SOSC 1340/1349 Introduction to Business and Society

Introduction to Business and Society
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Introduction
People in different parts of the world are focused on achieving economic prosperity and economists hold the views that we are living in the midst of a vast global economic expansion. In almost every country in the world economic growth and development is a policy imperative and a crucial personal motive in nearly every society although it is unclear if economic prosperity enhances and promotes the quality of life. There are individuals who hold the views that materialism distracts countries and individuals from essential and vital issues such as equality and justice. The wealth of a country is determined by its monetary value of the capital, goods, and services which includes the net foreign balance and tangible assets which are owned by a country. Also, wealth may be defined as the accumulation of resources and a wealthy nation is one that is able to accumulate many valuable resources and or goods. On the other side, the prosperity of a country is determined by the overall well-being of its citizens. This paper will examine why a wealthy nation may not be considered a prosperous country and it will also examine the division of labor and evaluate how it shaped social relations.
Wealthy countries are not prosperous countries. There are nations which might be rich in terms of all resources required to promote development but still remain poor on some issues such as the distribution of resources; it is possible to have some parts of a country acquiring development while other parts are left out. It is important to note that social scientists believe that wealth is critical in the development of a country, however, the success in terms of growth and development may not be reflected in peoples’ life.
Additionally, scholars maintain that a wealthy nation may not always be regarded as successful or prosperous for different factors. For example, there are possibilities that a given country may be wealthy in terms of capital and resources but still have imbalanced development (Holcombe, 2014). Ordinarily, unequal development may be an indication that there exists a gap between the poor and the rich and that some services may only be available to a selected group of individuals, this undermines the prosperity of a nation. Unequal societies mean that one segment of the population is held back while supporting and helping the other. Further uneven growth can also be decomposed to inequality of opportunities due to factors that are beyond individual control which also negatively impacts people’s lives. Sociologists also believe that inequality results in a corrosive effect on societies and this makes them unfavorable to live in for both the poor and the rich. This is because inequity reduces social mobility making it hard for the people to climb the economic ladder affects the well-being of the people.
Wealthy countries are likely to have bad leadership which hinders their prosperity. Ordinarily, the leadership systems that are used in governing a country are expected to have solid and strong leadership characteristics such as integrity and compassion. Effective leadership promotes good governance in all levels of private and public organizations and with the increasing complications, difficulties and the necessities that arise from the persistent changes in society together with the constant demand for higher degrees of productivity it necessitates a productive and moral leadership. Good governance and leadership, are fundamental essentials for a nation to be regarded as prosperous. Sometimes a country may have leaders who are corrupt and who do not prioritize of the welfare of their citizens. In this case, where the leadership systems are unreliable, the country becomes overwhelmed by all the undesirable forces such that the wealth of the country does not impact or upgrade the lives of the citizens.
Also, the wealth of a country does not indicate prosperity because there are other factors which determine the quality of life but they cannot be measured in terms of monetary value. The monetary value of a country’s good and services is mostly used by economists in determining how wealth or rich a country is but this approach is not entirely effective because it may not capture everything that is important to the people. For example, individual’s health, family relationships, the environment, and education are essential contributors to the sense of satisfaction in peoples’ lives and when measuring what matters to the people such important factors should also not be left behind. Besides, wealthy countries have a high level of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but since some of the things that promote people’s happiness may not be bought or sold, the level of wealth thus becomes an effective tool for computing and quantifying the well-being of the people. For example, even though GDP may include the amount of resources spent on healthcare, education as well as in environmental conservation, it does not include crucial factors such as the level of health, learning and environmental cleanliness (Mumford, 2016). For instance, when computing wealth of a country, it is possible to account for the costs used in buying hospital equipment but it is impossible to determine the quality of healthcare provided to the people. Similarly, the money used in purchasing pollution-control equipment can be calculated but that d...