13A - Reading Reflection No. 1
Andrew Carnegie
When learning about Andrew Carnegie I was really surprised by a few things. First of all, I wasn't really aware of just how wealthy this man was. He basically had a monopoly on all of the steel produced in the United States at the time he was alive and made a ton of money. I really admire the fact that he gave almost 90% of his fortune away in order to give to charity. I think that some of his business practices could be viewed as unethical in the way that he was very aggressive in doing business and may have unfairly monopolized the steel industry.
Carnegie was definitely a very smart and savvy businessman. He was the first real steel mogul in the United States and set an example of how one man could own basically every aspect of a business and become extremely wealthy. His greatest attribute in my opinion is his amazing ability to overcome obstacles and keep pursuing his business goals.
One part of the reading that somewhat confused me was how Carnegie was allowed to even operate a business practice like the one he had in the first place. Nowadays, there are very strict laws against the use of monopolies in the American business place. Interestingly, I think that Carnegie is one of the main reasons that such laws and limitations exist.
If I had to ask two questions to Andrew Carnegie I would ask him what he does for fun and did he ever plan to be as wealthy as he was. These would be interesting questions because I haven't really gotten to see a human side to him in the readings and I would like to know about what type of person he is and his personality.
I know for a fact that Andrew Carnegie held hard work in a very high regard. It is important to always have a positive outlook on everything and to not let any obstacles stop you along the way. The way that Carnegie never gave up when he was growing up demonstrates this.
When learning about Andrew Carnegie I was really surprised by a few things. First of all, I wasn't really aware of just how wealthy this man was. He basically had a monopoly on all of the steel produced in the United States at the time he was alive and made a ton of money. I really admire the fact that he gave almost 90% of his fortune away in order to give to charity. I think that some of his business practices could be viewed as unethical in the way that he was very aggressive in doing business and may have unfairly monopolized the steel industry.
Carnegie was definitely a very smart and savvy businessman. He was the first real steel mogul in the United States and set an example of how one man could own basically every aspect of a business and become extremely wealthy. His greatest attribute in my opinion is his amazing ability to overcome obstacles and keep pursuing his business goals.
One part of the reading that somewhat confused me was how Carnegie was allowed to even operate a business practice like the one he had in the first place. Nowadays, there are very strict laws against the use of monopolies in the American business place. Interestingly, I think that Carnegie is one of the main reasons that such laws and limitations exist.
If I had to ask two questions to Andrew Carnegie I would ask him what he does for fun and did he ever plan to be as wealthy as he was. These would be interesting questions because I haven't really gotten to see a human side to him in the readings and I would like to know about what type of person he is and his personality.
I know for a fact that Andrew Carnegie held hard work in a very high regard. It is important to always have a positive outlook on everything and to not let any obstacles stop you along the way. The way that Carnegie never gave up when he was growing up demonstrates this.
Hey Burns! Great post! I agree with you that it was very admirable for Carnegie to give away most of his fortune to charities. However, his business practices were definitely unethical so I guess giving to charity was his was of making up for this. He was a strong and persistent man and knew he would do whatever it took to be successful. The laws that are in place to restrict businesses today definitely stemmed from situations such as the one Carnegie conspired. Having huge monopolies like this on an entire industry limits the rest of the nation and forces them to only buy from Carnegie. God work!
ReplyDeleteHey Michael,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I think you did a pretty good job introducing and summary the book you read. I definitely gain a better understanding of who Andrew Carnegie is. His story is indeed a legend of his time. He is able to see the opportunity and act on it no matter the cost. Maybe some of his act is unethical and for rich people donate his money to charity is mainly to avoid tax, but he still made his name on the business history of America.
Hi Burns,
ReplyDeleteI wanted to start off by saying great choice to discuss for this assignment! In fact, the Carnegie story is one for the books. He wouldn't have had as much luck with the strict policies of today's world, but still his success was vital to the modern entrepreneur wince we ended up relying on most of his businesses to set a precedence for modern activities. His expertise and acumen is definitely smart to be modeled after!