Chronic tardiness is grounds for firing in most any business. It's part of being a responsible adult that you manage your time in such a way that you're not late often. Every once in a while is OK...it's the chronic lateness that is problematic and likely what they're trying to minimize.
I don't know about you, but I know people who are ALWAYS late. There's no excuse for it. It's inconsiderate of the majority of others who, although in similar life situations, manage to be on time on a consistent basis.
If it's your job to take my place at 2 PM and you stroll in at 2:15, it's quite possible that I've been made to miss the 2:10 bus and, since the next bus doesn't come until 2:40, I will have to pay the baby sitter for an extra half hour. It wouldn't take many times for that to happen before I demand that the company take steps to rectify the situation.
If you get fired for lateness, it's a sure clue that you need to make some changes in the way you run your life.

Corporations have it as part of their culture that your life outside matters not to them. Family values? Ask anyone in the middle ages what capitalism often thinks of family values: an inconvenience.

Oh, Japanese businessmen have a social conscience, but the average American MBA is a bit

autistic towards people
amoral
slimy
trashy


I better stop. Say, did you see last week on Yahoo that MBA's are the group of students most likely to cheat in class! Didn't surprise me.

But, I gotta stop.