Group #1: Analysis of Issue
The desire of corporations to maximize profits creates conflict with the general welfare of the nation at large.

Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your views with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations or reading.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The desire of corporations to maximize profits creates conflict with the general welfare of the nation at large. In this discussion, I will present arguments against the statement.
While it is true that there are a few corporations that focus more on their profits rather than the general welfare of a nation, it is totally wrong to generalize such a statement. On the contrary, there is a very small proportion of companies that can afford to ignore the nation's interest and focus more on their profitability, and very often, such companies are not able to survive. These two factors, i.e, the profitability of a company and its nation's growth, always go hand in hand and are directly proportional to each other.
Firstly, the driving force of any nation is the presence of highly profitable companies, which help in its growth. These companies provide ample of funds so that a nation can grow. Moreover, these profitable companies are the face of any nation in this highly global market.
If we take some examples, some highly profitable companies like Ford and Facebook have been the face of USA, Reliance Industries of India, BMW of Germany, and many more. These companies have not only been profitable all the time, but have also supported their respective nations in the time of adversities and recession. On the contrary, there have been rarely any highly profitable corporations from under-developed countries.
Secondly, many of the highly profitable corporations are also focusing on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) now. They tend to involve themselves in a lot of activities which they feel are important for the growth & welfare of their nation as a whole, and these activities rarely are designed to affect their profits. They understand that only if their nation can grow, they can grow and vice-versa.

In a summary, one factor, which is desire of corporations to maximize profits, cannot affect the other factor, which is the general welfare of nations, adversely. Infact, if the corporations are profitable, it is highly likely that a nation will also grow.