Just listening to some voices in media and politics, you might think that business people are all manipulators, cheaters, or at least impure in that they're "just trying to make money." Some say that business is unworthy of the effort of good, decent people who should be working for a non-profit where the motives are pure.
But making money is a good motive. It must just be conducted ethically. I remember hearing speaker John Maxwell say, "There's no such thing as 'business ethics' - there's only ethics." Ethics applies to all of life, including business. He says that means to treat people by the Golden Rule - treat people as you would like to be treated.
Ethics rightly applied to business should result in a win/win situation: a win for both parties, the seller and the customer.
In a free economy, both parties have the freedom to decide for themselves what constitutes a win for them. A seller can decide what price would both cover her costs and give her the profit she wants as a condition for staying in that business. A customer can go elsewhere if that price is not worth it to her.
So there's nothing inherently impure about making money. Every worker should hope her for-profit employer is making money (or her job will go away). And, by the way, every non-profit should be hoping their contributors make money!
No comments:
Post a Comment