Page 42 - Business Principles and Management

Chapter 2 • Social and Ethical Environment of Business

2.1 Human Resources

Goals Terms
• Describe the changing nature of • baby boom • labor force
the U.S. population and how this • baby bust • labor participation rate
impacts businesses. • Frost Belt • glass ceiling
• Explain the issues that businesses • Sun Belt • sticky floor syndrome
face with the U.S. labor force.
• Rust Belt • comparable worth

ince its establishment more than 225 years ago, the United States has become
the world’s leading economic, technical, and political power. The country has
Sthe world’s largest economy and relies on highly sophisticated and modern
means of production, transportation, and communication. Americans enjoy a very
high standard of living. All these achievements can be attributed to the enormous
resources that the country possesses: the ingenuity of its people, a democratic
form of government, a social system that rewards individual initiative, and public
policies that encourage innovation.
Despite the many successes, problems persist with regard to discrimination,
crime and violence, environmental protection, ethical conduct, and social respon-
sibility. Because businesses are a part of the total society in which they operate,
social changes affect how they operate. Similarly, businesses affect society in dif-
ferent ways, as Tyler Eastman will soon discover. Thus, one cannot study busi-
ness principles and management without also having an understanding of the
social forces that shape business.
People are a firm’s most important resource. A recent study of top managers
found that finding and retaining qualified workers was more important than
finance, technology, product innovation, or international business. The work-
ers help businesses achieve their organizational goals. The challenges faced
by businesses are closely interwoven with those experienced by the workers.
In particular, such issues as those caused by changes in population and life-
styles have a direct bearing on business operations and on the well-being of
the nation.

Population

The gross domestic product (GDP) of a country cannot increase unless there
are enough people to provide the necessary labor and to purchase the goods
and services produced. Population statistics enable businesses to plan how much
and what kinds of goods and services to offer. However, the GDP of a country
must grow at a faster rate than its population in order to improve living stan-
dards. Both the size and the characteristics of the population are important
in business planning. Information about the size and characteristics of the
American population can be found at the Web site of the U.S. Census Bureau,
www.census.gov.

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