Will business stop killing UK - and world - society?

It's as important now as it was then... in fact, probably moreso... that to solve knife crime, gun crime and violence problems there must be something of substance for would-be assailants to aspire to other than street and related crime.

I have alluded to this at various times on this blog, including a post on business killing security and happiness in society.

It was with a little hope then that I discovered an interesting article that highlights some key areas about reforms which businesses need to consider to establish a better business framework for the future that may provide a better basis for people - and society - to stay out of crime and aspire to a more honest working life.

Here's how it starts:

Saving Britain’s future — fixing the country's (world's?) balance sheet?

If Britain were a company, it'd be undergoing a “business review”. Exec summary as follows, “UK Plc was once hailed for its excellent, beautifully engineered product range.

"It owned some of the world's best brands and had a presence in many overseas territories. Service offering was sometimes eccentric, but this pillar of the business community was committed to high commercial values.

“With the retirement of its long-standing managing director, a series of new CEOs' came in. Keen to make their mark, they took the business public and pushed into new markets, particularly complex financial products'. Profits surged, UK Plc took on new people, market expectations soared. With the disposal of its old industrial divisions, credit ratings hit triple-A.

“A focus on the P&L, however, led management to neglect the balance sheet. Huge levels of debt were built up. This new leveraged' structure was justified by the promise of ceaseless future earnings from the globalised market.

“The business model was robust', spokesmen insisted. However, when its debt providers retrenched and customer confidence nosedived, the strategy of the recently rebranded Cool Britannia was exposed.”

Read more details via Google - various versions of this article are spread in various places.

It talks further about not advocating a return to short-termist “wealth-creation” that spawned what Financial Services Authority chairman Lord Turner calls “socially useless” commercial activity.

A good business needs predictable, long-term revenues. It needs well-trained, enthusiastic people and manageable levels of debt. It should produce strong products that people buy because they need or want them, not just because they've been “sold” into submission.

And maybe from that, people can earn decent livings - or even achieve much more, rather than become knife or gun criminals.