Essays Toward A Principled Economics
Mose Durst Ph.D.
4. A Portrait of a Virtuous Entrepreneur
Every culture presents human role models that represent the ideals, norms, or standards by which the culture seeks to define its values. In Western culture, for example, Mother Teresa is often cited as the person most admired by the populace. She embodies the classical Christian virtues of love, sacrifice, purity, hard work, dedication, commitment, and numerous other noble qualities. In the Judeo-Christian culture of the West, it is not surprising that someone like Mother Teresa represents the highest ideal. Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and Albert Schwietzer are recognized as embodying the ideals of many cultures, both East and West.
If, however, the business of the world is largely business -- the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services -we lack clear definitions and role models of virtuous people engaged in business. Numerous books describe the practice of successful people, portray the life-styles of the rich and famous, and decry the evils of the corrupt capitalist or ex-communist, but few connect an ideal of virtue with business.
There is, in fact, a history of anti-capitalist literature that is found not only in the classical writers and the Christian theologians, but in the popular literature of the 19th century which accompanied the industrial revolution and in contemporary fiction. Donald Trump, Leona Helmsley, and the heroes of hostile takeovers are merely the latest embodiments of characters we find in novels from Disraeli's Sybil to Wolfe's The Bonfire of the Vanities. There are many images of the selfish, corrupt, and vicious business person, but few of the virtuous ideal.
Certainly, however, the business person can be as much a model of virtue as the minister, the teacher, or the doctor, and even the images of these roles have lost much of their virtuous character in the 20th century. The Principled Economics Institute seeks to define and promote the classical religious ethical norms as a framework for value in the realm of economics. Within such a framework, economic choices can promote virtuous behavior in individuals and contribute to the common good, the virtuous society.
The Principled Person
A virtuous individual, a principled person, is one who understands the divine value of the human person; one who realizes all human beings are not only worthy of the greatest respect, but there is a responsibility, a covenant in Jewish and Christian terms, to draw out the divine value in all relationships. The motivation of any act, in economics or in any other area of culture, is to create value. Through love, goodness, service, sacrifice, compassion, kindness, and numerous other virtues, the principled individual exhibits divine creativity and realizes the greatest value.
The behavior of such virtuous individuals contributes to the principled society, for one demands virtue as seriously as one offers it. A business is a little world that shapes individuals and the larger society. We interact with businesses each day, and if we fail to understand models of virtue, we often exhibit destructive behavior that violates people and the environment. Business must obviously create material wealth, but business is successful only as simultaneously it contributes to the well-being of individuals, families, the environment, and human culture.
Any attempt to define and to promote virtuous examples of business behavior must inevitably confront the image of corrupt moral behavior that is pervasive in the literature critical of capitalist or communist economic activity. For many people even the phrases "principled economics" or "virtuous business persons" are inherent contradictions, for the stereotypes of the self-interested entrepreneur are so common. Benjamin Disraeli's novel Sybil, or the Two Nations, first published in 1845, gives the characteristic description of the 19th century oppressor of the working classes:
He was a short, thickset man, powerfully made, with brawny arms disproportionately short even for his height, and with a countenance, as far as one could judge, of a face so disfigured by grimy toil, rather brutal than savage. His choice apprentices, full of admiration and terror, worked about him; lank and haggard youths, who never for an instant dared to raise their dingy faces and lack-lustre eyes from their ceaseless labor.1
Dickens' novels, such as Hard Times, diatribes from Thomas Carlyle about the "Gospel of Mammonism," and criticism of business and industry by William Morris and John Ruskin all reinforced the image of the selfish, insensitive, cruel world of business. The United States contributed its share of criticism in the twentieth century from such muckraking novels as The jungle by Upton Sinclair to the biting satire of Tom Wolfe's Wall Street hustlers, our current anti-heroes, in The Bonfire of the Vanities. Now that communism has collapsed in much of the world, we learn of the total moral rot of a system that corrupted everyone. In a profound analysis, The Moral Collapse of Communism, John Clark and Aaron Wildavsky describe how an entire political economy can corrupt all of its actors:
To have been among Poles before the collapse of communism in 1989 was to understand the meaning of alienation, to have witnessed a visceral rejection of existing political and economic institutions. It is a wholesale and unrelenting rejection of what the party-state does --imprison, beat, lie, and destroy -- and what it had made most Poles become - criminals, manipulators, cynics, dissemblers. The Communist party was regarded as incompetent as well as evil. These two things, economic idiocy and political coercion, combine to produce the mixture of contempt and dismay with which economic planning is regarded.2
As former communist nations are being transformed to free-market economies, intellectuals, religious leaders, and thoughtful people worry whether the economic transformation will also be a moral transformation.
Moral and Ethical Purpose
Moral and ethical purpose should not, however, be an afterthought or a public relations ploy once the material success of economic activity has been accomplished. Rather, the classical religious and ethical framework should be at the forefront of consciousness in defining and motivating economic activity. Only then will economic success also contribute to the wellbeing of individuals, families, and the common good.
Although self-knowledge is most difficult in all areas of human conduct, it is necessary to examine motivation, purpose, and the fundamental value-basis of our actions if we are to achieve both material, social, and spiritual wellbeing. A virtuous individual, one rooted in the classic religious ideals of love, service, sacrifice, compassion, wisdom, and the sacred, covenental nature of reality, is capable of creating great value in the material, social, and spiritual realms.
The entrepreneur, the individual who creates a business that can generate wealth, can be -- and often is -- a virtuous individual that is motivated by profound religious ideals. If we can identify such individuals and examine the basis of their actions and the impact they have on others, we can promote individual models of virtuous behavior that contribute to the common good. Ethical ideals are no substitute for economic success, but they are a prerequisite for economic, social, and spiritual wellbeing.
The Virtuous Entrepreneur
Bradford Parker, the founder of "Exclusively Roses," a retail flower business with stores in Rockville, Maryland, and Tyson's Corner, Virginia, looks like his puritan ancestors from New England. He is tall, thin, energetic, serious, with an open, honest, and innocent look in his eyes. His smile conveys a genuine warmth, and his words are clear, direct, and sincere. In 1989, then in his mid-thirties, he decided to create a business. As we listen to his story, we learn about the motivation and purpose that, consciously or unconsciously, probably motivates many people who choose a career in business.
"I hold my religious values at the core of who I am and what I believe," explains Bradford. "It is very important that this is reflected in my life work or my business." For Bradford, business is the medium through which he has chosen to express his creativity and "to fulfill relationships in a moral and ethical way." Indeed, Bradford seems as comfortable on his living room couch, where we conduct the interview, as in the back work-area of the Tyson's Corner location of Exclusively Roses, where he moves gracefully, offering smiles, help, or encouragement to the employees that prepare flowers for specialized orders.
He elaborates on how the world of business is where he feels most at ease in relating to people and in practicing his "deep spiritual and ethical beliefs." He consciously takes in the challenge of how all areas of life can be integrated and unified by the same values. He proudly remarks on how he is able to make a successful livelihood while creatively expressing his spirituality. In the simplest sense, Bradford adds, "I am trying to bring value to all my relationships." The key relationships that he views as central to the success of the business are those with his customers, his employees, and his suppliers.
Customers, Employees, and Suppliers
With customers Bradford seeks to offer the highest quality product, the finest flowers, with the best service, at superior value. The customer and the business, he explains, must both be better off after a sale. "Making the luxury of fine roses affordable" reads the motto on Bradford's business card. Liz Hogan, a customer of ER since its inception, who is also a consultant in the field of total quality management, remarks: "When you call them, you know immediately you are dealing with quality." Sonia Yanez, who works at one of the many diplomatic missions in Washington, comments: "They always offer excellent quality, perfect service, and they are always very helpful."
"My relationship with my employees is my biggest challenge, for it is so complex, yet it is critical to building a healthy society." Bradford believes that in this critical relationship he must lead by example: "My employees know I work very hard; I have a concern for their situation, and I value and respect them." He goes on to explain that if he is to have faithful and loyal employees, he must exhibit those same qualities.
When Bradford hires people, he tries to make very clear what he can and cannot offer them, for ER is still a small business with only a dozen employees. He speaks seriously about his commitment to employees, and he knows that although he can offer few career positions, he can provide jobs that offer good disciplines and skills. "If they can work their way into a better job, God bless them, I'm happy for them." As the business has prospered, employees have received raises and bonuses.
Central to Bradford's vision of relationship to employees is his sense that he must create a genuine family feeling among them. This is not a family where the owner dictates the terms of relationship and the employees docilely obey. Rather, Bradford stresses the importance of caring for others with the purity of a mature parental heart. "When the relationships of trust, care, and concern develop, they are highly rewarding and also good for business - but they are not easy to realize," Bradford remarks.
Individuals have their needs, says Bradford, and it is difficult to balance compassion and understanding with the reality of getting tasks accomplished. Moreover, he is honest enough to admit that when he worked for employers, he was more concerned with exhibiting his own creativity and initiative than creating a family feeling in someone else's business. He now feels liberated in running his own business.
As a very young man, Bradford enjoyed observing, visiting, and participating in his father's business, where Bradford worked during summer vacations. He came to respect the creativity of employees, regardless of their education or background, for he saw how productive they could be if motivated properly and valued for their uniqueness. He even looks forward to the many opportunities he can present to his own children in his business.
With suppliers, Bradford demands the same quality and service that he offers to his customers. He prides himself on paying his bills on time, and the manager of one of his stores explains how upset he was when a bill was paid toward the end of the 30-day billing period. "I don't play any games with them [suppliers], and I don't hold onto their money," says Bradford. Sam Sucar, owner of Simplex Wholesale and one of Bradford's suppliers, says: "I trust everything he says." Sam is happy about their open, honest communication, pleased about how he pays his bills punctually, and offers his own philosophy that "high moral standards" should be the guide for business.
The Experience of Employees
The response of employees, their comments about how Bradford affects them, reveals the significant impact that a virtuous person can have on the lives of many people. Jim Howell, who has been working at ER for about a year and a half, has been Bradford's friend for many years. When Bradford was studying economics in college, he lived with Jim's family in Washington, D.C. Now that Jim is an employee for ER, he feels the friendship has deepened. Bradford, he explains, has taught him how to run a successful business. Although Jim sees his present position as General Manager of the corporation as a transition to developing a career in international economics, he is being educated and having a worthwhile experience in learning from Bradford's example.
It is a "sobering reality" for Jim to see Bradford working seventy or eighty hours a week, yet he realizes now that it takes such work to bring success in the initial stages of a business. Jim admires how Bradford repeatedly emphasizes that customers must receive personal, caring attention. He has become aware of the extraordinary commitment, honesty, integrity, and love that must permeate all aspects of the business. From Bradford's purity (he will never make a crude joke or belittle anyone) to the genuine friendship that continues to build, Jim sees the importance of core values as the informing heart of economic life.
Rebecca Lenehan, an assistant store manager who has been working at ER for more than two years, is grateful for Bradford's kindness, respect, and consideration for others. "This job represents the kind of relationship I want in life. I'm maturing here." As Rebecca observes Bradford's leadership, she realizes he is successful because he acts in a "self-effacing way." He exhibits little ego as he seems to embody a highly principled mode of behavior. She has learned from Bradford that if she starts a business, "it will be to communicate truths -- something that will give value and joy."
Rebecca explains that each time she answers the telephone, "it's not just to sell a product, but to create a relationship with the customer." This quality of caring relationship allows her to feel that there is integrity and continuity of value between her personal life and work life. She values the open and honest relationship she has with Bradford, and remarks that she "comes to him as a brother." The image of brother-sister family relationship is an important shift from the paternal image that has permeated so much of business life and has made employees feel like resentful children, rather than equal brothers and sisters.
Judy Wilson, who has been the senior manager of the main store in Tyson's Corner for more than three years, is a quiet, soft-spoken and gentle person. She is pleased at how Bradford makes room for very different personal styles in the workplace. She values the consistency of how she can live her ideals of service and care at home and in the workplace. Judy supervises Marlyn Deleon, the ebullient, effervescent head designer at ER. How does Marlyn experience the workplace at ER: "It is wonderful; there is no stress, easy communication, and friendship. This is like my second home."
Bradford derives tremendous satisfaction from the quality of life he has created in the workplace: "If you can help someone and see their life and family develop, it is greatly rewarding." As Bradford develops the caring, creative, loving qualities in his business, he and his wife seek to create the same qualities in their home.
The Parker Family
In the early days of building ER, Penha Parker worked closely with her husband and shared the many hours at work each day. She enjoyed the new adventure of creating a business, but more importantly she admired Bradford's desire to apply "good principles" in all that he did. Now that the Parkers have a baby girl, Penha works part-time supervising the Rockville store and full-time caring for Jessica.
The Parkers share a similar vision of a principled business. They are devoutly religious people, and they very much want to embody their religious ideals in their home as well as in their business. Because Penha thoroughly understands the requirements of building and maintaining a small business, she doesn't struggle with the long hours her husband works. For Penha and Bradford, building a business has become an integral part of building a life together, one where they have not felt the necessity to sacrifice their religious beliefs. To the contrary, it has provided the opportunity to be consistent in their home and work life with their inner beliefs and values.
Challenges and the Future
The last few years have been challenging, exhilarating, and "dangerous," says Bradford. In the last two years, for example, gross revenue has doubled but the profit margins have been cut in half. Where two years ago he had hoped to open three more stores by now, and eventually to franchise his business, he now has no current plans for new stores. "The market place has forced me to re-write my business plan," he says. He now is concentrating on expanding his product line, improving customer service, and refining his marketing.
Most college students who studied economics with Bradford found the subject abstract, he observes. However, since he didn't finish his college degree until he was in his mid-thirties, he was able to see the dynamism of textbook economics from the vantage point of real experience in the market-place. In the last few years, for instance, with a business that has low barriers to entry, few regulations, and no dominant players, therefore much competition, every day he has found that he must be focused on adding value to his products and services, while avoiding costly mistakes - or just get run out of the market place. "It has definitely been a challenge, but also one that I cherish. For me, it's an opportunity I love."
Bradford's efforts in business illustrate how mind, belief, values, ethics, and textbook learning are the foundation of creative effort in transforming the material environment. At the core of his being are the spiritual values which empower him in ethical relationship. Built around that core is the textbook economic information which is integrated with tangible experience. In his family and in his relationships with others, Bradford seeks to express the same central values in creating a life of virtue.
1. Benjamin Disraeli, Sybil, or The Two Nations (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981), p. 178.
2. John Clark and Aaron Wildavsky, The Moral Collapse of Communism (San Francisco: ICS Press, 1990), p. 222.
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Maandishi ya Kuelekea Uchumi wa Kanuni Mose Durst Ph.D. 4. "Kila utamaduni hutoa ""mfano wa binadamu"" ambao huwakilisha maadili, kanuni, au viwango ambavyo utamaduni huo unatafuta kufafanua maadili yake." Katika utamaduni wa Magharibi, kwa mfano, Mara nyingi Mama Teresa hutajwa kuwa mtu anayeheshimiwa zaidi na watu. Yeye huwakilisha sifa za Kikristo za kawaida za upendo, kujidhabihu, usafi, kazi ngumu, kujitolea, kujitolea, na sifa nyingine nyingi za hali ya juu. Katika utamaduni wa Kiyahudi na Ukristo wa Magharibi, haishangazi kwamba mtu kama Mama Teresa huwakilisha dhana ya juu zaidi. Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, na Albert Schweitzer wanatambuliwa kuwa watu waliofanyiza maadili ya tamaduni nyingi, Mashariki na Magharibi. Hata hivyo, ikiwa biashara ya ulimwengu ni biashara kwa kiasi kikubwa - uzalishaji, usambazaji, na matumizi ya bidhaa na huduma - tunakosa ufafanuzi wazi na mifano ya watu wenye wema wa adili wanaohusika katika biashara. Vitabu vingi hufafanua mazoea ya watu wenye mafanikio, huonyesha mtindo wa maisha wa matajiri na mashuhuri, na huchambua uovu wa wakuu wa uchumi au wa zamani wa kikomunisti, lakini ni vichache vinavyounganisha maadili ya kimaadili na biashara. "Hata hivyo, kuna historia ya fasihi ya kupinga ubepari ambayo haipatikani tu katika waandishi wa kale na wanatheolojia wa Kikristo, lakini pia katika fasihi maarufu ya karne ya 19 ambayo iliandamana na mapinduzi ya viwanda na katika hadithi za kisasa. """ Donald Trump, Leona Helmsholm na mashujaa wa upatikanaji wa uhasama wa uhasama ni tu maumbo ya hivi karibuni ya wahusika tunaopata katika riwaya kutoka kwa Disraeli's Sybil hadi Wolfe's The Bonfire of the Vanities. Kuna picha nyingi za mfanyabiashara mwenye ubinafsi, rushwa, na uovu, lakini chache za mfano mzuri. Bila shaka, mtu wa biashara anaweza kuwa mfano wa wema kama vile mhudumu, mwalimu, au daktari, na hata picha za majukumu haya zimepoteza mengi ya tabia yao ya wema katika karne ya 20. Taasisi ya Kiuchumi ya Kanuni inatafuta kufafanua na kukuza kanuni za kawaida za kimaadili za kidini kama mfumo wa thamani katika ulimwengu wa uchumi. Katika mfumo kama huo, chaguzi za kiuchumi zinaweza kukuza tabia nzuri kwa watu binafsi na kuchangia faida ya pamoja, jamii nzuri. Mtu mwenye kanuni ni mtu ambaye anaelewa thamani ya kimungu ya mtu; mtu ambaye anatambua kwamba wanadamu wote si wanastahili tu kuheshimiwa sana, lakini pia kuna jukumu, agano katika maneno ya Kiyahudi na Kikristo, la kuonesha thamani ya kimungu katika mahusiano yote. Kichocheo cha kitendo chochote, katika uchumi au katika eneo lingine lolote la utamaduni, ni kuunda thamani. Kupitia upendo, wema, utumishi, dhabihu, huruma, fadhili, na sifa nyingine nyingi, mtu mwenye kanuni huonyesha ubunifu wa kimungu na kutambua thamani kubwa zaidi. Mwenendo wa watu kama hao wenye wema wa adili huchangia jamii yenye kanuni, kwa kuwa mtu anadai wema wa adili kwa uzito kama vile anavyotoa. Biashara ni ulimwengu mdogo ambao huunda watu binafsi na jamii kubwa. Tunashughulika na biashara kila siku, na ikiwa tunashindwa kuelewa mifano ya wema, mara nyingi tunaonyesha tabia ya uharibifu ambayo inakiuka watu na mazingira. Ni wazi kwamba biashara lazima iumbe utajiri wa kimwili, lakini biashara hufanikiwa tu ikiwa kwa wakati mmoja inachangia ustawi wa watu binafsi, familia, mazingira, na utamaduni wa binadamu. Jitihada yoyote ya kufafanua na kukuza mifano ya maadili ya tabia ya biashara lazima ikabiliwe na picha ya tabia ya maadili ya ufisadi ambayo ni ya kuenea katika fasihi ya kukosoa shughuli za kiuchumi za ubepari au kikomunisti. "Kwa watu wengi hata maneno ""uchumi wa kanuni"" au ""wafanyabiashara wenye wema"" ni kinyume cha asili, kwa sababu mitazamo ya kawaida ya mjasiriamali wa kibinafsi ni ya kawaida sana." "Benjamin Disraeli, katika riwaya yake ya ""Sybil, or the Two Nations"" (Sibyl, au Mataifa mawili) aliifafanua kwa usahihi yule aliyekuwa akinyanyasa watu wa tabaka la wafanyakazi katika karne ya 19: ""Mtu wa kiume, mwenye mwili mrefu, mwenye mikono mikubwa, na mikono midogo sana, hata kwa urefu wake, na uso ulio na umbo la mtu, kama mtu angeweza kuhukumu, uliopotezwa na kazi ngumu, badala ya ukatili." "Wafundishi wake waliochaguliwa, wenye kuvutia na wenye hofu, walifanya kazi karibu naye; vijana wa hali ya chini na wa hali ya chini, ambao kamwe kwa muda mfupi hawakuweza kuinua nyuso zao za kijivu na macho yao ya kutokuwa na shauku kutoka kwa kazi yao isiyo na mwisho. "" - Dickens, ""Hard Times,"" ""Diatribes from Thomas Carlyle on the Gospel of Mammonism,"" na ""Criticism of Business and Industry by William Morris and John Ruskin.""" "Makubaliano hayo yanaonekana kuwa na maana kubwa kwa sababu ya maandishi ya Upton Sinclair ""The Jungle"" na ""The Bonfire of the Vanities"" ambayo ni satire ya Tom Wolfe ya ""Wall Street Hustlers"" na ""The Bonfire of the Vanities.""" Sasa kwa kuwa Ukomunisti umeporomoka katika sehemu kubwa ya ulimwengu, tunajifunza juu ya kuoza kabisa kwa maadili kwa mfumo ambao uliwafisidi kila mtu. "Katika kitabu cha ""The Moral Collapse of Communism,"" John Clark na Aaron Wildawski wanaelezea jinsi uchumi wa kisiasa unavyoweza kuharibu watendaji wake wote: ""Kuwa miongoni mwa Wapolandi kabla ya kuanguka kwa ukomunisti mwaka 1989 ilikuwa ni kuelewa maana ya kujitenga, kuwa na ushahidi wa kukataa kwa kina wa taasisi zilizopo za kisiasa na kiuchumi." Ni kukataa kwa wingi na bila kukoma kwa kile ambacho serikali ya chama hufanya - kufungwa, kupiga, kusema uwongo, na kuharibu - na kile ambacho kilikuwa kimewafanya Wapolandi wengi kuwa - wahalifu, watengenezaji, wenye kuchekesha, wafichaji. Chama cha Kikomunisti kilionwa kuwa kisicho na uwezo na pia kuwa kibaya. "Vitu hivi viwili, upumbavu wa kiuchumi na kulazimishwa kisiasa, vinachanganya na kutokeza mchanganyiko wa dharau na mshangao ambao mipango ya kiuchumi inachukuliwa nayo.""2 Kama mataifa ya zamani ya kikomunisti yanabadilishwa kuwa uchumi wa soko huru, wasomi, viongozi wa kidini, na watu wenye kufikiri wana wasiwasi kama mabadiliko ya kiuchumi yatakuwa pia mabadiliko ya maadili." Lengo la maadili na maadili haipaswi kuwa wazo la baadaye au mbinu ya mahusiano ya umma mara tu mafanikio ya kiuchumi yametimizwa. Badala yake, mfumo wa kawaida wa kidini na maadili unapaswa kuwa mbele ya ufahamu katika kufafanua na kuhamasisha shughuli za kiuchumi. Ni wakati huo tu ambapo mafanikio ya kiuchumi yatasaidia hali njema ya watu binafsi, familia, na maslahi ya wote. Ingawa kujijua ni jambo gumu sana katika maeneo yote ya mwenendo wa kibinadamu, ni muhimu kuchunguza motisha, kusudi, na msingi wa thamani ya vitendo vyetu ikiwa tunataka kufikia ustawi wa kimwili, kijamii, na kiroho. Mtu mwenye wema wa adili, mtu aliye na mizizi katika itikadi za kidini za upendo, utumishi, sadaka, huruma, hekima, na asili takatifu ya agano la kweli, anaweza kuunda thamani kubwa katika ulimwengu wa vitu vya kimwili, kijamii na kiroho. Mjasiriamali, mtu ambaye huunda biashara ambayo inaweza kuzalisha utajiri, anaweza kuwa - na mara nyingi ni - mtu mwenye wema wa adili ambaye huchochewa na maadili ya kidini ya kina. Kama tunaweza kutambua watu kama hao na kuchunguza msingi wa matendo yao na athari wanazo kuwa na kwa wengine, tunaweza kukuza mifano ya kibinafsi ya tabia nzuri ambayo inachangia faida ya pamoja. Maadili mazuri hayabadilishi mafanikio ya kiuchumi, lakini ni hali ya msingi ya ustawi wa kiuchumi, kijamii, na kiroho. "Bradford Parker, mwanzilishi wa ""Exclusively Roses,"" biashara ya maua ya rejareja na maduka katika Rockville, Maryland, na Tysons Corner, Virginia, anaonekana kama mababu zake wa New England." Yeye ni mrefu, mwembamba, mwenye nguvu, mwenye uzito, na ana macho ya wazi, ya uaminifu, na ya kutokuwa na hatia. Tabasamu yake huonyesha uchangamfu wa kweli, na maneno yake ni wazi, ya moja kwa moja, na ya kweli. Mwaka 1989 alipokuwa na umri wa miaka 30 aliamua kuanzisha biashara. Kwa kutafakari hadithi hii, tunaweza kuona ni nini kinachowafanya watu wengi, kwa ufahamu au bila ufahamu, kuchagua kazi ya biashara. "Ninaona maadili yangu ya kidini kuwa msingi wa utu wangu na imani yangu", anaeleza Bradford. "Ni muhimu sana kwamba hili linaonyeshwa katika kazi ya maisha yangu au biashara yangu". Kwa Bradford, biashara ni njia ambayo amechagua kuelezea ubunifu wake na "kutimiza mahusiano kwa njia ya maadili na maadili". Kwa kweli, Bradford anaonekana kama starehe juu ya sofa yake ya chumba cha kuishi, ambapo sisi kufanya mahojiano, kama katika nyuma ya kazi-eneo ya Tyson's Corner eneo la Exclusively Roses, ambapo yeye anaenda gracefully, kutoa tabasamu, msaada, au kutia moyo kwa wafanyakazi ambao kuandaa maua kwa ajili ya maagizo maalumu. "Anasema kuwa ""kuna mambo mengi sana katika biashara ambayo yanamfanya awe na furaha zaidi katika kuwasiliana na watu na katika kutekeleza imani zake za kiroho na za kiadili.""" Yeye kwa ufahamu inachukua katika changamoto ya jinsi maeneo yote ya maisha inaweza kuunganishwa na umoja na maadili sawa. Yeye husema kwa fahari jinsi anavyoweza kupata riziki kwa mafanikio huku akionyesha kiroho chake kwa njia ya ubunifu. "Bradford anaongeza hivi: ""Ninajitahidi kuwa na uhusiano mzuri na watu wote." Mahusiano ya msingi ambayo yeye huona kuwa muhimu kwa mafanikio ya biashara ni yale na wateja wake, wafanyakazi wake, na wauzaji wake. Kwa wateja, Bradford inatafuta kutoa bidhaa ya ubora wa juu, maua bora, na huduma bora, kwa thamani ya juu. Yeye aeleza kwamba mteja na biashara lazima ziwe na hali nzuri baada ya kuuza. "Kufanya anasa ya maua ya waridi ya bei nafuu" ndiyo kauli mbiu iliyo kwenye kadi ya biashara ya Bradford. "Liz Hogan, mteja wa ER tangu kuanzishwa kwake, ambaye pia ni mshauri katika uwanja wa usimamizi wa ubora wa jumla, anasema: ""Unapowasiliana nao, unajua mara moja unashughulika na ubora." "Sonia Yanez, ambaye anafanya kazi katika mojawapo ya misheni nyingi za kidiplomasia huko Washington, anasema hivi: ""Wao hutoa huduma bora sana, na wao husaidia sana." "Uhusiano wangu na wafanyakazi wangu ni changamoto yangu kubwa, kwa sababu ni tata sana, lakini ni muhimu kwa kujenga jamii yenye afya.""" "Bradford anaamini kwamba katika uhusiano huu muhimu lazima aongoze kwa mfano: ""Wafanyakazi wangu wanajua ninafanya kazi kwa bidii sana; nina wasiwasi kuhusu hali yao, na ninawaheshimu na kuwaheshimu." "Anasema hivi: ""Ikiwa unataka kuwa na wafanyakazi waaminifu na wenye uaminifu, ni lazima uonyeshe sifa hizo." """Wakati Bradford anaajiri watu, anajaribu kuwafanya wawe wazi sana kile anaweza na hawezi kuwapa, kwa sababu ER bado ni biashara ndogo na wafanyikazi kumi na wawili tu." Anazungumza kwa uzito juu ya kujitolea kwake kwa wafanyikazi, na anajua kwamba ingawa anaweza kutoa nafasi chache za kazi, anaweza kutoa kazi ambazo hutoa nidhamu nzuri na ujuzi. "Ikiwa wanaweza kufanya kazi yao katika kazi bora, Mungu awabariki, ninafurahi kwa ajili yao". Kadiri biashara hiyo ilivyokua, wafanyakazi wamepandishwa mishahara na kupewa mafao. "Bradford alitoa maoni yake ya msingi kuhusu uhusiano na wafanyakazi wake, akisema: ""Ni lazima tuwe na hisia halisi ya familia miongoni mwa wafanyakazi wetu." Hii si familia ambapo mmiliki huamuru masharti ya uhusiano na wafanyakazi kutii kwa utii. Badala yake, Bradford anasisitiza umuhimu wa kuwatunza wengine kwa usafi wa moyo wa mzazi aliyekomaa. "Wakati mahusiano ya kuaminiana, kujali, na kujali yanapoendelea, yanathawabisha sana na pia ni mazuri kwa biashara - lakini si rahisi kuyatimizia", Bradford asema. """Watu wana mahitaji yao,"" anasema Bradford, ""na ni vigumu kusawazisha huruma na uelewevu na hali halisi ya kutimiza kazi.""" Kwa kuongezea, yeye ni mnyoofu wa kutosha kukubali kwamba wakati alifanya kazi kwa waajiri, alikuwa na wasiwasi zaidi na kuonyesha ubunifu wake mwenyewe na mpango kuliko kuunda hisia ya familia katika biashara ya mtu mwingine. Sasa anahisi huru katika kuendesha biashara yake mwenyewe. Alipokuwa kijana, Bradford alifurahia kuchunguza, kutembelea, na kushiriki katika biashara ya baba yake, ambako Bradford alifanya kazi wakati wa likizo za kiangazi. Alianza kuheshimu ubunifu wa wafanyikazi, bila kujali elimu yao au asili, kwa sababu aliona jinsi wanavyoweza kuwa na uzalishaji ikiwa wamechochewa vizuri na kuthaminiwa kwa upekee wao. Hata anatazamia kwa hamu fursa nyingi ambazo anaweza kuwapa watoto wake katika biashara yake. Kwa wasambazaji, Bradford anadai ubora na huduma ileile ambayo yeye hutoa kwa wateja wake. "Mwanamume huyo anajivunia kulipa bili zake kwa wakati, na meneja wa mojawapo ya maduka yake anaeleza jinsi alivyokasirika wakati alipolipwa bili karibu na mwisho wa kipindi cha siku 30 cha kulipa.""" "Mimi si kucheza michezo yoyote na wao [wasambazaji], na mimi si kushikilia fedha zao", anasema Bradford. Sam Sucar, mmiliki wa Simplex Wholesale na mmoja wa wauzaji wa Bradford, anasema hivi: "Ninaamini kila kitu anachosema". Sam anafurahi kuhusu mawasiliano yao ya wazi na ya uaminifu, anafurahi juu ya jinsi anavyoweza kulipa bili zake kwa wakati, na anatoa falsafa yake mwenyewe kwamba "viwango vya juu vya maadili" vinapaswa kuwa mwongozo kwa biashara. "Mfano wa ""mfano wa kazi"" ni jinsi Brad na wenzake wanavyofanya kazi na jinsi wanavyoweza kuathiri maisha yao." Jim Howell, ambaye amekuwa akifanya kazi katika ER kwa karibu mwaka mmoja na nusu, amekuwa rafiki ya Bradford kwa miaka mingi. Wakati Bradford alikuwa akisoma uchumi katika chuo kikuu, aliishi na familia ya Jim huko Washington, D.C. Sasa kwamba Jim ni mfanyakazi wa ER, anahisi urafiki umezidi. Bradford, anaeleza, amemfundisha jinsi ya kuendesha biashara yenye mafanikio. Ingawa Jim anaona nafasi yake ya sasa kama Mkurugenzi Mkuu wa shirika kama mpito wa kuendeleza kazi katika uchumi wa kimataifa, ana elimu na kuwa na uzoefu wa thamani katika kujifunza kutoka kwa mfano wa Bradford. Ni "ukweli wenye kuogopesha" kwa Jim kumwona Bradford akifanya kazi saa sabini au themanini kwa juma, lakini sasa anatambua kwamba kazi hiyo inahitajiwa ili kufanikiwa katika hatua za mwanzo za biashara. Jim anapendezwa na jinsi Bradford anavyoendelea kukazia kwamba wateja wanapaswa kutunzwa kwa uangalifu. Amefahamu kujitolea, uaminifu-mshikamanifu, uadilifu, na upendo wa pekee ambao ni lazima uingie katika mambo yote ya biashara. Kutoka kwa usafi wa Bradford (hawezi kamwe kufanya mzaha mbaya au kudharau mtu yeyote) hadi urafiki wa kweli ambao unaendelea kujenga, Jim anaona umuhimu wa maadili ya msingi kama moyo wa maisha ya kiuchumi. Rebecca Lenehan, msaidizi wa meneja wa duka ambaye amekuwa akifanya kazi katika chumba cha wagonjwa mahututi kwa zaidi ya miaka miwili, anashukuru kwa fadhili, heshima, na kujali kwa wengine kwa Bradford. "Kazi hii inawakilisha aina ya uhusiano ninaotaka maishani. Mimi ninakua hapa". Rebecca anapotazama uongozi wa Bradford, anatambua kwamba anafanikiwa kwa sababu yeye hutenda kwa "njia ya kujinyima fahari". Yeye huonyesha ubinafsi mdogo kwa kuwa anaonekana kuwa na tabia yenye kanuni nyingi. "Bradford alisema: ""Nilikuwa na wazo la kuanzisha biashara ambayo ingekuwa ya kuwasiliana na watu wengine, na ambayo ingekuwa yenye thamani na yenye kufurahisha." "Rebecca anaeleza kwamba kila mara anapojibu simu, ""si kwa ajili ya kuuza bidhaa tu, bali kwa ajili ya kuanzisha uhusiano na mteja.""" Urafiki huu wa utunzaji unamruhusu kuhisi kuwa kuna uadilifu na mwendelezo wa thamani kati ya maisha yake ya kibinafsi na maisha ya kazi. Yeye huthamini uhusiano wa wazi na wa uaminifu anao na Bradford, na anasema kwamba yeye "anakuja kwake kama ndugu". "Picha ya uhusiano wa familia ya ndugu na dada ni mabadiliko muhimu kutoka kwa picha ya baba ambayo imeenea sana katika maisha ya biashara na imefanya wafanyikazi kuhisi kama watoto wenye chuki, badala ya ndugu na dada sawa. """ Judy Wilson, ambaye amekuwa meneja mwandamizi wa duka kuu katika Tyson's Corner kwa zaidi ya miaka mitatu, ni mtu mtulivu, mwenye kusema laini na mpole. Yeye anafurahi jinsi Bradford anavyofanya nafasi kwa mitindo tofauti sana ya kibinafsi mahali pa kazi. Yeye huthamini uthabiti wa jinsi anavyoweza kuishi maadili yake ya huduma na utunzaji nyumbani na kazini. Judy anamwangalia Marlyn Deleon, mbuni mkuu mwenye msisimko na mchangamfu katika chumba cha wagonjwa mahututi. "Marilyn anasema hivi: ""Ninafurahi sana kwamba ninaweza kufanya kazi kwa bidii, ninaweza kuwasiliana na watu, na ninafurahia kuwa na marafiki." Hii ni kama nyumba yangu ya pili". "Bradford anasema: ""Kuna furaha kubwa sana kumsaidia mtu na kuona maisha yake na familia yake yakibadilika." Bradford anaendelea kuendeleza sifa za utunzaji, ubunifu, na upendo katika biashara yake, naye na mke wake wanatafuta kuunda sifa hizo katika nyumba yao. Katika siku za mwanzo za ujenzi wa ER, Penha Parker alifanya kazi kwa karibu na mumewe na alishiriki masaa mengi kazini kila siku. Alifurahia safari hiyo mpya ya kuanzisha biashara, lakini jambo muhimu zaidi ni kwamba alivutiwa na tamaa ya Bradford ya kutumia "kanuni nzuri" katika kila jambo alilofanya. Sasa kwa kuwa familia ya Parker ina mtoto wa kike, Penha anafanya kazi ya muda mfupi akiangalizi duka la Rockville na kujitolea kabisa kumtunza Jessica. Familia ya Parker ina maoni kama hayo kuhusu biashara yenye kanuni. Wao ni watu wa dini ya kidini, na wanataka sana kuingiza mawazo yao ya kidini katika nyumba yao na pia katika biashara yao. Kwa kuwa Penha anaelewa vizuri mahitaji ya kujenga na kudumisha biashara ndogo, hana ugumu wa kufanya kazi kwa muda mrefu na mume wake. Kwa Penha na Bradford, kujenga biashara imekuwa sehemu muhimu ya kujenga maisha pamoja, moja ambapo hawajahisi uhitaji wa kudhabihu imani zao za kidini. Badala yake, imetoa fursa ya kuwa na msimamo katika maisha yao ya nyumbani na ya kazi na imani na maadili yao ya ndani. Matatizo na Wakati Ujao Miaka michache iliyopita imekuwa yenye changamoto, yenye kusisimua, na "ya hatari", asema Bradford. Katika miaka miwili iliyopita, kwa mfano, mapato ya jumla yameongezeka maradufu lakini faida zimepunguzwa kwa nusu. Ingawa miaka miwili iliyopita alikuwa na matumaini ya kufungua maduka matatu zaidi, na hatimaye franchise biashara yake, sasa hana mipango ya sasa kwa ajili ya maduka mapya. "Soko limenilazimisha kuandika upya mpango wangu wa biashara", asema. Sasa anakazia fikira kupanua bidhaa zake, kuboresha utumishi wa wateja, na kuboresha njia zake za uuzaji. Yeye asema kwamba wanafunzi wengi wa chuo kikuu waliosoma uchumi pamoja na Bradford walipata somo hilo kuwa lisilo na maana. Hata hivyo, kwa kuwa hakuwa na kumaliza shahada yake ya chuo mpaka alikuwa katika thirties yake ya kati, alikuwa na uwezo wa kuona nguvu ya uchumi kitabu kutoka mtazamo wa uzoefu halisi katika soko. Katika miaka michache iliyopita, kwa mfano, na biashara ambayo ina vizuizi vya chini vya kuingia, kanuni chache, na hakuna wachezaji wakuu, kwa hivyo ushindani mwingi, kila siku amegundua kwamba lazima azingatie kuongeza thamani kwa bidhaa na huduma zake, wakati akiepuka makosa ya gharama kubwa - au tu kukimbia nje ya soko. "Hakika imekuwa changamoto, lakini pia ni moja ambayo ninaipenda sana. Kwangu, ni fursa ninayopenda". Jitihada za Bradford katika biashara zinaonyesha jinsi akili, imani, maadili, maadili, na kujifunza kutoka kwa vitabu vya masomo ni msingi wa juhudi za ubunifu katika kubadilisha mazingira ya vifaa. Katika kiini cha kuwa kwake kuna maadili ya kiroho ambayo humwezesha katika uhusiano wa maadili. Kujengwa kuzunguka kiini hicho ni habari ya kiuchumi ya kitabu cha masomo ambayo imeunganishwa na uzoefu halisi. Katika familia yake na katika mahusiano yake na wengine, Bradford anatafuta kuelezea maadili sawa ya msingi katika kuunda maisha ya wema. 1. Uwe na mtazamo wa kweli Benjamin Disraeli, Sybil, au Mataifa Mbili (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981), ukurasa wa 178. 2. Uwezekano wa kupata "John Clark na Aaron Wildawski, ""The Moral Collapse of Communism"" (San Francisco, ICS Press, 1990) na ""The Moral Collapse of Communism"" (San Francisco, ICS Press, 1990) ni vitabu vya kihistoria vya Marekani." Download ukurasa mzima na kurasa zinazohusiana na hilo katika muundo wa ZIP Jedwali la maudhui