Business

The competitive advantage of the company lies in the minds of its employees.

Instead of enforcing the Constitution and using its authority against the British Columbia government and protesters initiating physical force against Kinder Morgan property and its employees, Trudeau stayed true to what he said prior to the last election: “Governments might grant permits, but only communities can grant permission.”

The proper, moral role of companies in society is to produce and trade material values

Should Amazon locate its second headquarters in Toronto or elsewhere in Canada, it would be sacrificing profits due to government intervention.

CEO pay caps and minimum wages are immoral because both curtail individual freedom by government force—yet, freedom is the fundamental requirement of human flourishing and prosperity.

Those producing and trading goods and services for profit are not taking anything away from others—the producers and traders are creating material values that would not exist without their productivity.

Thinking on the job, and in every other aspect of life, is a virtue necessary for human flourishing.

As Ayn Rand explains, the only proper role of government is to protect citizens against the initiation of physical force and fraud, through the police, the armed services, and the courts.

So how to deal with a workplace bully? The only effective way to do so is to apply appropriate moral principles: rationality, integrity and justice.

Thanks to Ayn Rand and the objective moral principles she identified, we can make moral decisions more easily—and achieve our values in the long term.

Should government be an all-knowing, benevolent nanny who tells us how we must live, for our own good?

On July 21, 2011, Wake Forest University Schools of Business Distinguished Professor of Practice John Allison address the Master of Arts in Management Class of 2012. The retired chairman and CEO of BB&T discussed Principled Leadership with the incoming class of business students.

Their pragmatist mindset of “skip the philosophy; just give me the practical tips,” hinders them from becoming better managers.

Not all ethics guide us to achieve happy, fulfilling lives

Madoff was what Ayn Rand would call a second-hander: someone who tries to gain values by pleasing and manipulating others rather than thinking for himself based on observation of facts and supporting himself through productive work.

What really drives Amazin’s critics is a hatred of success: success of anyone who is achieving more than others.

There is no virtue in restraining the pursuit of profit: profit maximization is moral.

No matter what the management troubles at Uber, it must be defended against any government tax grab or regulation potentially suffocating the company.

The only thing governments can do to facilitate innovation is to stay away from markets and allow companies compete and trade freely.

Businesspeople who produce material values are not the same as crooks who prey on gullible investors or customers or both, and produce nothing.

Clear moral principles, such as honesty, make the right—the self-interested, win-win—course of action so much easier.