Is Business Sustainable? by megan51773 | studymode.com

Business is an artificial person and has responsibilities.
While making money is an important result of a company’s existence, many people wrongly assume this is their sole responsibility. A business can be defined as a combination of the products and services they provide, the customers they serve, and its work force. A business of one person or thousands takes on the personality of those wihin. Its culture, morals, and ethics are defined by the actions of the people that execute its bidding; and as such can take on its own identity. Although a business is not made of living tissue, to those that work for it or consume their products and services, it is treated as a living entity; and can therefore take on a variety of real responsibilities. These real responsibilities are realized through a responsibility toward a business’s consumers, protection of the environment and the law. Considering the many differences between an individual and a business, it’s understandable that many people would be eager to accept the idea that as an artificial person, businesses have no responsibilities. Supporters of this view believe that business corporations have no responsibility to society beyond the law as they go about their operations. Their argument is that a business’s principal and overriding responsibility is to shareholders, and it is a responsibility to conduct the operations of the company in such a way as to maximize the wealth of these shareholders. One cannot deny that the classic definition of a business is an organization that produces or sells goods or services in an effort to make a profit. Nevertheless, a business today has a responsibility toward its stakeholders – customers and societies at a large are more aware of the negative impacts of “business as usual”. Many consumers treat