Foundations of Business Thought

Calvin Boardman, Alan Sandomir, Harris Sondak

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781948426572
• eBook ISBN: 9781071945810
• Edition: 10
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Management
• Index: Business

Now published by Sage

Foundations of Business Thought, Ninth Edition presents the writings of great contemporary and historical thinkers in an effort to develop the conceptual foundation for commercial activity in general and the ideals of accounting, finance, management, marketing, and operations/production in particular. This unique approach of using classical works of authorship reinforces the importance of clear, critical, and integrative thinking.

Since 1993, many thousands of students across the United States have been introduced to the world of commerce and business through a process that makes business concepts at once understandable and intimately personal.  Business is presented as a series of human connections designed to address the personal needs and wants of individuals based on sets of values and codes of ethics that guide our thoughts and actions in a market setting.  Business techniques and tools may change over time but the essential goals and concepts of commercial activity remain unchanged across both geography and time.  

Inspired by a four volume set of books produced by the Harvard Business School in 1962, entitled The World of Business, this course and the book upon which it rests present the writings of great contemporary and historical thinkers in order to develop the conceptual foundation for commercial activity in general and the ideals of accounting, finance, management, marketing and operations/production in particular.   This unique approach of using classical works of authorship reinforces the importance of clear, critical and integrative thinking.  These works first outline the motivations for the development of commercial activity and, then, present the fundamental elements important to the foundation of a commercial society.  These foundational concepts are followed by sections devoted to the various functional areas of business, again introduced by classical works that have both passed the test of time and provide unique insights into each of the areas.

Faculty are provided with detailed instructions on methods of relating the material to contemporary business concepts and practice.  While this roadmap provides structure for the material, faculty are encouraged to take advantage of their individual specialization and creativity. This could end up being one of the most enjoyable courses a faculty member will teach.

Students are encouraged to be critical of the readings, of the concepts and, most particularly, their own notions about business and, at the same time, open to new ideas, the thoughts of others and the opportunities for personal growth.  Through careful reading of the text, participating in classroom discussions, expanding knowledge through individual research and by writing position papers on contemporary business topics, this course has the potential to be one of the most impactful undergraduate or graduate courses students will take in their college career.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Foreword
• Contents
• Part I Introduction
• A Written Word is the Choicest of Relics
• "Of Studies" From: The Essays (1625)
• From: A Vindification of the Rights of Women with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects (1792)
• "Reading" from: Walden (1854)
• The Art of Money Getting or Golden Rules for Making Money (1880)
• From: The Souls of Black Folk (1903)
• "Industrial Education for the Negro" from: The Negro Problem (1903)
• From: The Business Guide (1893)
• Practical Rules for Success
• Part II Motivation for the Development of Commerce
• Introduction: All that is Solid Melts into Air
• From: The Journal of Christopher Colombus (1492)
• From: A History of the Ancient World (1585)
• "Of Property" from: The Second Treatise of Civil Government (1690)
• The World is Too Much with Us (1807)
• From: Faust Part Two (1832)
• "What is Wealth?" from: Illustrations of Political Economy, Third Edition (1832)
• "Economy" from: Walden (1854)
• 1879 Speech to Congress (1879)
• "How Much Should a Country Consume" from: Jarretts Perspectives on Conservation (1958)
• Part III Foundations of a Commercial Society
• Introduction: Don't Know Much About History
• From: The Republic (375 BCE)
• From: The Politics (350 BCE)
• "Capitalist Production" from: Das Kapital (1867)
• "The Social Organism" from: Religion and the Rise of Capitalism (1926)
• "Laissez-Faire Policy" from: The Economic Principles of Confucius and His School (1911)
• "Of Restraints upon the Importation from Foreign Countries of Such Goods as can be Produced at Home" from: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776)
• I, Pencil (1958)
• From: The Fable of the Bees (1714)
• "Wealth" from: Essays and Journals (1860)
• From: Acres of Diamonds (1869)
• From: Atlas Shrugged (1957)
• From: The Acquisitive Society (1920)
• From: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905)
• From: The Gospel of Wealth (1889)
• The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Its Profits (1970)
• "The Veins of Wealth" From: Unto this Last and other Essays on art and Political Economy (1860)
• From: The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759)
• "Cooperation in Industry" From: The Personal Relation in Industry (1923)
• "The Shuchu Kiyaku" (C.1600)
• Part IV Marketing
• Introduction: You are who you think you are; So be Careful about who you think you Are
• From: The Art Of War (C.5Th Century)
• From: De Offices (44 BCE)
• "Of Cheating, Which is Committed in Buying and Selling" From: The Summa Theologica (1485)
• "Natural Selection" From: The Origin of Species (1859)
• From: The Financier (1912)
• "Pecuniary Emulation and Conspicuois Consumption" From: Theory of the leisure Class (1899)
• From: The Middleman (1912)
• "The Dependence Effect" From: The Affluent Society (1963)
• "How we Made Tono-Bungay Hum" From: Tono-Bungay (1909)
• Part V Accounting
• Introduction: When you add, you Subtract
• From: The Antecedents of Double-Entry (1927)
• "Particulars of Reckonings and their Recording" From: Ancient Double Entry Bookkeeping: Luca Paciolfs Treatise (1494)
• Vishnugupta Kautilya (c. 350-283 BCE) Book 2, Chapter 9: "Examination of the Conduct of Government Servants"
• From: The Eternal Storehouse of Japan (Nippon Eitaigora) (1688)
• From: The Compleat English Tradesman (1726)
• Part VI Finance
• Introduction: Patience can be Risky But is often Rewarded
• "Paper Money-immense Wealth of the Great Khan" From: The Travels of Marco Polo Greatly Amended and Enlarged (c. 1300)
• "Lender and Borrower" From: The Code of Maimonides (c. 1170-1180)
• "Of The Sin of Usury" From: The Summa Theologica (1485)
• From: The Works of Benjamin Franklin (1758)
• "Of Riches and Of Usury" From: The Essays (1597)
• "Of Profits" From: The Principles of Political Economy (1848)
• "The History of Projects" and "of Projectors" From: an Essay Upon Projects (1697)
• "The Tulipomania" From: Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (1841)
• From: Confusion De Confusiones (1688)
• "Business" From: Mark Twain's Speeches (1901)
• "The State of Long-Term Expectation" From: The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money (1936)
• Part VII Management
• Introduction: The Art of Getting Things Done Through People
• From: Letter to Horace Greeley (1862)
• From: The Prince (1532)
• On Ruling From: The Republic (380 BCE)
• From: The Analects (c.475 BCE)
• "The Nature of Executive Responsibility" From: The Functions of the Executive (1938)
• "The Genius For War" From: On War (1832)
• From: Letters From a Self-Made Merchant to His Son (1903)
• "An Employer's View of The Labor Question" From: The Gospel of Wealth (1889)
• From: Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928)
• "The Condition of Efficiency" From: The Acquisitive Society (1920)
• From: The Human Side of Enterprise (1960)
• "The Sources of Inequality" From Corporate LIB: Women's Challenge to Management (Ginzberg & Yohalem, Eds) (1973)
• Part VIII Production
• Introduction: Take this Job and Love It
• "The Division of Labor" From: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776)
• From: The Principles of Scientific Management, Bulletin of the Taylor Society (1916)
• From: My Life and Work (1922)
• "Economic Foothold" From: Women and The Trades (1909)
• "Chapter 2: The Principles of Scientific Management" From: The Principles of Scientific Management (1911)
• "That Aristocracy May be Engendered" From: Democracy in America (1835)
• From: Alienated Labor (1844)
• "What Work is" From: What Work is: Poems (1991)
• “Report on the Subject of Manufactures” From: The Works of Alexander Hamilton (1791)
• From: Notes on the State of Virginia: The Present State of Manufactures, Commerce, Interior and Exterior Trade (1787)
• "Man and Machine" From: All Men are Brothers (1918)
• Index