Writer, Agilist, Elder Geek
So last column I mentioned that some businesses and companies were probably only surviving (perhaps even poorly) because they had simply become social institutions. We are used to these companies, and that keeps them from evolving–or dying off appropriately. So I asked myself, what companies and so forth were probably surviving due to a large part of sheer familiarity? The answer was pretty illustrative.
Here are a few I came up with. This is in no way the end all-be-all.
There are many things we can say a business is. A business is a tool to deliver goods, or do tasks. A businesses away to consolidate and in theory improve economic functions. A business is a way for people to effectively earn a living. There are many things indeed that we can say a business is.
(Yes, I could talk about corruption and so forth, but stick with me here.)
The business is also social institution and understanding that is important to analyze the future of businesses–when they actually have any.
You know how much college costs? If you do these days, you probably think about it with a shudder of dread. Things are pretty freaking expensive these days, education wise. You don't even want to know how much (or how little) my entire college degree cost in the 80s – with dorm fees.
I've actually talked to teachers who worry that the expensive college degrees are becoming a detriment not just financially, but psychologically, making people loose interest in college. Yes, seriously, I've heard people worry that students don't want to go to college because it's too expensive and won't pay off. That's a terrifying thought.
And let's face it – college is insanely expensive, pay rates are going down, no one knows where the jobs are, so on and so on. It's scary.
Know what scares me? The possibility that a college degree might be considered a form of conspicuous consumption.