Bonnie Larsen
Professor Daysi Hernandez
BUS 1050 - Foundations of Business
28 July 2019
My Personal Renaissance
While participating in this business course, I’ve obtained a substantial amount of
knowledge on the origination of business and the story behind the functions of businesses today.
I have developed a new profound interest in business history and the persona behind the market
system. This has increased my interest in overall history and observing how it affects our world
today. Thus, I have experienced my own personal renaissance through the inclusion of this
course. For my Personal Renaissance, I will be emphasizing the topics that have done the most in
sparking my academic and personal interest in business.
The lessons in this course talks about the influences of many different philosophers and
business owners. Even though the history goes back many centuries, I can see a correlation on
how each event taken place still affects the operation of companies today. Personally, there has
been numerous topics and authors who have shaped my interest in the development of business.
Professor Edward G. Engh taught me the extremity of understanding critical thinking and being
open-minded. I’ve learned that thinking critically encourages thinking that reasons at the highest
level of quality in a fair-minded way. This helps me to reason and be alert for errors in my
perspective and judgment. I believe that this mindset is crucial to possess as it helps analyze,
assess, and improve the way I express my ideas. Aristotle’s reading on A Treatise on
Government was another topic that helped me to realize the true nature of wealth. He
communicates what happens to a person who becomes too preoccupied with money and the
function it plays in society. The topic of natural selection by Charles Darwin was another eye-
opener for me as it presents the idea of the “survival of the fittest” and that inferior
businesses/species gradually go extinct over time. The topic on self-interest by Adam Smith, the
Wealth of Nations, and how it affects the economy has also helped shape my renaissance. His
meaning behind the “invisible hand” as the self-interest drive that guides resources to their most
valued use was another that stood out to me. Henry Ford’s techniques to improve efficiency and
reduce labor as much as possible was also very fascinating. His strategies, such as the moving
line and the “man-high” policy, made processes much easier. In addition, Frederick Taylor was
another who sought to improve efficiency, and developed The Principles of Scientific
Management in 1909. Both Frederick Taylor’s and Henry Ford’s methods are still being used
today.
Out of all the lessons, I found that I, Pencil, by Leonard Read had the most impact on my
renaissance. Leonard wrote from a perspective of an ordinary wooden pencil. I, Pencil starts by
stating that through the frequent use, a pencil oftentimes gets overlooked and identified as
simplistic, but yet no one knows the genuine complexity behind its components. “But sadly, I am
taken for granted by those who use me, as if I were a mere incident and without background.”
(Leonard Read, par. 3) It then goes on by detailing the components of a pencil - cedar, lacquer,
graphite, ferrule, factice, pumice, wax, glue, and the millions of people involved to help harvest
the logs, mine the ore, make the steel, cut, fabricate, and distribute. Leonard’s story especially
stood out to me since even I didn’t think twice to understand a pencil’s significance and
complexity. This helped me to view from a new perspective to fully recognize the efforts taken
place. I now better recognize the hard work behind creations I consistently use on a daily basis.
Furthermore, understanding the background helps me to make better decisions and be more
open-minded. This mindset further helped me to rediscover critical thinking through assisting me
in being more aware and alert for errors in my perspective and judgment.
Through the incorporation of analyzing and reflecting on each module, I have developed
a new profound interest in studying business origins. I now strive to find where each business
principle, law, and idea comes from. In essence, understanding the foundations of business has
given me more intimacy and a better connection with the matter. I believe that it is vital to
understand the historical background of why we do things the way we do in businesses and as an
economy - fully understanding the situation is critical in making judgments and decisions.
This course has taught me how to think critically and understand the fundamentals of
business, which is essentially what I need to overcome obstacles in business and make rational
decisions. Before attending this course, I had very little interest in learning about business
history, as I assumed it was ordinary information. Whereas now, I see from a different
perspective and realize how fascinating the foundations of business really is.
