Ever since the beginning, mankind has been driven to acquire, build and grow in the belief that a more abundant life of material possessions is the best attainable life of all factors remain the same. No matter how little the business being conducted even selling lemonade or candy in a kiosk on the street, it has social and political implications in that environment.
For example, a kiosk selling drinks or food may open up on a corner in a neighborhood not far from where there will be steady business, like a few feet away from a construction site with workers busy throughout the day and closing in the evening, the workers begin to use the kiosk and the environment immediately around the kiosk to wind down and relax during lunch breaks and after work in the evenings. The area that was once peaceful and quiet now becomes busy within a residential neighborhood with little or no other businesses established therein. The area quickly becomes a popular recreation spot to the builders, but it becomes a nuisance to the residents as it takes away the peace and quiet the residents once enjoyed and very soon the residents start complaining. Such a “primitive” structure like a kiosk is completely out of place in the upscale neighborhood, and a number of thefts a and robberies begin to occur. Finally the residents have had enough and contact the local government to do their job and uphold the law by prohibiting commercial activities in the area and setting up a presence in the area to deter a return to business when there are no law enforcement agents present. The above scenario has established how even a minor business can have a significant social effect in an environment, now I will portray how it can also have a significant political effect in the same area.
The residents petition the local government chairman to dismantle the kiosk and arrest anyone that returns to that area and is found relaxing or gathering there for the time being till everything returns to normal. The local government chairman agrees to do his job, but upon investigation his staff inform him that the majority of the people gathering in the area were not random hooligans, but were construction workers building the house of a senator representing that area. There is now a conflict of interest, because the senator is a very influential man who had hands in the election of the local government chairman to his position, sending the kiosk owner away would cause the builders to have to trek a longer distance and refresh themselves further away from the construction site than where the kiosk currently is, and this will cause loss of time during daylight hours and will significantly prolong the completion of the project by about 15% more time, which will further increase the cost of keeping the builders by 20% a cost that could cause the senator to shift to the local government. These are all outcomes that the local government chairman seeks to avoid and now if he begins to play games with the residents it could also affect his re-election, and it is not easy to determine who holds more sway in the matter of his re-election, whether the Senator or the area residents and general public if the case becomes publicised. His hands are tied, he can’t risk angering the senator who supported his political ambitions, and he doesn’t want to begin engineering accounting records to provide the excess cost for the completion of Mr. Senators building, he is at an impasse.
The case above is a tiny example of how such a little business decision can affect the social and political environment significantly, usually the stakes are much higher like in the Shell Vs. Ogoni that resulted in the death of activist Ken Saro Wiwa, and in many other cases.
When planning to embark on a commercial venture it is highly important to brainstorm and consult experts that can foresee the impact it will have in the region and even sometimes far beyond the region, this can save lives and money and prevent reputation destroying scandals. Indeed it costs money to pay these professionals for this in depth service and who knows if they will even find any risks or if the do find risks are they now significant than the cost of hiring the consultants? It is up to the businessmen to roll the dice and find out.
Socio Political Environment of Business is a course offered by Lagos Business School that has broadened the scope of understanding of business professionals and translated to significant savings and avoidance of overlooked problems, it is a must for today’s business professionals to possess it’s well if knowledge.
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