You know when you should run from a business? When the owner wears his religion on his sleeve.
Although I still hold reservations about how far the Hobby Lobby decision is going to affect American business, there are still some issues that should make you nervous about dealing with a business where the owner lets his religion decide what his policies are. It's hard to really come down on the owner for doing so; it's his business, and so he is within his rights to run it as he will. Sure, there are some limits, but as long as he is reasonably fair he can get away with a lot.
If you are worried about doing business based your morals you should do some basic research before you deal with that business. This applies whether you are just buying something from them, looking for some sort of partnership, or even potentially working for them. You need to know what kind of business you are dealing with, and that research will let you know what you can expect. This applies doubly if you are debating working for them; it can help you formulate some great questions for the person interviewing you.
Once you have done that research, remember to not make any assumptions. Not all religious owners run their businesses by a strict interpretation of their religious texts. Some owners even run their businesses well by implementing their beliefs across the board. You do need to watch out for anyone that implements any kind of belief to the detriment of the business; this can extreme political correctness to fundamentalist beliefs. I have actually seen someone that actually had an anti-religious policy, albeit an unofficial one. Extreme beliefs of any kind can be horrible for business.
It's important to make sure that any business is run by the right principals. These can be religious provided they allow for business rather than a business that has to allow for the religious principals. It's fine for any business to be run by religious principals, as long as its something that doesn't handcuff it.
Although I still hold reservations about how far the Hobby Lobby decision is going to affect American business, there are still some issues that should make you nervous about dealing with a business where the owner lets his religion decide what his policies are. It's hard to really come down on the owner for doing so; it's his business, and so he is within his rights to run it as he will. Sure, there are some limits, but as long as he is reasonably fair he can get away with a lot.
If you are worried about doing business based your morals you should do some basic research before you deal with that business. This applies whether you are just buying something from them, looking for some sort of partnership, or even potentially working for them. You need to know what kind of business you are dealing with, and that research will let you know what you can expect. This applies doubly if you are debating working for them; it can help you formulate some great questions for the person interviewing you.
Once you have done that research, remember to not make any assumptions. Not all religious owners run their businesses by a strict interpretation of their religious texts. Some owners even run their businesses well by implementing their beliefs across the board. You do need to watch out for anyone that implements any kind of belief to the detriment of the business; this can extreme political correctness to fundamentalist beliefs. I have actually seen someone that actually had an anti-religious policy, albeit an unofficial one. Extreme beliefs of any kind can be horrible for business.
It's important to make sure that any business is run by the right principals. These can be religious provided they allow for business rather than a business that has to allow for the religious principals. It's fine for any business to be run by religious principals, as long as its something that doesn't handcuff it.
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