§ 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 an economy because if you don’t
have them
no one will want to be participants in the economy. People will
find other places to put their money. Without money in the game, the economy
will collapse and people will turn to the government to rescue them, but
government involvement usually isn’t the best solution to restoring faith and
vitality in the system.
§ According to Charles
Handy, what is the “real justification” for the existence of businesses?
“The purpose of a
business, in other words, is not to make a profit, full stop. It is to make a
profit so that the business can do something more or better. That “something” becomes
the real justification for the business. Owners know this. Investors needn’t
care.” My understanding of what this means is that the purpose of a business is
to prosper so that they can develop and improve upon what it is that we already
have or know. It has a purpose of improving our lives for the better. But, with
investors and Board of Directors it seems that we have moved away from this
purpose and are only concentrating on the profit and greed side of the business,
not really caring if we are providing something that improves the lives of the
consumers.
§ What are two solutions
proposed by Handy that you agree with? Why?
One solution I agree with is if business “regarded the
corporation as a community whose members have legal rights”. When the employees
feel as though they have a voice in the operations of the business and its
outcome, I think they will take more ownership over what is expected of them.
If the employees are part owners in the company they will want to do all that
they can to help the company succeed and prosper, because as the company does
so, so will the employees.
Another solution Handy proposed that I agree with is, “We
should, as charitable organizations do, measure success in terms of outcomes
for others as well as for ourselves.” There is a greater feeling of self-worth
and accomplishment when we are able to fulfill something that is purposeful.
When we work at improving the lives of others, we improve the society as a
whole and what better feeling of success can compare to that.
Entrepreneurship and Consecration
The message Elder Gay shared is not one that you’d expect to
hear at an event for entrepreneurs. He didn’t give an outline on how to become
successful or build wealth, but a message of service as a way of doing business.
As we go about our business we need to always be mindful that we are on the
Lord’s errand. We are here to do His will through service and charity.
Elder Gay taught us that the world’s model of how to run a
successful business is not the same as the Lord’s model. We are to be pioneer
and break from traditional methods of business and go about doing it the Lord’s
way by using our time, talents, and all that we have been blessed with to help
build the kingdom of God. We have this responsibility and we be held
accountable for what we do with what we have been blessed with. We need to have
the faith and courage like the fourteen-year-old girl from Darfur, Africa and
figure out our purpose and why the Lord put us where we are. Her story has
inspired me to figure out my purpose. What can I do to bless the lives of
others with what I have to offer and where I am now in my life?
I believe if we keep in mind the Chateaubriond principle, “in the
days of service all things are founded, in the days of special privilege they
deteriorate, in the days of vanity they are destroyed”, as Elder Gay’s father
did, we will be able to keep ourselves on the right track to rescuing and
serving others. As it says in 2 Nephi 26:30 “he Lord God hath given a
commandment that all men should have charity, which charity is
love. And except they should have charity they were nothing.”
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