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The Finalité of Business
McGuire, Joseph W.
8/4  (Summer 1966): 89-94

In recent years, businessmen and business scholars in Europe have been engrossed in an interesting dialogue on the real objectives of business enterprise. They have especially been concerned with the finalite of business, by which they mean the basic purpose-the ultimate and basic reason for the existence of business organizations. In French, furthermore, the word has taken on a dynamic connotation that cannot be translated precisely into English: a sort of Holy Grail meaning in terms of both ends and means. What, indeed, is the finalite of business? Why are there businessmen? What is the real meaning of all the hectic activity in the business community? Certainly, as the pace of business life has accelerated in the last fifteen years, a growing number of busy executives have wondered about the worthwhileness of it all. This concern has been reflected in the steadily mounting interest of the executive group in matters of business philosophy and ethics and has led to explorations of business responsibilities. Some of the answers to questions about the finalite of business are older than the questions.

 

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