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Are business ethics or profits more important?

This Debate has 18 articles on the Ethics side and 7 articles on the Profits side. Click here to see all the articles rated and ranked by Helium members.

Ethics

Profits

8 of 18

Ethics

Gain,stealing and control of others in order to maximize others has often been the creed of the greedy. What's more, it has seemingly flourished. However, the cost is staggering, where one generation has left a sad legacy to future generations, proving that profits at the expense of business ethics is definitely NOT worth it. Many have thought that it has been possible to horde their ill-gained riches because the negative effect is not immediately seen. When a business is behaving in a dishonest and unscrupulous manner, it is more likely that they will attract competitors who would wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of them. Government authorities and general auditing bodies would eventually discover that fraudulent methods were being used to gain the maximum amounts of profits. In the long-term, it would not pay.
A different scenario occurs when a company or business is established on ethical grounds, where the well-being of every employee or partner is seen as being crucial to the well-being and profitability of the business. In fact, as individuals are rewarded for their contribution and output,the production and profitability of the company flourishes. Each has an understanding that in order to be a part of this, they need to behave in such a way as to reflect a business which has ethics and integrity. The analogy is not dissimilar to a well-oiled machine working very smoothly. Strangely, or perhaps not so strangely, this approach is extremely focused and will achieve remarkable results in the area of profits. It is truly in a company's best interests and profitability to act in a very accountable and honest fashion. It is a well known fact that "word of mouth" advertising can be of great worth. It is up to the astute business owner to decide what sort of reputation he or she wishes to establish for the business, and to establish a program which works in accordance with this. What's more, they can happily allow company figures to come under scrutiny from any government body, auditor, or possibly interested share-holders. My conclusion would be that if one wants sustainable profits, then ethics must be vitally important. Really, the two go hand in hand, and is undoubtedly the only choice for successful businesses of the future.