03-01-2018, 09:34 PM
Real Value is a 2013 documentary which looks at how you should value products or services. Should it just be based on profit, or should it also be based on the effects on the community and environment? Through looking at behavioural economics and psychology with a favourite of mine - Dan Ariely, alongside business owners who have seen profits increase by acting more sustainable, a picture of a future where businesses think about the community and its impact on the globe is pictured.
The picture portrayed is something that seems achievable, but as Ariely points out, it is often the price that is the easiest measure to see and think about, which leads to decisions which can often be irrational in comparison to the whole picture. It certainly wouldn't be an easy thing to achieve and can at times seem rather anti-capitalism in my opinion. The businesses seen in the documentary are often small, local community businesses suggesting they are better than the big corporations in the same field. This is true, as they think about the environment and community. But it doesn't show the full picture. My question is, how would these businesses scale? With an estimated 7.5 billion people on the planet as of April 2017, how would these businesses be able to think locally, source locally, and cover the entire population in a timely manner? - especially when it comes to food production and fuel production. The examples in the documentary seem very small and community focused, and I personally can't see how that scales to the entire globe, or how any of these businesses would break out of being a local business to providing on a larger scale. It seems the suggestion is to not have large businesses, but have little businesses doing the same thing in each separate community. Is this actually practical?
Cleverly, the business owners still realise profit as a crucial asset - it helps them survive and is a part of sustainability which can help the owners to give back to the community. It is self-aware in that sense. Profit is still necessary, rather the approach is to negate some of the possible profit or shareholder value in order to give back to the community, or do things in a way that impacts the environment less.
The documentary itself can seem a little preachy. At times it seems more like a marketing tool to try to make people think about their habits more - which is in poor taste for a documentary. The business owners can be a little pushy in terms of trying to impact other people's decisions and the constant violin or piano music played in the background to try and emote the person watching can wear thin.
Overall, the documentary can give some good ideas and approaches, but I would argue it doesn't exactly fit into the capitalistic society we live in today and simply wouldn't really match the needs of our huge population.
You can watch the documentary yourself if you want. It is 1hr and 10mins in length.
Rating: 3/5
The picture portrayed is something that seems achievable, but as Ariely points out, it is often the price that is the easiest measure to see and think about, which leads to decisions which can often be irrational in comparison to the whole picture. It certainly wouldn't be an easy thing to achieve and can at times seem rather anti-capitalism in my opinion. The businesses seen in the documentary are often small, local community businesses suggesting they are better than the big corporations in the same field. This is true, as they think about the environment and community. But it doesn't show the full picture. My question is, how would these businesses scale? With an estimated 7.5 billion people on the planet as of April 2017, how would these businesses be able to think locally, source locally, and cover the entire population in a timely manner? - especially when it comes to food production and fuel production. The examples in the documentary seem very small and community focused, and I personally can't see how that scales to the entire globe, or how any of these businesses would break out of being a local business to providing on a larger scale. It seems the suggestion is to not have large businesses, but have little businesses doing the same thing in each separate community. Is this actually practical?
Cleverly, the business owners still realise profit as a crucial asset - it helps them survive and is a part of sustainability which can help the owners to give back to the community. It is self-aware in that sense. Profit is still necessary, rather the approach is to negate some of the possible profit or shareholder value in order to give back to the community, or do things in a way that impacts the environment less.
The documentary itself can seem a little preachy. At times it seems more like a marketing tool to try to make people think about their habits more - which is in poor taste for a documentary. The business owners can be a little pushy in terms of trying to impact other people's decisions and the constant violin or piano music played in the background to try and emote the person watching can wear thin.
Overall, the documentary can give some good ideas and approaches, but I would argue it doesn't exactly fit into the capitalistic society we live in today and simply wouldn't really match the needs of our huge population.
You can watch the documentary yourself if you want. It is 1hr and 10mins in length.
Rating: 3/5
DiscussPF Founder & Owner Emeritus
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