This example and the one about your bigoted customer works under a different dynamic. Mozilla is in the knowledge industry where talent can add up far more of a company's worth and longevity than the actual product(s). Branding and identity is also important to its employees as much as its to the customer especially when the product resides in electrons. It's up to the Mozilla board to decide whether Eich's eminent technical reputation can mitigate his socially injust views. It really does matter in the Bay, as it hits the hipster, millennial, and progressive demographics in a supply constrained tech centered area. When great creative and technical people leave over a social choice, that affects more than a company's bottom line. For whatever reasons, Eich's donations in 08 is a distraction now. If Brandon won't have a Come to Jesus moment (pun intended), then it'll continue to plague Mozilla until they ride it out with another distraction.
Simple answer: if you or I or they want to. No one is required to play for or watch the Rockets. If you value not supporting Republicans more than playing for or watching the Rockets, that's entirely up to you - the beauty of free consumer choice and the essence of a marketplace. It's no different than people avoiding products from companies that do animal testing, or avoiding eggs because you don't like the treatment of chickens, or avoiding Coke because you don't like foreigners singing America the Beautiful, or avoiding Walmart because they don't pay people enough, or avoiding Starbucks because they put a "no guns in Starbucks" sign up. I have zero issues with people making economic decisions for whatever crazy reasons they choose because every economic decision you make reflects whatever you value the most, and if you want to try to go through life supporting only certain things, you are absolutely welcome to try to do so. As stated in the original article, the donation didn't become public until 2012 due to a lawsuit, and it only became an issue for the employees when he became their boss. Remember, we don't know which or how many employees are complaining about him - maybe the people he managed as CTO didn't have a problem with it. We also don't know if people were complaining about him when he was CTO but it just wasn't big news. That makes him a good programmer or technology guy. Him developing javascript doesn't have anything to do with whether he is a good or bad CEO.
That is why I brought up the situation of a Kosher food company having a CEO that is seen eating bacon away from work. While not illegal and not directly related to work it will probably leave a negative impression with the target market and employees. Those are business decisions which I think Mozilla has a right to and should weigh. I am speaking again personally about whether I personally think Eich should be fired if I was a Mozilla employee.
Of course and I am not denying anyone the right to do so. That said I doubt many here would turn down a contract from or press for the removal of the GM of the Rockets through boycotts just because you don't like his politics.
And then compare Obama's position today to Eich's position today. Obama said, "I've been going through an evolution on this issue. I've always been adamant that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally. At a certain point I've just concluded that, for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married." While Eich said, "I know some will be skeptical about this, and that words alone will not change anything. I can only ask for your support to have the time to “show, not tell”; and in the meantime express my sorrow at having caused pain." Not exactly the about-face we saw from Obama. Eich had an opportunity to explain or disavow his support for Prop 8, but did not, leaving everyone to assume he still supports Prop 8, even while he can support homosexuals in his business. What he thought in 2008 isn't really important anymore, because of what he's said and hasn't said in 2014.
Would elite FAs sign with a GM if he said something Paula Dean-like "a few decades ago"? That is the more apt analogy. The market is tight enough that engineers are lured with free food and perks, rather than a better paycheck. Mozilla would care less about scrub interns or junior engineers leaving in a huff outside bad press from a misleading stat about people leaving. As we're engaged in hypos, pretend you're lerbon....
So you support discrimination and you have no problem working for an openly racist bigot ? Got it. This thread is a clown show and your post exemplifies it. You people fight tooth and nail trying to label all opposing parties as racists whenever a black person's rights are possibly infringed. Then when other groups are being discriminated and attacked, it's suddenly about "tolerating all opinions" and allowing "divergent viewpoints"
He stepped down. http://recode.net/2014/04/03/mozill...esigns-as-ceo-and-also-from-foundation-board/ For those who will say this destroys his life---I hardly think that the guy will have difficultly finding something out there given that he created JavaScript. It'll just have to be at a technology organization that doesn't make a core value out of open access to the web (I SEE YOU MICROSOFT)
Yes that is a good point but if I was Lebron I could pretty much name any team I went to and many other factors are likely going to play into it. Anyway for anyone living in Texas who supports Gay marriage it is probably not a hypothetical that you deal in business for someone who doesn't share your views on the issue. My point still is that we live in a pluralistic society. I might not agree with Eich's position on that issue but there are many people I deal with all the time on issues. I think we can still work for social change even if our bosses, clients, vendors etc.. don't necessarily agree with those positions.
Mozilla has an interesting policy about employees harassing coworkers about their religious beliefs... Time to find a new browser
I think it's not that parallel of an example. California is not Texas. And there are many gay employees who are extremely passionate about this issue. If DM came out and said he saw that blacks should not have the same rights as whites, I think that would indeed cause an uproar and lead to his resigning. If DM gave $1000 to the KKK 6 years ago, and yet still led us to a ring this year, I don't think he would last very long. You are right, this isn't about free speech, this is about public perception and how a business manages its brand. The key question is one of leadership, and whether a person's political beliefs or views should or can influence that. People can be fired for their political views - they are not protected. But even that really isn't the issue here. The issue is one of branding and marketing and of leadership. The company, the board, the CEO, and the shareholders are the ones who ultimately make the decision here. And usually that will be based on how much what he has done negatively impacts profits or the viability of the business. In my eyes, this is hugely negative. It will erode the brand, hurt moral, talent will leave, and all sorts of negative stuff that could jeopardize the company. So it's going to be a tough one for this guy. I think ultimately he will voluntarily step down as I doubt this will blow over.
Wait.... so contributing to a campaign for a proposition that PASSED is the clutchfans equivalent of joining the KKK? Who knew the KKK was so popular?
Mozilla's bottom line was being affected because of the CEO. They did the right thing. I thought conservatives were pro-business.
