BUSI 100 STUDY GUIDE
Thoreau's main point - Answers - Deep reading = competitive advantage. Most people
won't do it. That's your edge.
"Heroic books" (Thoreau) - Answers - Classics that demand effort and reward it.
Opposite of "Easy Reading."
Mark Cuban + Thoreau - Answers - Cuban said reading gave him a knowledge edge
because "most people won't put in the time." Thoreau agrees.
Why the state exists (Plato) - Answers - No one is self-sufficient. People specialize and
trade → society forms.
Division of labor (Plato) - Answers - One person, one job = better output than one
person doing everything.
Invisible Hand (Smith) - Answers - Self-interest in free markets accidentally produces
social good. No planner needed.
Comparative Advantage (Smith) - Answers - Specialize in what you do best. Trade for
the rest. Always cheaper.
Scotland wine example (Smith) - Answers - Making wine in Scotland costs 30x what
importing it does. Don't do it. Trade instead.
Friedman's core argument - Answers - Business's only job = maximize profit for
shareholders. Full stop.
Friedman on Corporate Social Responsibility - Answers - Spending company money on
social causes = taxing shareholders without their consent. It's socialism.
Carnegie's core argument - Answers - The ultra-rich are just trustees of wealth. They
MUST give it away. "The man who dies rich dies disgraced."
Friedman vs. Carnegie - Answers - Friedman: no social duty beyond profit. Carnegie:
massive social duty — give it all back.
Pacioli's 3 things for business - Answers - 1) Enough capital 2) A good accountant 3)
Orderly books.
"Casting up shop" (Defoe) - Answers - Balancing your books once a year so you know if
you're going forward or backward.
Thoreau's main point - Answers - Deep reading = competitive advantage. Most people
won't do it. That's your edge.
"Heroic books" (Thoreau) - Answers - Classics that demand effort and reward it.
Opposite of "Easy Reading."
Mark Cuban + Thoreau - Answers - Cuban said reading gave him a knowledge edge
because "most people won't put in the time." Thoreau agrees.
Why the state exists (Plato) - Answers - No one is self-sufficient. People specialize and
trade → society forms.
Division of labor (Plato) - Answers - One person, one job = better output than one
person doing everything.
Invisible Hand (Smith) - Answers - Self-interest in free markets accidentally produces
social good. No planner needed.
Comparative Advantage (Smith) - Answers - Specialize in what you do best. Trade for
the rest. Always cheaper.
Scotland wine example (Smith) - Answers - Making wine in Scotland costs 30x what
importing it does. Don't do it. Trade instead.
Friedman's core argument - Answers - Business's only job = maximize profit for
shareholders. Full stop.
Friedman on Corporate Social Responsibility - Answers - Spending company money on
social causes = taxing shareholders without their consent. It's socialism.
Carnegie's core argument - Answers - The ultra-rich are just trustees of wealth. They
MUST give it away. "The man who dies rich dies disgraced."
Friedman vs. Carnegie - Answers - Friedman: no social duty beyond profit. Carnegie:
massive social duty — give it all back.
Pacioli's 3 things for business - Answers - 1) Enough capital 2) A good accountant 3)
Orderly books.
"Casting up shop" (Defoe) - Answers - Balancing your books once a year so you know if
you're going forward or backward.
