Debrief
The City of Jacksonville, hoping to revitalize their floundering economy, were able to incentivize a fortune 500 company to set up their headquarters in their city. To entice this unnamed company, Jacksonville’s city council had to propose a $400-per-job payment that will be made to the company for the next 15 years.
My Opinion
After initially reading this, I was shocked that a city would feel the need to bribe companies to set up offices in their city. Why should taxpayer’s dollars go to funding a corporation, which, being on the fortune 500 list, is highly profitable already? That being said, after looking it over and finding some interesting research, I now understand what Jacksonville’s city council is doing. They are providing a well-placed incentive in order for companies to come to their city. I am a great supporter of this arrangement. In essence, I look at this transaction as killing two birds with one stone for Jacksonville. A parallel to Steven Kerr’s article “The Folly of Rewarding A while Hoping for B“, the city is strategically pinpointing what makes corporations tick: money. As Dan Pink describes in his Ted Talk, Jacksonville is appealing to the company’s need for purpose. The unnamed company is looking to increase their profits; however, this cannot be done without firing employees and, in turn, lowering output. Yet, by subsidizing the workers, the city of Jacksonville has found a way to increase the company’s profits without changing output. With growing unemployment in the region, this comes in a time of dire need for the city, creating thousands of jobs for the economy and rejuvenating the aging workforce. After looking at it from this angle, I can see the tremendous economic advantage this gives Jacksonville, and I laud the city counsellors for their ability to successfully bolster their city’s floundering economy.
Gibbons, Timothy. “Fortune 500 Company Lured to Jacksonville by New Incentive Plan – Jacksonville Business Journal.” Widgets RSS. Jacksonville Business Journal, 6 Aug. 2014. Web. 08 Nov. 2014.
Kerr, Steven. “On the Folly of Rewarding A, While Hoping for B.” Academy of Management Journal 18.4 (1995): 769-83. University of Oklahoma. Web.
Pink, Dan. “Dan Pink: The Puzzle of Motivation.” YouTube. The Ted Foundation, 25 Aug. 2009. Web. 01 Nov. 2014
Basch, Mark. “Jacksonville Inflation Remains in Check, Reflecting a Weak Economy.” Members.jacksonville.com. The Florida Times-Union, 15 Oct. 2014. Web. 01 Nov. 2014.