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4.6 A mini-republic or modern village
Some philosophers see the business enterprise as a means of transmitting social justice, as a kind of mini-republic. This is especially true of contract and stakeholder theorists. Those who view a business as being primarily someone's property wouldreject this view. While they might well believe that the net effect of people disposing and exchanging their property freely will ultimately be beneficial to society as a whole, they would argue that even if this were not the case, one ought not to limit another's freedom to dispose of his property as he likes, that is, unless it is harmful to others.
Regardless of how one thinks about these matters, it is undeniable that that a business enterprise represents an increasingly important part of people's lives, especially the employees working there, for, in many ways, the business constitutes a person's principal social group, and it amounts to a replacement for the village or tribe that was the central social setting for our ancestors. In many ways, one's affilliation with a business is the most important social institution most of us have outside of the family.
4.7 The ontology of the business enterprise
What makes a business a business? We take for granted that a business is a profit-making entity. How, then, are we to characterize a business that is run only for the benefit of the people who buy from it, for example, a so-called co-operative? Similarly, how might we characterize an insuranceInsurance is the business of providing protection against financial aspects of risk, such as those to property, life, health and legal liability. It is one method of the overall concept known as risk management. Introduction In insurance, the insured make business that is owned by its clients, as in the case of a mutual insurance company? Do the owners of insurance policies buy them primarliy for a profit? What about charitable enterprises, such as Goodwill IndustriesGoodwill Industries International is a network of autonomous community-based organizations providing job training and employment services to people with work place disadvantages and disabilities in 37 countries. Good Will includes in their Values statemen, or religious organizations such as Trinity Broadcasting NetworkThe Trinity Broadcasting Network or TBN is the world's largest Christian television network, with a larger U. viewership than its three main competitor networks combined. TBN was founded in 1973 by Paul and Jan Crouch. TBN now owns twenty-three U. full-po? Are all of these organizations businessesin the same sense as, say, General MotorsGM redirects here. This article is about General Motors . For other uses, see GM (disambiguation). General Motors Corporation also known as GM is a United States-based automobile maker with worldwide operations and brands including Buick, Cadillac, Chevro is?
What is it that fundamentally distiguishes a business from other kinds of organizations, say, governmental organizations. For example, how could we characterize quasi-governmental organizations such as the U.S. Post Office and Amtrak, which are supposed to be self-sustaining, even profitable (for reinvestment, reducing or eliminating taxpayer subsidy, reserves)? Would we call such organizations businesses? One might suggest that these are run for the benefit of society, whereas a business is to satisfy the interests of its owners. However, is it not the case that society owns the governement? One also would have to ask, how is one entity's satisfying the various interests of some segment of society substantially different from another entity's making a profit that also satisfies various interests, sometimes even the same ones?
What about a person who trades his labor in return for a wage. Is he also in business? After all, he is putting up risk capital, in the sense that he's giving up his time...an opportunity cost...and even making an investment of himself, his labor. He is performing a service, just as a business does. His employer is, in a sense, a customer, someone whom he must satisfy. And the employee markets himself, his skills, either to get a job or to get ahead. He has either an explicit or implicit performance agreement, a contract. He even hopes that his revenues will exceed his expenses, which is to say, that his efforts will be profitable. Does this, therefore, make every laborer a business person?
In other words, a philosopher might reasonably ask, what constitute the essential and distinguishing characteristics of a business enterprise. Perhaps it ends up being something as simple as being one or more persons engaged in any number of possible exchanges that satisfies any number of possible interests in an intentional, organized, planned manner. In any case, these are at least some of the questions one might ask about the ontology of a business.
