On Wednesday we had a discussion about the theories behind supply. If you don't remember anything else about supply in a theoretical sense, remember that the incentive in business ownership is profit motive. A business will provide as much as they can at the highest possible price. They will also do what they can to ensure the production costs are low enough to ensure profit. This includes overhead costs like salaries/wages, rent for a building, purchasing the resources to make what you need, and the effects of production.
So here is my question for you: How far is too far when it comes to profit motive? What are you willing to sacrifice in order to make a profit? This is really a business philosophy question,but give it a try. Other questions to consider: Is having labor in the form of sweatshops, or other less than ethical situations, okay? How about undocumented workers from other countries? What about making your products environmentally friendly, even though this has the net effect of making your goods more expensive? On the other hand is it worth damaging the environment to make a profit? Do consumers play a roll in this? Don't they have the power to influence what businesses do? Again, the question I am giving you is how far would you go as a business owner to make a profit?
18 September 2007
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39 comments:
Making a profit is definatly a motive for starting and running a business. Who doesn't want to make money? But i believe that when businesses start to abuse the resources around them for protit, that is going to far. When they start to put other peoples lives in dangers, i.e. sweatshops, this is also crossing the line.
As far as consumers playing a role, you have to believe they do. Without somebody buying products, companies wont make money. Its a win-win situation, the company/business promotes a product at a fair price that is reasonable to the buyer. They then have to make the decision to purchase the item, and when they do they leave with their product as the company/business leaves with money.
Anyways, my computer is slow so by the time this page finally loaded, i had forgotten what the blog was asking, so i hope i did my best to answer the questions!
It would depend on the definition of how far. I would do some things for a profit, but there are others that I definitely would not do.
I think that customers do have a say on what prices businesses should price things at, because if the price is too high, then they wont buy it, forcing the business to lower the price. i personally dont think that sweatshops and "undocumented people from other countries" are okay. i dont think that damaging the envrionment to make a profit is okay either, because the environment is the only thing we've got. we print off more money every day, but we can't just make a new environment, ya know?
the farthest i would go to making a profit is maybe lowering the salary just a little bit so that i can lower the price of the product that i am selling. maybe. i'm not sure yet...
Understanding that business is also a competition, it would make sense to do whatever is necessary to make a profit. If you don't make a profit then you sink below the curve and get taken over by the larger companies that were willing to make those shady deals to get ahead of you and make that profit. This being said, everyone pretty much already knows where their new shoes and shirts come from... So whats the difference between being the producer of evil or the consumer of it??? For this reason, I don't care anymore, I would do whatever it took to make the largest profit. Lie, cheat, steal, vandalize, bribe, make Polly Shore talk about how good my product is... Just as long I made the most money, cause then if I wanted to at the end when I pretty much have a monopoly and millions of dollars I could clean up the store's ways and say I'm environmentally friendly, just like Wal-Mart did.
I would sell the resource as cheap as possible, but you still get profit from selling them. If raise the price too high, the customers wont buy them.
I’m willing to sacrifice ALMOST everything to make a profit, because after all, money makes the world go round. If I had workers, they have to have a US citizen thing. If I made a paper making company, I would order the workers not to cut off the whole tree, making it able to re-grow later. Consumers do play a role, because that’s how we make our money. I would go pretty far, but not to the extreme.
i would sell my products as low as possible and you still would be making a profit. but i think that the customer has all the say if they dont but it then maybe the price is too high.
Meghan Weber pd 5
I will go as far as my concious allows me to. Of course I have to make a profit but I still have to abide by ethical guidelines. My way would be sort of in the middle. Not too soft or not too hard. For example I will try to make my products environmentally freindly, but if it starts to cut my profit in a big way, I will change my mind.
You can never go to far to turn a profit. Life is money and money is life. With that easy little saying you sum up what you need to be doing. You're good as dead without a bank account. Turning a profit is what a business is all about (Unless of course you're non-profit.) But still you start a business to make a business to make money. And there is no such thing as too far.
I think if anyone is willing to go as far as to use sweatshops to make a profit is a little extreme. I support the companies that try to make enviromentaly safe products.
On average i think most business owners would go to the end of the world and back just to make a decent profit.
Its way too easy to get lost in your work.which means its easy to go to far when it comes to making a profit.Familys can get pushed aside when a person goes "too far".
Now looking at the business aspect i think sweat shops are beyond unexceptable!As well as undocumented workers. The business might make a profit off of bringing those people from around the world to work for them.But in the long run that hurts our economy.Putting americans out of work,lowering wages etc.making it harder for the average american to keep up with the rising costs of living expenses.But that doesnt matter to the large corporations, because they are making the profit they set out to achive.
Now when it comes to consumers we can play a part in what we buy.Meaining if you know that a product is being produced in an unethical way,than dont buy it,look for products that are environmently freindly even tho they are more expensive when it comes down to it its worth it.
well i guess my point is most business will push for the cheapest production price as possible nomatter what the "cost" is(no pun intended).
When having to put people is sweat shops becomes the only means of a profit company, then you need to step back and reconsider your career path, and yourself as a human being. And we, as consumers and customers of the market that creates these products, have more of a say than anyone else, because we carry these companies on our backs with our hard earned money. So technically, we drive these companies to do whatever they can just to turn a profit.
i would like to sell my products cheap because i would like to have more buyers to buy my product. but it won't work if i have expensive products. then people demands will go up and my supply will go down.
As a business owner there is a lot i would do to make a profit and there is other things i wouldn't do.sometimes your customers won't go for the profit you are trying to make but it's always nice to try.
I would go far, but wouldn't sacrifice my morals. I would put all of my effort into my business, but definitely wouldn't treat my employees unfairly or lie.
i would do what is right...in america sweatshops are illegal and science i dont see my self moving out of the country anytime soon i would follow the government rules...but as for going as far as i could to make profit...well then my answer is yes as long as i followed the "RULES", if this means paying my employes only minium wadge to make more than i guess the cheap side of my is coming out!
THANKS FOR THE QUESTION...you should probably pay me for this one hahaha:)
~Kyle7
I would go as far as possible to make the most profit. I wouldn't go all out but I would try everything I could in order to succeed. I wouldnt go as far as putting others in danger, or myself in debt, but you get the point. Its all for the profit.
I think customers have a say in how prices are put in businesses. If a business puts really high prices some customers won't buy the products. But if businesses put prices low, customers will buy more products.If I had a business I would probably put low prices so I could have more customers.
I think sweatshops or other ethnical situations aren't okay. I also think undocumented workers from other countries aren't okay, but how can all businesses know they have undocumented workers? Some businesses have undocumented workers without them knowing. I think it would be hard to make products environmentally friendly because you have to use things from the environment in order to make products.
I think customers do have to do with the way businesses put prices.I think that if a business puts low prices more customers buy products. If a business puts high prices then there will be less customers buying products.If I had a business I would probably put low prices so I could have more customers.
I think having labor in the form of sweatshops isn't okay. I also think having undocumented workers from other countries isn't okay. But how would businesses know that they have undocumented workers? Some don't even know they have undocumented workers. I think it would be hard to make products evironmentally friendly because you have to use the environment in order to make products. Consumers do play a role in this because they are the ones who need and buy products.
I would do anything as long as i get a whole load of money
I would go as far as i need to get a profit for my business but i wouldn't sacrifice the people who are working there and the environment just for money.
To make a profit i would like to make lots of people want to buy my products. I wouldn't have such a high price and not too low so i would make a pretty good profit. I would also like to have a pretty good envorinment.
I think you should have the prices low but not too low. Costumers have a big part in determining the prices.
You don't want to lose customers do to high prices.
Sweatshops are wrong. No one wants to buy sweatshop good. It's just not ethical.
making a profit is the main goal for all businesses, but when a business resorts to using undocumented workers and "sweatshops," they're crossing the line. if i were to run a business, i would never resort to either of those circumstances just to make a profit; i would definitely keep things safe and legal. sure making a profit is awesome, but i wouldn't be willing to sacrifice too much for it.
i would go as far as i could, to make a profit for my business. Also, i would sells it cheap, i i have more buyers, but i have to depend on the product's price...
Making a profit is never as important as doing what you can for the people of your company and the environment. I know business is all about competition, but you have to think about the long term effects of your decisions. If you pollute the environment and treat your employees badly, eventually you will have no or unclean resources and slim to no one who wants to work for you. As for hiring illegal aliens, that takes away jobs from the legal citizens who need jobs just as much and if the illegal ones will work for half the price, it's still not worth it to have a bad reputation in the business world. Keep it clean, stick within the laws of the land and treat your employees as you want to be treated. If you don't turn a profit after that, you're doing something else wrong.
hmmm i would sell my products at lower prices, but not too low. i would also decrease salaries of workers, well not decrease but if I gave them a raise it wouldn't be that much that it can hurt the service.
I would go as far as i could with my business as i could to make a profit without breaking the law or hireing Illegal workers for lower pay. Doing that shows that u think u are superior to them and they dont dererve as much pay as a regular worker would. So part of my decision has to do with Morals and Respect and another part is based on consicuenses in the Future. If i were to get caught with illegal workers i would loose more money in fines then paying them higher wages, so therefore i would make no profit. I would go as far as the Law would let me go to make a profit, and if i still dont then its the product itself that needs improvement.
It depends on how much you think you will be able to sell. Because if you know that you are going to be able to sell quite a bit I would go as war as things would allow. But it would be the opposite if I knew the product wasn't going to sell much.
Making a profit is something that businesses have to do in order to get money for their business. I think that a business has gone too far when they abuse the resources around them. Without someone buying goods the companies will lose money and their profit will go down.
I would have do whatever i needed to start a business but i wouldn't lie or cheat my way through it and i would treat my employees the same making everything fairly so they get paid for what they do.
Making a profit is very important but you know you have gone too far when you do hire those illigale workers or have sweat shops. You can find other ways to make a profit without using those resources. If you were to also make environmentally safe products that raise cost those people who want them well buy them because that is what they are in the market for. No matter what way you go there is always an alternative.
I would go as far as I need too to make a profit. If i put the product out there I will think that people will buy it. If I need to raise the prices of the products to pay off the workers that i hire I will be happy to raise the profits so i can make a good profit
I say, that it is a materialistic world. So, you need money. I say as long as it is not illegal, do whatever it takes to earn money. No matter what the cost. As long as you make a profit. The world is all about your wealth. Money can not buy you true happiness, but happiness can not buy you squat.
As a business owner, in order to live a comfortable life and be able to pay all my employees a decent salary I would go to great lengths to make a profit. As long as it was not at the expense of my employees or raising the price of my product to a horrendous amount. I would be willing to increase prices, but not any higher than a small percentage.
I think that an ethical line is crossed when a business is willing to sacrifice anything to make a profit. On the other hand, it is the business ‘world’ and it can be argued that making money has nothing to do with ethics or personal belief systems. Contrarily so, I believe that it is possible to both make a profit and ensure the well being of my employees, keep my buyers satisfied & not cross many ethical boundaries.
I feel that the initial point of business is to make a profit in any way possible. Once you are stable and can handle changes, you should try to become more caring for employees and the environment. The buyer has the power in the long run, and a business has to play into a consumer's wants and needs. Consumers tend to not favor businesses that abuse resources and employees. Being worker-friendly is overall effective in selling product, gaining a reputation and gaining customer loyalty, a very important aspect of economics today. This is a good question, but the flexibility of a businessowner's morals can be interpreted many ways, and appeal to people in many ways.
Hong Said,
As far as making a profit, you have to first know what are you targeting. Meeting the consumer's need is one thing and know what to give it to them is another thing.
sell as low as possible
Making a profit is something that businesses have to do in order to get money for their business. I think that a business has gone too far when they abuse the resources around them. Without someone buying goods the companies will lose money and their profit will go down.
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