[pdnewbie]

Originally Posted by ahimel

It also seems to me that you have 3 separate things going on here:

1) A question on what to do with profits, which Dani has answered.
2) A statement/theory/argument that businesses should be socially responsible with regards to the products they're selling, the technologies they're using, their effect on the environment, and the wages and working environment of their employees.
3) A statement/theory/argument that part of social responsibility is to not gouge customers for the sole purpose of increasing profits and expanding business. Businesses should have "target" profit level that takes into account the cost of goods sold and other expenses, the desired rainy-day cushion and distribution to shareholders, and not aim for more than that.

Does that bear any relation to what you're trying to say?

Yes it does. Thanks for the summary.

Originally Posted by Dani

If that is what you mean, then all companies currently break even by your stand point. Companies don't have money floating around in the ether. All of it goes somewhere and gets used.

Yes, but I feel that it's hard to find what they did with the profit. And I admit with this system it would be even harder. You would have to track all those other commitments to work out how much they made after covering the more traditional expenses.

What makes it hard right now involves the annual reports. The annual reports, I believe, are incredibly difficult to follow if you want to check for corporate social responsibility (CSR). Perhaps this problem could be resolved by reputable auditors who provide some sort of CSR audit, and they follow standards set by government. The government audits the auditors to keep them honest.

Originally Posted by Dani

As Ahimel said, it would better to define a new term than redefine an old one. No one will ever be able to understand you because they already know what profit means.

You are basically starting a new language by redefining the meaning of words.

I don't think I'm doing that. I just feel that society views these other things like payments to shareholders, commitments to community organisations, cash reserves, and other things, as a bonus. It doesn't have to be. If businesses are full-heartedly committed to helping these stakeholders, they should consider these things as costs to the business. A dedicated expense to the business's accounts.

Originally Posted by Dani

Back to communist / socialist thinking. I had the same thoughts myself a while ago, but it is something that would be impossible to enforce without being a dictatorship.

I don't think it is impossible to enforce without being a dictatorship. Guilt, naming and shaming, works well. If a company is not being honest, educate the public, and hope that people use their moral compass to boycott the company. Make ethical investing mandatory, so that as soon as a company behaves unethically, or is behaving unethically, its share price nosedives, or stays artificially low.

As for smaller businesses, you're right I can't see an easy way. Perhaps building a culture that detests disloyalty from business. That's not dictatorship, it's behaviour changing. It's indirect control, for the greater good.

Originally Posted by Dani

Companies not %100 socially responsible Impossible!

I think you will find that only something like 1% of companies or less are actually truly socially responsible.

You're right Dani, the business world is a long way off from behaving responsibly.

Originally Posted by Dani

What you are also suggesting, though not directly, is that a company does not fight for for it's survival, but instead operates purely in the 'best interests' of the community. Which may mean it shuts it's doors if it is no longer in the public interest to stay open.

You are asking companies to commit suicide if they no longer meet the needs of society. As that is the only way for them to remain socially responsible. To dissolve when no longer needed.

Companies don't have to commit suicide, they can change. Just like people have to change to stay employable. Perhaps they need a new purpose, or they need to be creative, or engage in strategic alliances, or merge with a like-minded company. There are many options. That's what companies do now anyway.

After all this discussion, I guess what I want to see in business is easier tracking of how companies spend their profits. If it's easy to track, then it is easier to pick up if they are being irresponsible, and our society can hold them accountable.