What's a Business For?

Reading an article by Charles Handy, entitled “What’s a Business For?” we are schooled in the rampant fraud that has occurred in the near past and that profit has become the word of the day. No big surprise! The American public already mistrusts the world of big business--which I equate with Wall Street.  So few leaders of these large companies take a long view of things, instead falsely inflating profits through less-than-ethical accounting practices, selling their stock when they leave and giving no care to those who follow behind.  In this article, we learn that the purpose of business is to be an “active agent of change.”  By working collectively within a business and with other businesses, progress is made.  Handy suggests that businesses need to go beyond the mere idea of “doing no harm” and be proactive in setting the trends for doing good.  Companies must also begin to value its human resources and build a sense of community.  This article was written in 2002 and I now see many companies taking up these charges.  Many start-ups and those who had small beginnings but are now much larger are attractive to investors and employees because of their decision to give back.  They also seem to value their staffs, providing many fringe benefits which go above and beyond medical insurance.  These companies work hard at creating a difference between their culture and the culture of big business.  My children, in their 30’s, who hate the term “millennial” but nevertheless belong to that generation, are making conscious choices to seek out careers which allow them to have full lives outside of their work day.  They and their friends saw their parents giving their lives to companies who abused them and took them away from their families.  As 15 years have passed since this article was written, it is amazing how his suggestions for improvement have really worked.  There is more to be done, but companies who have worked at making progress in things like the environment and caring for human resources have, indeed, become successful and their pattern is being copied by many.