory, anyway), but there's some truth in the claim that they are just as susceptible to moral judgement as an individual human being...maybe even more so. But in that case, maybe it's about time we held them a little bit more accountable for their moral decisions, too.