Unedited 7/8/09 |
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Inherent Value
Inherent value refers to a theoretical "average of cost" of a similar product or service. Car dealerships that repair cars price their labor out of flat rate manuals. The number of hours cited generally exceed the average time to do a particular task but some jobs are easier than others thus there is an overall averaging effect. Service Work: When a homeowner hires a plumber to install a new faucet they expect that a professional will come prepared. Generally changing a faucet will take less than an hour and a professional service will charge anywhere from $125 to $300 for that hour. But if the plumber is charging by the hour and they begin to have problems finding all the parts they all too often make their incompetence the problem of the homeowner by charging for every minute on the clock. In the end the homeowner might have to pay $600 in labor, or more, for a simple change of a faucet. It is difficult to cite any ethical violation here, but if there is an ethical valuation to be ascribed to this example it will likely have to do with not being professional, not being prepared, and not acting with due diligence to finish the job. Even if the plumber has all the parts the bill can skyrocket because the plumber is not acting with due diligence to solve little problems that crop up here and there. There must be some relationship between the actual cost and the cost of a similar job under similar circumstances. Service personnel rarely take their incompetence or lack of preparedness into account when billing clients. As a rule large service providers are inclined to hire worker that are inexperienced so that they pay little for their work and reap high profits because their worker is essentially learning on the job. Note:
Copyright 2009
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