Should Business Be Concerned about More Than Profit - Essay Example

Reflective Pieces Name Course Institution Date Reflections 1. Should business be concerned about more than profit? It is common for most of the business organizations in the world to be ranked according to their profitability. However, businesses should not be more concerned about the profit making. This is because it will shift the focus of the business and hence the failure of the business to achieve its core objectives which is customer satisfaction. Whenever a business is more focused about profit making, the focus on customer satisfaction is lost. This is because the business organization will be more about making the profits and hence the failure to upgrade their services so as to satisfy the customers. I have also noted that customer satisfaction requires a lot of investments by a company for it to be successful. It is thus important to note that the focus on the profit will affect the rate of investment and hence the failure of the company to satisfy the customers. The customers play an important role in the success of a company. Most of the successful companies are more focused on the satisfaction of the customers as opposed to profit making. Through the focus on customer satisfaction the company is able to make profits automatically. This is because satisfied customers will always prefer the products and services of the company. However, when customers are not satisfied, they will not continue being loyal to the company (Cooper, 2012). The sustainability of a company is also dependant on the profits made. I have also observed that the profit making process requires a lot of loyalty from the customers. The focus on maintaining the customers is thus important as compared to the focus on the profit making process. In order for a company to be profitable, it should focus on the methods of wining the trust as well as the support of the community that it operates in. Involvement in the community development and corporate responsibilities is one of the most important methods of winning the loyalty of the customers. In my observation, most profitable organizations do not focus on profit but rather on the wellbeing of the customers and the community. It is also important to note that most of the successful multinationals have invested heavily on the social corporate responsibilities. Through this investment, the company is able to win the trust and loyalty of customers and the local community. This results top profits to the organization without necessarily focusing on the profits. The focus on the profits is also not advisable for the company as this also reduces the innovativeness with the organization. This is because the company will fail to invest on the innovative processes that result to the development of the company. A company that fails to be innovative in the current competitive environment is prone to failure. The focus on profit making should be the last priority of the company after it has satisfied the customers. I have also noted that some of the companies that fail to attract the customers are more focused on the profit making process. Such companies end up developing on poor quality of goods and services. This is because the focus on the profits also prevents the company from developing good quality of products. Poor quality products are les attractive to the customers and hence resulting to low sales. In my opinion, it is not important for the companies to put more emphasis on the profit making process. It is for this reason that most of the successful corporations in the world no longer focus on profits during the formulation of strategies (Freeman, 1998). On the other hand, I have also noted that most of the companies that focus on profit making end up engaging in unethical business practices. The focus on the profits has the potential of compromising the ethics and integrity of the employees and management and hence resulting to unethical business practices. According to my observation, most of the companies that maintain a high standard of ethics are always successful. The confidence of the customers is usually lost due to unethical business practices. In other instances, the brand image of the company can only be build when the company is ethical. The focus on the profit making is also the leading cause of corruption in most of the companies. This is because company will always want to avoid the legal and ethical procedures which may take long and may require payment of taxes or fees. It is thus evident that the focus on the profit making process is responsible for the unethical practices within most of the companies (Roth, 2012). 2. Career Information Autonomy is the ability of ensuring that the decision making process is independent. Autonomy gives me the powers to make decisions and perform a certain task at any time that is convenient to me. I have noted that autonomy greatly contributes to the career growth. This is because is encourages the individuals to perform tasks at their own convenient time and hence empowering them to be innovative. This is unlike where individuals are forced to work under pressure. The outcome of the work of the professionals working under pressure is quite different from those working with autonomy. I have also noted that most of the successful people that have enhanced their careers have always acted with autonomy. Some of the activities during the career development also require autonomy. This is because autonomy gives the individuals the chance to learn from their own mistakes. The development of careers is also an important factor of growth and development of economies in the world (Somerville, 2009). An individual always performs better whenever they discover that the made some errors in some of the sections or methods of operations. Autonomy is thus important for individuals in terms of enhancing the process of self reflection. The confidence of most of the individuals determines the performance and career development. The autonomy is important in terms of ensuring that an individual is free to make tough choices and decisions with regard to the given situation. Freedom is important in terms of the growth and development of a career. I have also noted that some of the most successful entrepreneurs utilize the concepts of autonomy and hence their success. The growth of and success of a career always requires a constant support from the other employees as well as the personal ambition. Autonomy is important in terms of ensuring that the individual remains ambitious (Brown, 2012). I have also observed that confidence is one of the most important factors of success among the individuals. Autonomy is important in terms of ensuring that the individuals are able to advance in their careers. The self confidence in terms of decision making is enhanced by the process of autonomy. On the other hand, I have also noted that autonomy is important in terms of ensuring that the individuals are responsible. The sense of responsibility ensures that the individual is self disciplined. A responsible individual will always advance due to the good decisions that an individual will be able to make. On the other hand, it is also important to note that autonomy also encourages the individual to know ho w to interact with the other professionals. Despite the independence in terms of decision making and operations, autonomy still plays an important role in encouraging individuals to respect the decisions of other people. This also contributes to the growth and development of a professional career. Autonomy is also instrumental in terms of innovativeness. I have noted that most of the innovative individuals always enjoy autonomy. Innovations play an important role in ensuring that the career of an individual grows. It is thus evident that autonomy plays an active role in decision making and it guides the operations of an individual (Al Ariss, 2010). This ensures the growth and development of the career of an individual 3. What integrity means to me According to me, integrity is about doing the right thing at all times regardless of whether someone else is watching or not. In the business world, integrity plays an important role in terms of ensuring that the customers benefits from the services of a company. I believe that integrity plays an important role in terms of building the brand image of the company. This is because a company with high levels of integrity always wins the support of the customers. This is unlike the other companies where there is no integrity. Integrity is also the foundation of success in a business as it leads to good business practices (Rae, 2009). I have also noted that integrity plays an important role when it comes to the leadership of a company. The company with leaders who have high standards of integrity always thrives. This is due to the support that they will always receive from the employees. Most of the employees prefer a leader who has high standards of integrity as this determines the success of the company. I also noted that integrity in terms of leadership is important in an organization in terms of defining the path taken by the employees. The employees always emulate the leadership qualities of their leaders and hence determining their actions. Integrity therefore plays an important role in terms of ensuring the success of an organization. I have also noted that integrity is closely associated with the business ethics. In organizations where the business ethics are observed, the levels of integrity are always high. Business ethics and integrity plays an important role in terms of ensuring that customers are satisfied with the operations of the company. This is because the business ethics are strived at protecting the customers from an exploitation of any sort. In my observation, companies with poor ethics are not friendly to the customers and in most cases the employees end up exploiting the customers (Carroll, 2009). In companies that the ethics and integrity measures have been out in place, it is impossible for the employees exploit the customers. Such companies in my opinion always strive at satisfying the customers. All the measures are usually pit in place to ensure that the customers are fully satisfied with the operations of the company. I have also noted that business ethics plays an important role in terms of creating a good relationship with the customers. This is because it ensures that the employees are free with the customers and hence creating a strong bond with the employees. It is also through good ethics and high levels of integrity that the customers are able to achieve a high level of trust and loyalty towards the company. However, it is also important to note that integrity and ethics in business does not have anything to do with religion (Ferrell, 2012). The ethical practices in an organization are also influential in terms of eliminating vices in the organization. I have also noted that corruption is always rampant in organizations where there is little or no integrity among the employees and the leaders. Integrity therefore plays an important role in terms of ensuring that corruption is completely eliminated. This is because it acts as a restraining factor for the employees and leaders in terms of preventing corruption. The consistency in terms of leadership plays an important role in terms o ensuring that the organization is successful. The presence of guidelines within the company is one of the important concepts of integrity and ethics. I have thus noted that the presence of the guidelines is importance in terms of ensuring the consistency within the leadership of a company. In most cases, the businesses are about performance and results. Companies where the high ethical standards are observed always register positive results. The positive results are for the purpose of building the confidence of the employees and hence serving the company better. It is thus important to note that the business ethics plays an important role in terms of ensuring trust within an organization and hence leading to the customer satisfaction. The principles of ethics and integrity also determine the destiny of a company. Integrity is closely associated with the success of a company as it defines the level of trust with the customers (Carroll, 2009). References Carroll, A. B. (2009). Ethical challenges for business in the new millennium. Business Ethics Quarterly, 10(1), 33-42. Roth, S. (2012). The Moral of Functional Differentiation: A New Horizon for Descriptive Innovation Ethics. Electronic Journal of Business Ethics and Organization Studies, 17(2), 27-34. Cooper, T. L. (2012). The responsible administrator: An approach to ethics for the administrative role. Jossey-Bass. Rae, S. (2009). Beyond integrity: A Judeo-Christian approach to business ethics. Zondervan. Ferrell, O. C. (2012). Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making & Cases. South-Western Pub. Carroll, A. B. (2009). Ethical challenges for business in the new millennium. Business Ethics Quarterly, 10(1), 33-42. Brown, D. (2012). Career information, career counseling, and career development. Pearson. Al Ariss, A. (2010). Modes of engagement: migration, self-initiated expatriation, and career development. Career Development International, 15(4), 338-358. Freeman, E, (1998). Perspectives in Business Ethics, A Stakeholder Theory of the Modern Corporation’ McGraw-Hill, Chicago IL, pp. 112-122. Somerville, M. (2009). Past virtues for a future world: holding our humanness on trust pp.199-246. Read More