Is Profit the Only Responsibility of Business - Essay Example

Virtue ethics such as this go beyond simply making a profit. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that in order to be socially responsible a company automatically has to sacrifice profits. On the contrary, as Baines and many other experts believe, the public tends to reward companies who they feel are socially responsible by doing business with them (2011). Therefore, companies that focus on all of their stakeholders and not just the bottom line can have a competitive advantage over those business leaders who look at everything in terms of dollars and cents.

Unfortunately, there are companies out there who don’t make corporate accountability or virtue ethics a priority. Some companies will even bend the rules or even break them in order to increase profitability. Large corporations are often the biggest culprits of bending or breaking the rules. Wal-mart, for example, has been routinely scrutinized for its questionable human resource practices (Miller 2004). Also, other global companies like Google have faced controversy for tax avoidance.

These examples illustrate why it is often a necessity to have regulations imposed on organizations. In this way, an outside entity can assure that a company doesn’t take advantage of its stakeholders. Also, bodies that regulate certain professionals like doctors, accountants, and lawyers were also created to make sure that its members abide by certain standards.

We should also pay close attention to Milton’s phrase, “the rules of the game.” For instance, what if the rules of the game are unfair to stakeholders? On the other hand, what if the rules are the game are unfair to businesses? These questions illustrate why it is important to have rules that lookout for the best interests of all parties involved. Regulations should not cripple businesses and make it difficult for them to do business, but they should also keep businesses in check so they don’t take advantage of employees, customers, or the rest of society.

Both virtue ethics and obligation ethics are important in the business world. We should never try to take ethics out of business and just look at everything in terms of profit. Although profit can be obtained by questionable practices, the kind of profit that benefits everyone involved comes from the values and vision that a business comes up with. A prime example of this is seen with the Triodos bank, which has seen profits increase dramatically as a result of their specialization in ethical investments (Hempsheir 2012).