This sort of thinking is the very definition of what Martin Heidegger means by treating human beings or any kind of natural being as a “standing reserve.”

…American corporations, which are richer and more profitable than they have ever been in history, have become so obsessed with “maximizing short-term profits” that they are no longer investing in their future, their people, and the country.

This short-term corporate greed can be seen in many aspects of corporate behavior, from scrimping on investment spending to obsessing about quarterly earnings to fretting about daily fluctuations in stock prices. But it is most visible in the general attitude toward average employees.

Employees… are people who devote their lives to creating value for customers, shareholders, and colleagues.  And, in return, at least in theory, they share in the rewards of the value created by their team.

In theory.

In practice, American business culture has become so obsessed with maximizing short-term profits that employees aren’t regarded as people who are members of a team. 

Rather, they are regarded as “costs.”

And “costs,” as we all know, are supposed to be reduced as much as is possible…

Read the rest of the piece via What’s Wrong With Business And The Economy – Business Insider.