executive suite

January 28 movie: Executive Suite. William Holden, Walter Pidgeon, Barbara Stanwyck and Fredric March star in a drama about executives in a furniture factory jockeying for position after the founder and president suddenly dies. It was a good drama, with excellent acting. But mainly interesting for the (now naive) portrait of corporate ethics. Holden gives a stirring speech about the company's future, how they will only succeed if they value quality and worker morale over short-term profits. It's kind of sad to realize that this vision of American corporate practices has almost totally failed. I do know of companies that operate this way, but only very small organizations in a luxury niche where customers are willing to pay a premium.