The word “businessman” stands out for me because I am a businessman and belong to a business family. My family worked in business for more than 50 years.it started when grandfather opened a small business. It was a small shop for blankets and home furniture thee the business got bigger till today. Now the company has more than 55 branches and more than 300 employees. the company import and export from many countries and to many counties. The significant meaning of the word businessman did not appear to me from reading a book or seeing somebody talking about it on TV but I lived, touched and felt the real meaning of the word businessman throughout my father who was the real businessman. In fact I was curious about the meaning of the word businessman and I always ask myself a question. What benefits I might have if I became a businessman and how these benefits would reflect to my family, people and society?. I was always ambitious to be a businessman for many reasons. For instance I am a man who has self-confidence and love adventurers and challenges. I also wanted to be a successful man and would like my family to have a better life. Furthermore I wanted to be effective to my community and people. Above all of that I wanted to be like father like son. Because I belong to a business family and worked for the family company for many years I gained a lot of experience which gave me a good knowledge and encouragement to run my own business. Therefore I started my own company in the computer business fifteen years ago. As many positive meanings I have about a businessman as much I ask what kinds of values are connected to businessmen and how do they run counter to what I have experienced in my family?

Since I am a businessman I am eager to attend seminars held by the Ministry of Commerce in my country for businessmen. I remember one of these seminars three years ago. It was Saturday and the seminar was in the Sheraton Hotel. The seminar was about the businessman and his benefit to his community and society. There were maybe thirty five businessmen and seven or eight journalist. After the seminar finished all people went to miniature ceremony at the hotel lobby. I was eating a piece of cookie and a drinking cup of tea when a journalist came to me and politely ask me to sit and have a little talk. I answered him “sure”. He started to introduce himself. I already recognized him but I wanted to be sure. The journalist works in a very famous newspaper in Saudi Arabia named Riyadh newspaper. His name is Fouaz Alshreef. He is the director of Business & Finance Page in the newspaper. He wanted to demonstrate a controversial topic so he can get more readers and more replies to his page and newspaper. Also his purpose was to demonstrate opinion and the other opinion as a freelance. Then he asked me if he can make an interview with me about the same subject of the seminar which was businessman and his benefit to his community and society. I agreed to do the interview. He stated that he will be adopting the negative point of view which he believes about businessmen. “My questions will be harsh and I will poignantly criticizes” he said. I agreed because I wanted to show him and his readers how businessmen are instrumental to their society and to show the positive point of view.

He started his interview by stating “the most important aspect in the businessman mind is to gain money and no matter what was the way to get it Ends Justify the Means”. I answered him that “Ends Justify the Means” has nothing to do with a businessman specifically it is related to anybody’s personality, culture, surrounded circumstances etc. It is being known that ordinary people has the same thoughts about getting something and the most important thing for them is to get it no matter what and they do whatever it takes to get it. He claimed that “the main goal in the businessman’s life is to gain wealth and live a wealthy life with his family and dos not care about his society or his community”. I replied by saying I will prove you that is not right at all by giving you a real example. “Go ahead” he said. I continued by saying as you know my father is a businessman and when he planned to open our blankets factory he had many choices and many plans but he asked for a meeting for all the employees in the company. He told them I wanted to open this factory not to add money to my wealth but to help people to find a job by working in the factory and to encourage the other businessmen to do the same. The sense of belonging to the society and by thinking that the money you have is not just for you but also to help other people how needed you made my father think that way. He chose a small village where most of its people are poor people. Then started our factory and he trained people to work and hired them by a good salaries. He asked the mayor to send invitation to the other businessmen so they can invest and help to improve the village. The reason he did that was to make everybody involved in the project and have the spirit of cooperation. More than five factories opened after two years of the mayor invitations. Now almost everybody in the village has a job. There was no electric and water but after the factories was being established the government included electric and water to the whole village. Schools, health centers, general parks and recreational areas are being built by direct support of the businessmen. Furthermore, the village now is getting bigger and bigger new streets and homes were built. The village began to attract residents to come to work and live there. More than that the residents became businessmen so they opened grocery stores, plumbing and electricity shops, restaurants and more which led them to hire other residents to work which reached us to the main goal of the project. The journalist stated that “the newest technology systems that businessmen uses contributed to dispense many employees in order to save expenses for their businesses”. I answered him look to the example in this village all factories has new technology systems and the newest machines but still hired people no to dispense and look for more to hire because the main purpose of the project was to help people to find jobs and to improve their lifestyle. Furthermore, to help people to have a good education and good health care. The journalist tried to highlights the role for a businessman in his society and whether or not he benefited his society and people or the opposite. Does he give as much as he takes?. Is he active members to the community and society or not?. Is the theory that says the most important aspect for a businessman is to gain much wealth with no matter the way was?. When I hear these kind of questions and more about a businessman I feel that a businessman is the only one how is responsible for the whole society. He is member as any member of the society and the community. In the media , newspapers, magazines etc. when I go to visit some friends this subject is always there for discussion. I barely see on the media or read in newspaper or magazines or even when I go to visit my friends or when I am in a coffee shop hear a good words about a businessman. At least a complement. It is kinds of dishonor and disrespect what the businessman does to his society and community. It is being said that the government uses some kind of pushing on the media and newspapers and so to get a businessmen contributes in the society and community. I am very sorry for those people who does not really know what role a businessman plays in his society.

When I was searching about businessmen and their benefits to society I found an article matches in some parts of it the same discussion between me and the journalist. The title of the article was “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits” written by

Milton Friedman in The New York Times Magazine. The author Milton Friedman taught at the University of Chicago for more than thirty years. He was the Paul Snowden Russell Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Chicago. He was the recipient of the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize for economic science. Friedman was an economic adviser to Republican U.S. President Ronald Reagan. The Economist around the world named him as the most effective and influential economist from the1950 until his death in 2006. He had published many books such as Capitalism and Freedom, Money Mischief and Why Government Is the Problem?.

what role a businessman plays in the society and how can a businessman match between his benefits and benefited the society?. That was the article’s main idea .He mentioned “What does it mean to say that the corporate executive has a “social responsibility” in his capacity as businessman? If this statement is not pure rhetoric, it must mean that he is to act in some way that is not in the interest of his employers”. In other words Friedman wanted to point out that in the financial angle do not spend any money without knowing its profitable revenue, but if the businessman looked at it from the sense of community and cooperation with the people and society his act would be much different. Then he start to explain by stating “For example, that he is to refrain from increasing the price of the product in order to contribute to the social objective of preventing inflation, even though a price increase would be in the best interests of the corporation”. He is giving one way that every businessman can use to help and be effective to the society regardless of material interest. Then Friedman gave another example when he said “Or that he is to make expenditures on reducing pollution beyond the amount that is in the best interests of the corporation or that is required by law in order to contribute to the social objective of improving the environment”. In these parts of the article Milton Friedman wanted to give one kind of a businessman and how the businessman can be involved with the society. He mentioned many examples and kinds of businessmen and whither they are really responsible for the society or not and wither they have to be responsible to their society more than their businesses and profits. He dealt with the subject from different angles and point of views. Because of the vast knowledge in economist, statistician and his experience in the free market .Therefore he is giving solutions and ways to correct the mistakes either form the government or businessmen or even consumers. He wrote his article for the economists works in the government, for businessmen and for consumers. After the controversial meaning of the word businessman I started to search about the word and how it evolved over time. Then I found this information in the World English Dictionary website mentioned “The Word businessman origin and history 1826, from business + man. Man of business is recorded from 1660s”. In other words the businessman were named man of business in 1660 until 1826 people start to use the word businessman. The same dictionary defined the word by “a businessman is a person, esp a man, engaged in commercial or industrial business, esp as an owner or executive. usage There is a gender-neutral form, businessperson , but it does not appear to be very widely used. The plural business people is quite widely used, and if you wish to avoid being gender-specific, you could try recasting your sentence to use the plural”. I think that the necessity of adding or eliminate a word is decided by the culture and the society. For instance the word businessman was not exist. It was just business but the necessity to describe the person who dos the business led the people to create a new word to Suffices their needs.

After all Businessman is not just show of word also it is not just about collecting money but it has many great meanings. There may be a question should be asked what is the meaning of the word businessman?. In my point of view businessman is the man with honor, honesty, humble, good for poor people and for his community. Almost every businessman is essential and in one way or another effective, benefited, and helpful to his community, society and people. A businessman provides what people and society needs. For instance a Contractor is a businessman in the Contracting field so he build houses buildings etc. The owner of any telecom company is a businessman and he provide a very important services for people which is the home phone, cell phone, internet and cable. More than that people can invest in the company by being shareholders of the telecom company. That was the indirect way to benefit the society but the direct way is almost known to everybody. For example giving charities, financial aides for students and help poor people not only their people but in poor countries too. We have many examples in real life about the benefits of a businessman to his people and society. It really hurt me when people talk in a negative way about a businessman and I feel they mean me or my family by their speech. A businessman is a human has the same feeling as everybody have. If he is good as a human surely he will be a good businessman for his society. There are many questions raised here. What people want and expect from a businessman?. Why should a businessman care about society?. How can a businessman combines between his benefits and his social responsibilities?

Work Citation

Friedman, Milton. “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits .” New York Times Magazine . 13 Sept. 1970. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. .

“businessman.” Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. 16 Oct. 2012. .