Why do some people hate Businesses?

Graduating with a business degree, I've always been a little bothered when I encounter people who genuinely hate businesses. At times I get defensive and debate that businesses provide people with jobs, with innovative products, and improve people’s standard of living. Yet something in my gut tells me that these people have valid reasons for disliking businesses.

Damage to the environment. Violation of human rights. Exploitation of people. Deception of customers. Profit-driven. Breaking the law. Bribery. Scandals. Poor working conditions. Child labor. And the list of accusations against businesses go on and on.

Who can forget Enron, who used financial loopholes to cover-up billions in debt of failed deals and projects leading to $11 billion of loss to its shareholders? Or the Melamine scandal, where 21 companies in China were adding the industrial chemical to milk and infant formula to increase protein content, resulting in 6 infants dying and 860 babies hospitalized? Or the current allegations against media giant Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp for phone-hacking and police bribery?

At the core of these problems is the human heart. Businesses are run by people. If there is something wrong with businesses, then there is something wrong with the human heart.

God has a solution for what's wrong with the human heart. And I wonder if God also has a solution for what's wrong with businesses. What would it look like to run a business in a way that honors God? How do you manage a company that has business practises that reflect the heart of God? What value does a relationship with Jesus have in the workplace.

Over the next month I will attempt to answer these questions. I will write a paper tentatively entitled "Business that Honors God and Changes the World". I will also write a proposal for LeaderImpact Group (a ministry of Power to Change) for creating a ministry that helps people in the marketplace discover the relevance and value of Jesus in their work and business.

This is the hypothesis of my paper: When you do business in a way that honors God, you make the biggest change you can in the world and it is the most satisfying way to do business.

Over the next 30 days, I will interview Christian business leaders, read articles and books on the subject, listen to podcasts, research organizations that do similar work, blog some of my thoughts, and interact with people interested in the topic. If you have any suggestions or feedback for me through this process, I would love to hear it.

At the end of each blog, I'll leave you with a question. My question today is this:

What frustrates you about businesses?