The Modern Corporation
SHURMAN Blog Entry #1 (31 May 2019)
The organization and society is now more intertwined than ever. If some time long ago that corporations exist solely for gaining profit, such entities would not exist anymore in current times. Today, solidarity and awareness are key to building a successful organization.
DLSU’s RVR-COB Code of Ethics attest to the new era of business. It lists down the roles of a modern business leader. According to it, a business leader must be compassionate, ethical, loyal, caring, accountable, and honest, among others. It emphasizes that a business leader must not conduct business with any malicious intent, and must work with consideration and respect for those who maybe connected or affected by his/her line of work. As a DLSU business student, I think that it is essential to integrated these values early on. Business involves a lot of money, and it is easy to lose your way in pursuit of one’s own desires. Before, business is also a moral gray area. I recall the time reading about a scientist named Clair Cameron Patterson. He lobbied the ban against leaded gasoline, which was slowly harming the society. It was him against multimillion dollar companies, who were hellbent on proving Patterson wrong. It was a hard journey in proving that leaded gasoline was infecting everyone as those companies tried so hard to cut the funding and to stop Patterson from his research. In the end, Patterson won, and we were all saved from that doom. Now, this may be a far fetched idea in today’s society. Such exploitation would lead to drastic repercussions. But without a code of ethics such what DLSU RVR-COB has, is such immorality impossible? As a future business leader, I would want these values and principles right at the very core of my business. The ideal business leader would be very involved in his/her corporate social responsibility. It is not enough for an organization to just earn profit anymore. An organization must be built on a vision to improve society. It must understand the woes of the people and help to make everyone’s lives easier. It is important to have such an amazing and significant impact to the people around you. The job of a business leader is to lead its organization in the right way. In order to do this, s/he must uphold the organization in its values. In business, there is no singular way to achieve your goals. It is a continuous progress of lifelong learning. Business today deals with the organization and the world around it. A good business leader must be well-rounded. S/He must have a deeper and more inclusive understanding of how the world works. Culture has a bearing on business, from the profile and lifestyle of employees to the organization’s own processes. In order to fulfill the organization’s goals, a good business leader must be able to understand and respect these differences and accept them. In this way, culture becomes a bridge instead of a barrier.
Conducting business in today’s world is no easy feat. A goal cannot be achieved alone, and an organization will not grow if led the wrong way. A business leader now faces more responsibilities and challenges. Profit, albeit necessary, becomes secondary. There is more fulfillment in the modern corporation, knowing that you are in such a suitable position to improve and strengthen society. It is my duty as a student to live up to the new age of business leaders, and it is my challenge to learn in order to contribute more to fellow Filipinos and quite possibly, the world.