Talk:Businessman

From Academic Kids

This article previously redirected to List of corporate leaders. I do not find this appropriate, since this group forms only a very small segment of what we refer to as businessmen.

I think that anyone who has followed a link to this term probably does so because he wants to know just what a businessman is or does. I find the word to be a somewhat pejorative term for a person who engages in generic profit-making activity of any kind. This parallels the way that a generic consultant will give advice on anything that you care to ask him about; he may be knowledgeable about the subject, but that is not a prerequisite. The archetype of a businessman may very well be Dilbert's Pointy Haired Boss.

A little Googling has not been very productive. Commonly the hits referred to various individuals who called themselves businessmen, or to news reports of businessmen who had been arrested for some white collar crime, or at best it is a tag used by the media when they don't know what a person does. I found this at http://lamar.colostate.edu/~dlyons/CH4.htm

Indeed, the BUSINESSMAN can be distinguished from the 'professionals' in this way: a lawyer could be called a 'splendid lawyer' if he wins a lot of cases, even if he forgets to collect his bills and ends up with a very small income. This holds for all professionals: there is for them a standard of excellent performance that is not solely 'making the most money'. (This holds even for salesmen: a person could count as a successful salesman if he sells a lot of goods, even if somehow he ends up not earning much money. It also holds for a 'good prostitute'!) But a person is labeled a 'successful businessman' solely according to the profit he accrues in the long run. This means that the ROLE of businessman is sharply defined as NOT aimed at benefitting society directly. (Believers in the Hidden Hand will claim that such entrepeneurs benefit society indirectly far more than 'do-gooders'!

Another notable speech extract which serves to enlighten us is from the 1896 Democratic convention.

When you come before us and tell us that we shall disturb your business interests, we reply that you have disturbed our business interests by your action. We say to you that you have made too limited in its application the definition of a businessman. The man who is employed for wages is as much a businessman as his employer. The attorney in a country town is as much a businessman as the corporation counsel in a great metropolis. The merchant at the crossroads store is as much a businessman as the merchant of New York. The farmer who goes forth in the morning and toils all day, begins in the spring and toils all summer, and by the application of brain and muscle to the natural resources of this country creates wealth, is as much a businessman as the man who goes upon the Board of Trade and bets upon the price of grain. The miners who go 1,000 feet into the earth or climb 2,000 feet upon the cliffs and bring forth from their hiding places the precious metals to be poured in the channels of trade are as much businessmen as the few financial magnates who in a backroom corner the money of the world.

Ultimately, I have no idea what the word "businessman" really menas. In my more waggish moments I take MBA to mean Master of Bugger-All. There also appears to be a tradition among writers to use the term in anticipation that readers will understand it even if the writer doesn't. Eclecticology 21:27, 2004 Feb 17 (UTC)

I've moved the above Bryan quote to the body of the article. "Businessman" is such a common weasel word that a series of quotes may be the best way to grasp its importance. It is too imortant and pervasive to be deleted. Eclecticology 18:06, 2004 Mar 16 (UTC)

Sexist again??

Please move this page to Businessperson. It is the gender-neutral form. 66.245.10.194 01:32, 22 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Businessperson redirects here, and Businessperson is mentioned in the article. The use of man as a suffix is technically not sexist. See usage note at http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=man. - MattTM 03:49, Sep 22, 2004 (UTC)

Precisely. As it's not the only word in the English language with multiple meanings, there is nothing wrong with the generic use of "man." Women who believe that they have been treated in a manner unsupportive of equality need to refer to their dictionary. -Wild Bill 23:05, Sep 22, 2004 (UTC)

What is a man?? A male person, of course! So why should "businessman" be the proper gender-neutral term?? Do most people as of 2004 think that "-man" is a gender-neutral suffix or a masculine suffix?? 66.245.87.254 20:16, 22 Sep 2004 (UTC)

This is the first time I asked sexist language to be removed from a Wikipedia article when it got objected to easily. Why are there people who continue to use "man" generically instead of a word like "person"?? 66.32.255.77 20:36, 24 Sep 2004 (UTC)