by Khoa Nguyen

Created on: January 26, 2010   Last Updated: January 27, 2010

In a strictly business topic, profit is the driving force of success and growth. One cannot deny that high revenues signal a strong business, and one CAN deny that without ethics a business will fail.

For instance, pyramid schemes, which are just a plot to make money from others by giving the service of making money, serves no purpose and is unethical. However, we can definitely assume that the inventors of the pyramid schemes are sitting on top of their "business" making thousands, if not millions, of dollars laughing at the ethical man who cannot keep his own business afloat selling something with actual worth.

We hope for ethics in this world and that one day our leaders, whether in business, government, or science, will keep us on the track of good consciousness for a better world, but for this moment in time in a business field, profit is key. 

All of our parents, teachers, and elders told us that working hard and doing good in the world is the key to success and wealth. They say that with a pure heart, one will one day reap the rewards they have given out as good deeds, and live a happy life. This is a speculation because one, we cannot tell the future, and two, it only works in a utopia. Mostly everyone in this world works for a profit, even people here, on helium, work for a profit (do to the fact the majority do not donate their revenues). Because everyone works for a profit, the idea that one will go out of his or her own way to enrich someones else's wealthiness without a clear return in value is considered "crazy." And its true, because humans find most other humans insignificant and even though another may show graciousness and generosity, most people will see the generosity with greedy eyes, not the person behind it.

Therefore by starting and maintaining a business, an enterprise that exchanges goods or services for wealth, is exactly as its meaning, exchanging goods and services for wealth. Why is it that fast food chains in America, whose method of manufacturing food and marketing is considered very unethical due to the fact the food is considered "unhealthy" and it markets to children, are making billions of dollars. This contrasts the agencies that try to prevent obesity and promote good living, whose quarterly revenues cannot even match 10% that the big boys are making, even though they are ethical. 

This does not mean that banning ethics is the answer, no, it means that the primary focus of a growing business is profits and hopefully when one's business is large enough, it can be coupled with ethics that can change society for the better. A good analogy would be to portray a growing tree from a seedling. Should the tree try to grow apples for the inhabitants of the forest when it is young and fragile, or focus on growing big and tall to the point where it can make thousands of apples for the entire horizon. Therefore I say, profits should be the primary focus, whereas ethics should be the coupled together later on.

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