Sellinger dean Kathleen Getz, Ph.D., discusses "building a better world through business" in Baltimore Sun editorial
Kathleen Getz, Ph.D., dean of the Sellinger School of Business and Management, writes in an editorial for the Baltimore Sun that businesses do good in two ways – by performing effectively as businesses with a clear mission and through philanthropy and social programs:
From basic consumer necessities to highly specialized business services, businesses provide useful, needed products and services. They create opportunities for dignified work, distribute wealth and pay a return to their investors.
Businesses do good as a consequence of serving their own economic goals. For example, they employ people and help them become self-sufficient not because they're running a charity but because their workers add value to the businesses and help produce profit. This healthy exchange of work and money illustrates the value of capitalism to society.
Businesses' relationship with their customers is similar. For example, in lending money at a reasonable interest rate to mid-sized businesses, banks profit and simultaneously facilitate growth for their clients, which results in hiring more people, serving more customers, paying more taxes and contributing to economic growth and social stability. Banks join a sea of businesses that bring this kind of value.
I'm referring, of course, to ethical businesses. If businesses narrow-mindedly seek tax breaks, regulatory carve-outs or other special privileges, they will reinforce the negative views of their opponents. Instead, businesses should lobby for an end to policies that create barriers to growth which would benefit both themselves and their communities.
The full text of the editorial is available from the
Sun online.
These themes were demonstrated during the Sellinger School's inaugural "Building a Better World Through Business" event series that was referenced in the editorial.