Generally, the purpose of starting a business is to make a profit. It now depends on the business owner to decide which path to tow to achieve his or her aims. There are businesses out there that are built to survive and have survived for decades, while we also businesses that prioritize ethical practices to guide measures. A lot depends on the niche of the business, the customers and maybe, competitors.
In football, for example, some clubs prioritize profit more than anything else. They bring in players, give them the program and platform to grow for a year or two, and then sell them to the highest bidder. It looks straightforward when we consider the fact that most football clubs sell players. However, for these, they are more aggressive in chasing profits, like, that is the only thing that matters to them.
When it is time to sell a player, the career trajectory of the player is not their concern. For instance, if a club in Saudi Arabia places a higher bid for a player compared to a club in England, they'd rather sell to Saudi Arabia and bank major profit, even if it will ruin the player's career. To those clubs, the only thing they care about is profit, not some ethical fallacies. And, this model works for them.
In like manner, we also have clubs that are built on ethics, patterns of play, and prestige. That doesn't mean these clubs are not after profit after all, they need to turn in profit to continue to operate effectively, but they've struck a balance and created a model whereby they turn in regular profits while maintaining the ethical practices that have won them respect and admiration. A typical example of such a football club is Barcelona FC. With a pattern of play that is pleasing to the eyes and the strong ties to their famed academy, La Masia, Barcelona FC has successfully merged ethics and profits, despite their financial struggles in recent years.
If a business finds a balance between ethics and profits, the advantages are numerous. One of those is talent attraction and retention. A business with a solid track record of wonderful ethical practices will have the best talents gunning for them because they know working for the organization represents a chance to grow in leaps and bounds. Prioritizing ethics gives employees the peace of mind to give their best, knowing fully well they won't be discarded or relegated abruptly.
Another benefit of sound ethics in business is long-term profitability. Once a business is known for a particular ethical practice, its reputation grows in that line, leading to a string of loyal customers and continued profit. Another example of such in football is Borussia Dortmund. They have a solid reputation for giving teenagers the chance to play regular football in the first team. Due to this, talented teenagers craving exposure to top European clubs choose Dortmund over other clubs promising even more money. They know they will get to play regularly at Dortmund and prove their worth. That model has helped the club because they buy these teenage footballers for little money and then sell them for triple or more of the sum they bought them for in a space of two to three years.
In conclusion, finding a balance between ethics and profit is vital. Transparency, accountability, setting clear values and engaging with stakeholders are some of the ways to strike a balance between those two.
