The American Ways6 The World of American Business.docx

1、The American Ways6 The World of American BusinessChapter 6 The World of American BusinessThe business of America is businessPresident Calvin CoolidgeBefore You Read1. Why do you think business has high prestige in the United States?2. Why do people want to go into business for themselves? Would you

2、want to be your own boss?3. What does it mean to go from rags to riches?4. How is the workforce of the United States changing?The Characteristics of American BusinessAt is essential to become familiar with two words in order to understand the meaning of business to Americans; they are private and pr

3、ofit. Businesses are directly or indirectly owned and operated by private individuals (or groups of individuals) in order to make a profit. In contrast to these privately owned, for-profit businesses, there are public government-owned and operated institutions as well as nonprofit institutions such

4、as churches and nonprofit charitable organizations. These organizations and institutions are not to be confused with businesses.The Prestige of Business and the Ideal of CompetitionThe statement by President Coolidge in the 1920sThe business of America is businessstill points to an important truth t

5、oday: Business institutions have more prestige in American society than any other kind of organization, including the government. Most Americans believe, for example, that businesses are more efficient and better-run than the federal government. Why do business institutions possess this great presti

6、ge?One reason is that Americans view business as being more firmly based on the ideal of competition than other institutions in society. Since competition is seen as the major source of progress and prosperity by most Americans, competitive business institutions are respected. Competition is not onl

7、y good in itself; it is the means by which other basic American values such as individual freedom, equality of opportunity, and hard work are protected.Competition protects the freedom of the individual by ensuring that there is no monopoly of power. In contrast to one, all-powerful government, many

8、 businesses compete against each other for profits. Theoretically, if one business tries to take unfair advantage of its customers, it will lose to a competing business that treats its customers more fairly. Where many businesses compete for the customers dollar, they cannot afford to give them infe

9、rior products or poor service.A contrast is often made between business, which is competitive, and government, which is a monopoly. Because business is competitive, many Americans believe that it is more supportive of freedom than government, even though government leaders are elected by the people

10、and business leaders are not. Many Americans, believe, then, that competition is as important, or even more important, than democracy in preserving freedom. So closely is competitive business associated with freedom in the minds of most Americans that the term free enterprise rather than the term ca

11、pitalism is most often used to describe the American business system.Competition in business is also believed to strengthen the ideal of equality of opportunity. Americans compare business competition to a race open to all, where success and status go to the swiftest person, regardless of social cla

12、ss background. Gaining success and status through competition is often seen as the American alternative to systems where social rank is based on family background. Business is therefore viewed as an expression of the idea of equality of opportunity rather than the aristocratic idea of inherited priv

13、ilege.Business competition is also seen by most Americans as encouraging hard work. If two business people are competing against each other, the one who works harder is likely to win. The one who spends less time and effort is likely to lose. Because business people must continually compete against

14、each other, they must develop the habit of hard work in order not to fail.Americans are aware that business institutions often do not live up to the ideals of competition and the support of freedom, equality of opportunity, and hard work. Americans sometimes distrust the motives of business people,

15、believing that they are capable of putting profit before product safety, or a cleaner environment. Therefore, most Americans believe businesses need some government regulation, although they may disagree on how much. Even with these flaws, however, most Americans believe that business comes closer t

16、han other institutions to carrying out competition and other basic values in daily practice.The Prestige of Business and the Dream of Getting RichThere is a second reason why business institutions receive respect in the United States. One aspect of the great American Dream is to rise from poverty or

17、 modest wealth to great wealth. In the United States, this has usually been accomplished through successful business careers. All of the great private fortunes in the nation were built by people who were successful in business, many of whom started life with very little. Careers in business still of

18、fer the best opportunity for the ambitious individual to become wealthy.Alexis de Tocqueville observed the great attractiveness of business careers for Americans as early as the 1830s. He wrote that Americans strongly preferred business to farming because business offered the opportunity to get rich

19、 more quickly. Even those who were farmers were possessed with a strong business spirit. They often ran small businesses to add to the money they made from farming. De Tocqueville also noticed that American farmers were often more interested in buying and selling land for a profit than in farming it

20、. Thus, even in de Tocquevilles day, when most Americans were still farmers, the seeds of a business civilization had already been planted.Not only is business seen as the best way for individuals to become rich, it is also seen as benefiting the entire nation. Through competition, more people gain

21、wealth. By contrast, a socialistic system of production and distribution of goods (one that is owned and operated by the government) is seen as greatly inferior. A socialistic system is distrusted because of the monopoly of power held by the government that eliminates competition. There are few coun

22、tries, if any, in the world where business institutions are so strongly preferred over government institutions as agencies for producing and distributing goods and for providing services. For example, the United States is one of the few industrialized countries in the world that does not have univer

23、sal health care guaranteed and managed in some way by the government. Americans have traditionally preferred to have a system where health care providers compete with each other in a free market and individuals are free to choose their own doctors and hospitals, even if that means that some people g

24、o without health insurance.Two Kinds of American Business HeroesBecause of the many beliefs that connect business to the wealth and the traditional values of the United States, people who are successful in business have sometimes become heroes to the American people. Two kinds of business heroes hav

25、e gained widespread respect: the entrepreneur and the organization man or woman. Entrepreneurs provide examples of traditional American values in their purest form, and these people are most likely to be idealized by the American public. The second kind of hero, the organization man/woman, is seen a

26、s a less perfect example of basic American values, but he or she still commands great respect.The Entrepreneur as HeroEntrepreneurs are the purest kind of business heroes for a number of reasons. The first reason is that they succeed in building something great out of nothing. The people who, more t

27、han 100 years ago, built up the nations great industries, such as steel, railroads, and oil refining, were usually entrepreneurs. They started with very little money or power and ended up as the heads of huge companies that earned enormous fortunes.The fact that these early entrepreneurs built great

28、 industries out of very little made them seem to millions of Americans like the heroes of the early frontier days, who went into the vast wilderness of the United States and turned forests into farms, villages, and small cities. The entrepreneur, like the earlier hero of the frontier, was seen as a

29、rugged individualist.Entrepreneurs made so much out of so little that they became heroes to the common people in America. Entrepreneurs often began as common people themselves; without the aid of inherited social title or inherited money, they became self-made millionaires. They were thus perfect ex

30、amples of the American idea of equality of opportunity in action.The strong influence of the success stories of the early entrepreneurs can be found in the great popularity of the novels of Horatio Alger, which were published in late 19th- and early 20th-century America. About 17 million copies of t

31、hese books were sold to the American public. The central theme of Algers novels is that in the United States a poor city boy or a poor farm boy can become a wealthy and successful businessman if he works hard and relies on himself rather than depending on others. This is because the United States is

32、 a land of equality of opportunity where everyone has a chance to succeed.By diligence, a quick-witted young fellow can rise from rags to riches.In Algers first published novel. Ragged Dick, a poor city boy who shines shoes for a living becomes Richard Hunter, a successful and wealthy businessman. T

33、he hero rises from rags to riches and fulfills the American Dream. Dick succeeds only partly because he lives in a land of equality of opportunity. His success is also due to the fact that he practices the American virtues of self-reliance and hard work. According to Alger, Dick knew that he had only himself to depe