The business philosophy is a distillation of culture or environment of a company in a group of core values that inform all aspects of their business practices. This is often referred to as the company's mission or vision statement.
Basically the business philosophy comprises the company's operational blueprint. This philosophy explains what the general objectives of the company and its purpose are. Likewise, it also describes which are the values that are most important to the company.
Having a strong business philosophy is a good way to guide employees in decision making, but it can also be a tool to strengthen the brand and generally make the workplace more enjoyable. Once a company creates a business philosophy, it must enunciate that philosophy to its employees.
Having a strong business philosophy is the cornerstone of a successful business. The process of developing and understanding a business philosophy can help build a cohesive and productive organization that is well equipped to handle whatever challenges you may face.
Elements
The business philosophy is the set of principles that govern the work in the company, the mission statement states why the company works and the code of ethics speaks about the values of the company when doing the work.
A good business philosophy successfully describes the values, beliefs and guiding principles of a company. Creating a philosophy takes time and diligence on the part of business leaders.
When writing the philosophy, leaders should ask themselves: what is the nature of my business? Who are my customers? What values are important to me? and what is my general vision for the company? The answers to these questions will form the basis of a solid business philosophy.
Decide on these questions
Here are some elements where the decisions made on these questions will be the basis of the business philosophy:
- People first or benefits first?
- Is loyalty valued or competition valued?
- Employees first or customers first?
- Focus on giving or focus on receiving?
- Do what is best for the customer or do what it takes to make the sale?
- Be generous with wages or pay as little as possible?
- Be fair and reasonable or seek results at all costs?
- Transparency or just need to know?
The truth is that there are no right or wrong answers to the above questions; it all depends on the business philosophy.
How these questions are answered will determine the long-term trajectory of the business, the type of employees that will be attracted, the type of customers that will be retained, and the amount of revenue and benefits that will be earned.
Core items
Although these basic elements inevitably vary from company to company, here are five that are frequently recurring in the most successful companies:
- Maintaining high ethical standards in external and internal relationships is essential for maximum success.
- Decisions must be based on facts, considered objectively, what is called the technique for making decisions based on facts and thought through.
- The business must be kept in tune with the forces operating in its environment.
- People should be judged based on their performance, not on their education, personality or personal abilities.
- The business must be managed with a sense of competitive urgency.
Take the time to think through the vision, mission, and core values of the business, then carefully create a clear business philosophy for the following:
How do you plan to run the organization from now on? What do you represent? What do you refuse to do? How do you want employees, customers and the community to think of the company?
Examples
As a business entity, the philosophy of a company is a reflection of the values of its leaders. Some business philosophies are well known, such as Google's, which lists attributes such as "it's best to do something really well" and "you can make money without doing wrong."
Google company business philosophy
Not all companies need to have a mission statement, philosophy, and code of ethics, but an example of a company that has all three is Google.
Mission statement
A mission statement should succinctly summarize what you do or what your goals are. Google's mission statement is "Organize the world's information and make it universally useful and accessible."
Philosophy
A business philosophy should embody the mission statement, which is concise and almost like a slogan based on core ideas or values that the company and its members cherish and adhere to in their businesses.
Google's philosophy includes principles such as "fast is better than slow", "democracy on the web works" and "you can be serious without judgment.
Code of ethics
A code of ethics or code of conduct is further expanded in the philosophy and mission statement, to deal with specific types of situations and behaviors.
Google sets its policies on, among other things, conflicts of interest, customer service, and confidentiality.
Company Business Philosophy Learn it!
Mission statement
We are committed to being the best at what we do so that you are the best at what you do.
Purposeful action
We are in the business of affecting lives. An action is purposeful if it helps others.
Commitment to innovation
Nothing gets us as excited as a good idea! If there are no changes, we get stuck, bored and ineffective.
The Golden rule
It's pretty simple, but this little quiz can be a very effective life and business tool. Treat others as you want to be treated. That's all. Difficult decisions, make them easier.
Responsibility
Every Learn it! make our clients have a whole experience.
This means giving a student a little extra help after school, setting up a special conference to “speak to an expert,” or simply tidying up the coffee counter. "That's not my job description" is not in our job description.
Teamwork
Learn it! understands that smart and helpful people who work as a team grow bigger as a whole. We work together and help each other. It can be difficult when a company is structured for everyone to feel involved, but we think it is worth it.
