The Purpose of Business

This week I read a speech, "Microlending: Toward a Poverty Free World" by Mohamed Yunus.  I was so inspired by his work.  He started a bank to loan money to the poor in Bangladesh.  I loved the way he talked about the worth and creativity of people.  I loved watching the way he was able to positively impact his little corner of the world.  I could feel his enthusiasm and wondered what his passion could accomplish.  I watched a video of a man who talked about the elimination of the small pox disease.  He talked about the passionate commitment to rid the world of this disease and the army of people that it took to do so.  I wonder if we committed ourselves to eliminating poverty in the world, the way we eliminated small pox, could we do it?

We also read an article from the Harvard Business Review titled, "What's a business for?" by Charles Handy.
  • Based on what you read in the first two pages (pages 3 and 4), why are virtue and integrity so vital to an economy?
Virtue and Integrity are vital to the economy because our lending is somewhat based on truth and trust.  We trust that if we lend someone money they will pay it back with interest.  We put our trust in company officers as we invest in the stocks of their companies.  It appears that the economy could implode based on the overvaluations of some companies, government and consumer debt.  Trust plays a huge role in our economic lives.

  • According to Charles Handy, what is the “real justification” for the existence of businesses?
The Real Justification for the existence of business is greed.  Charles talks about the many upper level owners, and managers who simply line their own pockets.  He also talks about the stockholders who don't really care about the business as much as the money they will receive.

  • What are two solutions proposed by Handy that you agree with? Why?
I agree that the companies that are willing to give something back to society, not for profit, but just because they can, should make the world a better place.  The example he gave was the company Merck who gave a medicine to cure river blindness.  I think this would help.
I also think treating the employees like assets and looking to improve their lives, with either shorter work weeks or increased vacation times is a great idea.

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