When you think like a business person

You have no respect for people, the environment, land, and ethics. Your only concern is to increase your profits and decrease your expenses at whatever cost.

 

yes exactly. the whole idea of making everyone a "business person" is a good way of destroying society. countries that flood themselves with "business people" end up destroying themselves. business people hate paying any form of tax. they hate paying tradesmen to work for them. they hate to pay anyone anyone any money - except prostitutes that is. have a look in the local newspapers in rich areas they are full of adverts of prostitutes, this fact alone speaks volumes.

"businesses" like banks do no honest trade. socrates through plato complains about this in a book called "the republic" which has me to understand history from a completely different angle - this problem has been going on for quite sometime. socrates talks about lenders injecting their poisonous loans into the population and talks about a degeneration of society caused by banks. why am i ranting on about banks -well they are the biggest business on the planet bigger than the arms industry that probably takes loans from them!! (ok as an aside ... if an arms manufacturer takes a loan from a bank to to do R+D and manufacturing of that weapon they have developed how does the arms manufacturer pay the bank back? by selling his weapons to someone. if there are no wars or threats how can the loan be paid back. the danger with a country that invests so heavily into weapons is that they must have a war to pay back the bank. once buying the weapons you have a debt to pay. so you have a war in which you invade another country steal the loot, pay the arms manufacturer, who in turn pays the bank. simple isn't it.
end of rant

 

I beg your pardon, I happen to be a small business owner.

I started my business to support small independent crafters and industrial hemp. To be honest, I'm no great fan of capitalism (or socialism either for that matter) even though I hope to benefit from it at least enough to keep out of a homeless shelter, and get my family off of food stamps, but it's what we have to work with right now, whether I like it or not.

The problem is not business people. The problem is that there aren't enough people in "business". A corporation may have the legal "rights" as an individual, but not the responsibilities. A corporate entity is not a "person" no matter what the law says. If corporate big business was taken down, and business was put back in the hands of people where it belongs things would be much different. Caring about people, the environment, communities, and ethics is in everyone's better interest. Corporations aren't people, so these things don't directly affect them - they just hurt for everyone else.

You wrongfully insult me and many other responsible small entrepreneurs. There is a huge difference between these all-consuming, socially, environmentally, politically, economically, legally and ethically irresponsible corporate monsters and business people.

I suggest you watch a documentary called The Corporation. And educate yourself a little before you go slamming people's livelihoods.

 

you didn't read my thread properly i put "business people" in quotes

my rant being there are lots of "business people" but what exactly what kind of business are they doing? i'm not talking about someone who owns a shop etc, i'm talking about a mentality., you can get "business people " who aren't traders etc but rather feed off the population, you know the type they have some sort of investment or "business" and this makes them feel that they don't owe anyone anything, they rarely if ever pay any form of tax or bills that they have incurred. trying to get whats owed from them is nigh on impossible. one of the ultimate "businesses" are banks.

if you felt i was targetting yourself or similar i apologise

 

Corporations are run by business people.

 

Not really. very often CEO's feel like they have their hands tied. Have you watched The Corporation? Have you studied anything about business at all? or are you just bitching out your ass about things you know nothing about?

Don't tell me how business people think, I am one.

 

Business schools must have failed to teach CEO's good ethics.

Enough to know "business people" can mean many things to different people. This is where our disagreement originates. Not all business people are good and honest people just like not all politicians are good and honest people. Many "business people" fit the mentality I described. You do not, good for you.

 

There is a sticky in the Hip Business Network for business resources. Among small business start-up resources and information about grants, there are also several links to resources for green and socially conscious businesses. Check them out and you can perhaps get a better perspective of the changes being supported by many, in favor of ethical business.

http://www.hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167864

These are only the ones I was able to find quickly. There are many more available, but those are a starting place.

As far as business schools failing to teach ethics, I've never been to business school; I majored in art. What gets taught in terms of ethics varies widely from school to school I imagine. However, regardless of what the schools teach, it is still the individual's responsibility to learn, regardless of whether they aim to become CEO of a large corporation or the manager of a small cooperative.

I'll agree that much happens in the business world that is irresponsible, inexcusable, and evil. But to blame "business people" not only hurts ethical entrepeneurs such as myself, but also shifts attention away from the real culprits, being the dangerously powerful legal entitiy of the corporation and the disproportionate government subsidies that favor them.

I strongly believe business should be put back into the hands of the people. If you are genuinely interested in educating yourself further, or discussing ethical business practices among people who are aware of them, I invite you to post in the Hip Business Network, and ask all the respectful questions you want.