Sunday 24 January 2010

Companies are in business for one basic reason. They want to make a profit.

Profitable companies with good management are rewarded in the stock market, because when a company does well, the stock price goes up.  This makes investors happy, including the managers and employees who own shares.

In a poorly managed company, the results are mediocre, and the stock price goes down, so bad management is punished.  A decline in the stock price makes investors angry, and if they get angry enough, they can pressure the company to get rid of the bad managers and take other actions to restore the company's profitability.

A highly profitable company can attract more investment capital than a less profitable company.  With the extra money it gets, the highly profitable company is nourished and made stronger, and it has the resources to expand and grow.

The less profitable company has trouble attracting capital, and it may wither and die for lack of financial nourishment.

The fittest survive and the weakest go out of business, so no more money is wasted on them.  With the weakest out of the way, the money flows to those who can make better use of it.

All employees everywhere ought to be rooting for profit, because if the company they work for doesn't make one, they'll soon be out of a job.  Profit is a sign of achievement.  It means somebody has produced something of value that other people are willing to buy.  The people who make the profit are motivated to repeat their success on a grander scale, which means more jobs and more profits for others.

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