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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

5 of 18

Ethics

by Mr. Wilke

It is a self-defeating policy to embrace profit over ethics. Period.

As an entrepreneur, nothing is more important than ethics in business. Without them in fact, it is impossible to conduct business. Business is based on responsibility and trust. Otherwise, business as a whole might be considered piracy or theft. Without a solid code of ethics, your business whether it is a sales organization, service industry, or manufacturer, appears untrustworthy and therefore, unfavorable to business with. For this reason, every day, many businesses seek out credit ratings on other businesses. This is to make sure they won't be left with the short end of the stick.

Taking a more common, or consumer metaphor as an approach, we have all experienced the used car salesman, who implores us to "trust him" and then spins a yarn that goes on to invoke favorable stories and half-truths. We as potential buyers can't help but either be charmed or immediately turned off to the entire process. The end result of the transaction is more than likely one of distrust and disgust. Neither will be a positive to either the brand of the dealer, nor even the "innocent" car. In fact, this unethical approach, if it works is very short-sighted and though it may result in a sale, will more than likely not turn into a long term customer relationship.

To that end, the real way to grow business, also known as sales, is through trust. Trust in your brand, your product and the trust in you as a company to be there to honor your promises, and statements. Imagine the exact opposite experience as a potential buyer is not pressured into a sales situation. When the consumer is merely presented with information and allowed the time to decipher what they really want, a much more agreeable relationship is born. Which can lead to referrals and future profits.

The beauty of capitalism is that if you are ethical in what you deliver, build, etc. your customers will be happy and stay with you, thus generating profit. It really isn't complicated. Do what you say, and say what you do. This does not mean you can't seize opportunity, it just means playing by the established rules is the best plan.