Purpose of Corporation is profits?

usdcartoonIs Maximization of corporate profit the mission or main purpose of a corporation? What are other “purposes” and obligations? Present an in-depth “Ethical Guidebook” for executives and managers in a large corporation. Give your comments or examples which supports this case.

This post will be end on 28th monday midnight. The leader of this post was Hema Madda.

The blog discussion was extented one more week upto 5th Monday Midnight.

The Parable of the Mango Tree

mango-2In Mangoland, where mangos were the currency of trade, a bushel of the golden beauties was equivalent to $1 million in our money. Johnny, an up-and-coming Mangoland executive, was desperate to use his skills and experience to acquire mangos – to consume and to hoard. The orchards were owned by Mangotycoons, Mangolords and Mangopreneurs. One night, as he dreamed of mangos, he had a vision. He did not realize that this vision was about to change his life.

A white-bearded man with a halo, asked in a soft echoing voice, “Do you want mangos?”

“Oh yes!” Johnny replied.

“Come,” said the man, transporting Johnny miraculously to a magnificent mango orchard.

“Wow!” Johnny gasped, taking in the endless acres of luscious fruits, hanging within reach.

“Start your journey by caring for this tree,” said the man, pointing to a sapling that bore the fruits of Johnny’s desires, “With your skills and commitment, it will grow to give you many delicious mangos. Then, you may be called upon to serve other trees that too will share their fruits with you.”  With these words, the man disappeared as mysteriously as he had arrived.

Alone in the orchard, Johnny was trapped between commitment to care for the tree and his uncontrollable desire for mangos. Casting commitment and honor aside, he set upon harvesting the orchard, keeping a wary eye for the man. The man never appeared, and Johnny continued to build a heap of mangos large enough to lay on. Soon, exhausted and hungry, he started to devour the fruits of his labor.  He ate and he ate, until he fell asleep.  Even in his dreams, he was devouring mangos, crouching and hoping he was not being watched.

When he awoke, Johnny did not know how long he had slept. Reaching out for another mango, he shrieked in horror. The heap on which he lay had become a rotting, stinking, bug-infested mess, and there was no tree in site.

………………………

How does this parable shed light on Corporate Greed? Can you compare Johnny with executives who have ruined their firms by unethical practices – driven by taking rather than serving and giving. How does this story relate to life?

The Parable of the Mango Tree is an excerpt from “The Mango Tree,” a short story on purposeful action for children, by Prem Chopra, Brook of Life Press, Copyright 2009 by Prem Chopra, all rights reserved.

Which Leader has inspired you?

waterfall-from-margaux

Here is a discussion topic on self or personal motivation.

Which inspirational leader, past or present, have you modeled your life after?

Explain, using examples and references, how this leader has helped you improve your personal or professional life, and relate your comments to the Four Principles for Purposeful Action.

This post was written by Margaux Ellis-Hall, who will lead the discussion for the week starting on March 10.

How do Entrepreneurs and Managers differ?

brookmaster-compassWe know of many similarities between entrepreneurs and managers. However, to clearly understand these archetypes it is helpful to compare them. Think, research and discuss how these two archetypes differ from each other. Refer to your Archetype-Attribute matrices and research the Internet as you present and discuss your views on this question.

Play BrookMaster, emulating a well-known manager and an entrepreneur, to illustrate your understanding.

What is the relationship between Entrepreneurship and Innovation?

boat3Following our live and archived discussions from last week and tonight, and your research and experience, what light can you shed on this question? Asked in other ways, the question could be:

Are entrepreneurs innovative?

or,

Are innovators entrepreneurs?

Illustrate your comments with examples from industry, providing references and links.

Are politicians leaders or entrepreneurs?

Here is a systematic way to find out:

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Consider any two prominent politicians – say, one from the US Congress and one from the US Senate – perhaps one Republican and one Democrat. Compare what the say they stand for with what they actually vote for and promote. Investigate how they were first elected and then re-elected, the money they collected and spent to get elected, where it came from, and how those donors fared. Consider the lobbyists with whom the politicians associate and what money exchanges occur. Examine the committees they work on and what comes out of those committees, and who benefits. Compare their assets before they were elected with what they accumulate over the years, over and above what their salary would suggest.

Play the BrookMaster Leadership Coaching Game, emulating the choices you believe each of these politicians would make. Which of the six archetypes (leader, entrepreneur, manager, consultant, trustee and intellectual) do you expect them to be? What would you expect their ethical balance to be in terms of their Giver/Taker ratio? Compare what you expect with the results you actually obtain from BrookMaster.

Now, go ahead and play !

Three Steps to Financial Freedom

Principle of the Golden Goose:

The Real Taj Mahal
The Real Taj Mahal

The Principle of the Golden Goose has been taught for over two decades in finance classes for engineering students. Many have applied this principle and accumulated wealth beyond their imagination. You too can start building your wealth today and achieve financial independence – in threee simple steps:

Step 1: Create flow—of money. Work purposefully and consistently, earning a fair reward. Be persistent.
Step 2: Let the flow work for you—grow your ‘golden goose’ by paying yourself regularly and investing the money wisely – if you can, save at least as much as you pay in taxes. Be disciplined. Save diligently.
Step 3: Go with the flow, don’t dip into it and do not eat the goose. Be patient.

Can you apply the Principle of the Golden Goose to your life over the next 25 to 30 years and figure out how much wealth you can accumulate?

Learn more about the Golden Goose: Masters of the Game – Reaching Beyond the Nexus to Success and Happiness

Create Value with Quality, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The following article is excerpted from a lecture by Prem Chopra on “Quality Improvement through Purposeful Action,” at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga in September 2006. The text of the entire lecture can be found in Masters of the Game: Reaching Beyond the Nexus to Success and Happiness.nexusdarkerfontcover1

Can you cite some examples that shed light on the content of this article?

You can spend a lot of money for a fancy Cadillac. It is a beautiful car, but if it does not provide value to the customer, the business will ultimately collapse. Value is measured in terms of features, functionality, reliability, longevity, ease of maintenance, and ease of repair. You must continue to improve and innovate to enhance these attributes in the products and services you offer. These are essential aspects of quality control or quality improvement. I do not like the word control. Control is a very static word. It implies unidirectional and unilateral standard-setting and direction.Continuous measurement and improvement of quality is the key to maximizing value. You must measure and improve. You cannot improve something that you cannot measure.

So, what is the bottom-line for continuous quality improvement? The answer lies in the history of the American electronics and software industries — Innovate and improve quality. Do what has not been done before—that is the meaning of innovation. Give people freedom to think and work on their ideas. Give more value to the customer. That is the philosophy of the successful entrepreneur.Purposeful entrepreneurship can be applied to any endeavor, including academics–you can be a purposeful and entrepreneurial teacher. What made the United States so technologically advanced was the entrepreneurial spirit. If you want to discover your propensity to be an entrepreneur, or to know your giver-taker balance, play the BrookMaster game at www.purposefulaction.com