Community Economic Development

            What role do you see your business playing in supporting Community Economic Development (CED) in the future?.
             Businesses may get involved in CED via different means. Businesses can expand and create jobs for expertise available locally or work with colleges to train local residence for the gap in the needed expertise. Businesses may also help the local capital savings by participating in local Credit Unions. As businesses choose the local credit union as their banks, they help the financial institutions that focuse on local economy. Supporting the exchange of work and services within the community is another way that businesses can help the local economy. Material, products and services may be purchased from other local businesses if available, hence supporting the local economy. Businesses can help diversify the local economy by initiating new businesses that are not available in the local economy. Local production and supply of products and services that previously have been purchased from non-local businesses creates new jobs and encourages intercommunity business transactions. Cooperating with government initiatives and policies, which are intended to help CED, and working with trade unions can also help the community economy. .
             What obstacles would have to be dealt with in the course of this process?.
             There are several obstacles that need to be dealt with in the CED process, however the most important obstacle to be dealt with is the fundamental behavior of the Economy. Economy is a living organism and, by its own nature, moves and shifts toward where it is most profitable. A change in business environment may cause a shift in economy and provide competitive advantage for another area. Hence, any steps taken against the natural behavior of economy may only slowdown its movement. For example, a local business that is on the verge of collapse has not been able to remain competitive in the economy; this may simply be due to lack of productivity and efficiency in the business or the existing competitive advantage of non-local businesses.