BUSINESS ETHICS

2 days ago

I’m not a business person, and I say this because I find running a business very tiring. I would rather work under someone than be the one running everything in a business. This might sound strange to a lot of people, but that is how I view life. I do not envy CEOs and managing directors and would only accept such a position on appointment with a clearly stated salary. I would also rather invest in an idea than execute one myself especially when I have the money. This is because at the end of the day it is the CEO/ Managing Director that loses and this is a fact. This is one of the reasons you find businesses parking up within the first 5 years. A man has an idea and strives to execute it, he employs people who do not know anything about his idea to work for him and does the job of inculcating that idea into every member of his team. Now in the process he discovers those who are only interested in getting paid and not really interested in moving his idea/business to the next level, so he fires them, hire someone else and starts that process all over again because the person must be fully inclined with his vision and goal for the company before it can flourish. The CEO/Managing Director is only asking his team to put in half the efforts he’s putting in, and by the time he has been fully able to convey that idea after a lot of disappointments from both employees and customers, he must also figure out a way for the company to move forward.

Photo by Alesia Kazantceva on Unsplash

Now imagine you are that Managing Director, for how long would you be able to care about ethics, especially if your business is nearing bankruptcy. When people say companies are unfair I really understand, but then I also understand that a lot of times the company is just looking out for itself. Because at the end of the day it doesn’t matter how much was made, the company will pay staff, pay for logistics, pay taxes, and pay to keep operations running. And by the time everything has been paid, you will find out there is little or nothing left for the top management. Now you can see the suffering, after everything, at the end of the month you find yourself cracking your brain to make sure everyone else is happy apart from yourself. If you by any means find a way to make that extra cash that would make you not crack your head by month end, what are the chances that you will think about ethics? What are the chances that if a community depends on your business to rate but can barely pay and the government gives you an offer to sell every single goods you have which would leave the community you are in stranded until you restock, what are the chances you won’t take it?

It will be human to want to feel happy for even a short while, it will be human to want to be at the enjoying end for a while, at least you did not come to this world to suffer. To be honest this will be my thought and the thought of a lot of people. But balancing the scales is what I will advise. It’s one thing to want to overlook certain things and just get the cash because in the real sense you didn’t break the law, it’s another thing to be mean just because you know you can get away with it. From the book Rich Dad Poor Dad, I learned that businesses should always learn to give back to their community and customers and this act should be a tradition for any business to excel. So yeah I do not judge businesses for breaking a few ethical rules, as long as there can be a balance because the truth is no one would help you when you go bankrupt. But then never bite the hands that fed you.