ETHICS VS. PROFITS

‘Put honor above gain’ is a well-known thought to be quoted. No business exists in this modern and industrial world which can succeed with profitability as its primary objective. No individual exists in this real and competitive world who can earn accomplishment without his values. It is undoubtedly no wrong to say that each one of us is hurdling, hustling and hovering around money and everyone wishes to win this rat race but forgetting all our moral values and ethics while in this battle can get triumph to none.

Reputation, credibility and trust are the assets that neither any individual nor any organization can afford to lose but being unethical is the surest way to lose them. Gone are the times when people bothered about fame, faith etc. What the era of today believes is “profits may not always pay, but ethics always costs.” There stands million opportunities to earn profits but if you get a bad faith reputation at first sight then you just can’t heal the wound and obliterate that scar. If we call profits as the main rational behind business then we must not forget that ethics are foundation of human conduct and guide to a person’s behavior. From religious background to home environment to cultural traditions, the moral standards are shaped by many such variations and these only are the reasons to bring variations in our daily decision making in this business world. We are well equipped with the fact that ethics in business may not be the first variable in analyzing the profits but it is equally integral catalyst to bring the company more success. Management philosophies that rely heavily on ethics have proven to be more rewarding. Ethics also comprise of expertise, dedication, consistency, productivity, discipline etc. Being unethical can take the businesses to no new heights. Ethics may be either related to the business policies or the human behavior; it doesn’t constitute social etiquettes or salutations only. No education is complete if it doesn’t lead to a good moral character.

The loss of fame and faith was deeply bemoaned by William Shakespeare when he said, “Reputation, Reputation, and Reputation! O! I have lost my reputation, I have lost the immortal part myself and what remains is NOTHING.” Such is the significance of reputation which cannot be earned without ethics and values. One must imbibe in himself the good virtues like honesty, truthfulness, compassion etc. and shun all the vices in order to just mint money. Many businesses feel that being ethical costs them more then what they earn without taking such things into consideration but they should understand that these ethics are neither a handicap in corporate world not a hindrance to their progress. Rather it builds their goodwill in the market and faith in the customers which worths more than mere profits. Running before money will not get them customers in the long run as well.

I felt it imperative to discuss about the confusion between ethics and profits not only relating to the business world but also bringing this dilemma into comparison with today’s pandemic situation. So I would like to take this article to another step, away from the corporate world and closer to the realism. Today is the time of crisis going on in every nook and corner of this bleak world? The condition nowadays is much worse than what it was in 1930s during World War II. History is repeating itself but with more crises, worst situations, more cries and saddening all over due to the spread of disease named- COVID-19. It has reached its peak and has got everyone hooked onto it. Life has taken a turn all of a sudden, shattered everyone’s dreams, brought everything to a hault and has caught all of us in the shackles of poverty. But the time is all powerful. Lost time is found never again. History might has repeated itself at this hour but time and humans in their character never repeat- indefinite.

The situation we are facing no doubt be the same but those who are to tackle this situation are not alike. Humans are devoid of all feelings, emotions, values and ethics. Humanity, which is the necessity not a luxury, is lost nowadays. Coronavirus has created panic among the people. Being locked down, the demands of the consumers grew unprecedentedly to great heights. And with this the graph of the demands of each and every item got affected and showed amazing growth. But it wasn’t the time to make profits for the businesses. The prices of the things which needed to be made available to the public at the minimal amounts just crossed the line. The masks, medicines, fruits, vegetables, other eatables etc. were sold like never before. Keeping humanity and all their ethics aside most of the businesses were into the practices of hoarding, black marketing etc. They need to realize and make sure that every citizen of their country gets all his necessities fulfilled keeping aside all motives to earn higher profits. But instead of being a helping hand in this critical situation, many businesses are still into minting profits. They are prioritizing profits over their principles taking the needs and demands of people into consideration. This doesn’t lessens the problem but aggravates and fuels the other economic problems like- poverty, inflation, unemployment etc. the time when they need to put ethics at the heart of their decisions, they have profits on their heads and values in knees. Not in position to understand the plight of today’s world or being unethical at this point of time will critically impact the brand image. And if reputation, the immortal part of any organization/ individual, is lost then what remains is the bestial!

Every organization/ individual should never forget the fact that a gentleman by deeds is known. Anyone without these qualities of heart is but a savage. Any organization with high profits may adorn itself with the most expensive dresses but a man’s actions and mannerism betray them what actually are. This has been aptly summed up when we say “manners maketh a man.”

Written by Pranay Kapoor for Young Engine.