Pfizer buys Warner-Lambert. Alcoa purchases Reynolds Metals. Nestles S.A. merges with Ralston Purina. Each of these is a recent example of large companies combining with other large companies. Does this imply that small is not necessarily beautiful?

The Advantages of a Small Company

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The Advantages of a Small Company

Small businesses , or mom and pop ' organization are the backbone of this country . From the days when European settlers first founded our nation , entrepreneurs recognized an opportunity and strove to fill the needs of their clientele , even if it was only in exchange for a commodity like food

Today , in an economy filled with big box retailers like Wal-Mart communications giants like AT T and food and beverage conglomerates like Nestle , what is often missing

is the human touch . Back when our parents were growing up , buying groceries meant a trip to the local market where the butcher cut your meat while you waited and a visit to the pharmacy often included a soda fountain treat served up by the teenager who lived down the street . Shopping was never a quick errand but also served as social time for chit chat between neighbors and friends

Bigger is not always better . The presence of huge corporations is slowly forcing the small business owner to either get out or find new ways to compete for business . Certainly you cannot call AT T 's customer service line and find a relative on the other end of the line who will ensure you receive the utmost in care and maybe even include a recipe for that casserole you admired at last weekend 's Sunday social . Chances are that when you purchase a bag of dog food made by Ralston-Purina , a division of Nestle Foods , there will be no representative of the company asking after your satisfaction and your ill grandmother 's health

Modern-day society could only benefit from a return to the standards of small business practices such as used to be common . After all , wouldn 't a personal touch go a long way towards developing necessary relationships within our communities

References

Fredman , Catherine (June , 2007 . Executive Secrets : Small Business , Big Impact . Retrieved August 13 , 2007 from United Hemispheres : HYPERLINK "http /www .hemispheresmagazine .com /jun07 /executivesecrets .html http /www .hemispheresmagazine .com /jun07 /executivesecrets .html

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