Conscious Capitalism

WORKSHOP FOUR

CONSCIOUS CAPITALISM

Sharon S. Short

BBA 1-706

Applied Ethics

PHL 300

November 24, 2013

Prof. William Trimyer

CERTIFICATION OF AUTHORSHIP: By our signatures, and to prevent an HONOR CODE violation, we certify that we are the authors of this paper and that any assistance we received in its preparation is fully acknowledged and disclosed in the paper. Through the use of the APA format, we have cited any sources from which we used data, ideas or words, either quoted directly or paraphrased. We also certify that this paper was prepared by us specifically for this course.

Student Signature: Sharon S. Short

While making money is essential for the vitality and sustainability of a business, it is not the most important reason a business exists. Conscious businesses focus on their purpose beyond profit. Having a purpose in life is one of the things that separate humans from other animals. Purpose provides activation and motivation for most to be able to get up in the morning. It sustains individuals when times get tough and serves as a guiding star when lead to stray off course (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferell, 2011,2008).

Conscious Businesses provides this sense of meaning and purpose. By focusing on its deeper Purpose, a conscious business inspires, engages and energizes its stakeholders. Employees, customers and others trust and companies that have an inspiring purpose. In the words of Darden school of management professor and Conscious Capitalism, Inc trustee Ed Freeman, “We need red blood cells to live (the same way a business needs profits to live), but the purpose of life is more than to make red blood cells (the same way the purpose of business is more than simply to generate profits) (Klein, 2011).”

Pioneering naturalist John Muir observed that “when you tug at a single thing in nature, you find it attached to the rest of the world.” Such is the case with business, which is an intricate and interconnected web of...