The business of business is only business

This theme emanates from an age long debate over the outlook of a business organization and the key driving forces behind its makers. The standard definition of Business is that it is an organization aimed at providing goods and services to consumers. The modern day business has a far greater role to play than just providing goods and services. A sustainable business model needs to look into the desirability of the product, the after sales service and the customer engagement model being employed. We have seen a paradigm shift in the way businesses view customers not only catering to their preferences but also building a rapport with the consumers.
In the legendary JRD Tata’s words “No success in material terms is worthwhile unless it serves the needs or interests of the country and its people”. A CSR initiative is indeed required to build a symbiotic relation between the corporate and the society. A business is a part of society and is not independent from it and it aims to do so by indulging with the people it does business with.
Profit making should not be the only driver for a business. The sole purpose of business today has been revamped from a money making outlook to that of being a solution provider. Irrespective of the scale of the organization, a businessman needs to understand the implications of his business from a macro as well as a micro perspective. Looking at it through the tinted glasses of money will only result in a skewed vision.
The mindset that we have to run a business to make money is highly controversial as this has resulted in businesses overstretching their workers and undermining the right to a healthy life for an individual. We all know of the highly overstressed workers of today with late working hours and little job satisfaction. All these symptoms are due to a not so rare disease called ‘Greed’. Businesses need to cater to the needs of not only their customers but also their employees as well.
Looking at this from a macro economic perspective, the government also needs to intervene into the running of a business if it finds that the greater good is being sacrificed for a profit. An optimally regulated business environment has the assurance of a fatherly figure overlooking our business but it also is conducive for economic growth. The downfall of the western markets led by the collapse of the Investment banks has been a great lesson for all those preaching the completely free market ideology .The sole reason for the collapse of these ‘invincible’ financial institutions was GREED. This happened because the business of these businesses was only business.

We talk of letting our businesses grow unrestricted leading to the greater good with lower unemployment rate, higher GDP growth etc. What we must realize is that we will be faced with challenges of an ever increasing population in a highly corrupted environment .Case in point: Satyam. So are we ready to cradle the scion of free markets? Some food for thought for our policy makers surely.