Eithcs in finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Eithcs in finance - Essay Example In addition to this, we must establish what the rules of the game are and discuss ethics in business, including issues on deception and fraud. The Business Purpose The word business has a variety of meanings and could not simply be defined. Even in the Merriam- Webster online dictionary (2013), it has 10 possible meanings. Some of the few interesting descriptions of business include that it is a ‘purposeful activity’, ‘engaged in as a means of livelihood’, ‘transaction of an economic nature’, and ‘a serious activity requiring time and effort and usually the avoidance of distractions’. All aforementioned definitions are correct and are applicable in different business interests. Friedman (1970) mentioned that the primary purpose of business is to maximize profits. Whole Foods Market is a big natural and organic food company in the US. Its CEO, John Mackey agreed with this statement, but pointed out several good points to consider in his work in Conscious Capitalism. He introduced the purpose of business by first pointing out purposes of important profit- producing sectors in society. Doctors, for example, work to heal the sick. Teachers serve in lieu of educating the youth. Lawyers exist to advocate justice. All talk about promoting ‘public good’ and a ‘purpose beyond self- interest’, but how about business? Does it promote the same purpose? According to most economists, the purpose of business is to maximize pro?ts for the investors, but the major power in establishing business purpose lies on the entrepreneur. Mackey adds that in his experience, only a few entrepreneurs he knew engaged with a business purpose different from just ‘maximizing profit’, and reasons for choosing so were mostly personal (2007: 2). Verging into Entrepreneurship In 1987, Robert Goffee and Richard Scase defined entrepreneurs as ‘popular heroes’ since economic recovery in the 80â€⠄¢s was largely dependent on the ambitious efforts of fearless entrepreneurs. On the other hand, Robert D. Hisrich, PhD, Michael P. Peters, PhD, and Dean A. Shepherd, PhD provided the following definition for entrepreneurship: ‘Entrepreneurship is the process of creating something new with value by devoting the necessary time and effort, assuming the accompanying financial, psychic, and social risks, and receiving the resulting rewards of monetary and personal satisfaction and independence’ (2005). Entrepreneurs are risk- takers and innovators who deviate from the norm of being a wage employee and verge into being ‘their own boss’. Dr. Jyotsna Sethi of Small Industries India enumerates in her work Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurship three stages in the entrepreneurial process in with the main goal of profit generation. Income generation is the first stage, which is the simplest done, part- time engagement to supplement income. Self- employment is the second stage, which entails involvement in one’s own occupation and requires fulltime involvement. These boils down to entrepreneurship, coined as the third and