“The goal of a business is to make profit”, as a College of Business student, this line has been told by different courses all through out my college life. They have taught us different ways to compute, strategize, plan, review, analyze, and even take risks in order to achieve that one sweet goal that every business is focused in. But in reading “Vocation of the Business Leader”, it goes to show that it should not be the one true center point of the business.
A key to success is also doing great things to the common good. It is stated in the reading that obstacles to serving the common good come in many forms – lack of rule of law, corruption, tendencies towards greed, poor stewardship of resources – but the most significant for a business leader on a personal level is leading a “divided” life. This split between faith and daily business practice can lead to imbalances and misplaced devotion to worldly success. As a Filipino citizen, I have a huge abhorrence against corruption. With out actually doing things in accordance to the common good may result to the obstacles with an unpleasant result. You may have a profit, but the way it is managed and handled is definitely wrong.
Doing business with proper ethics can show results. This is explored through three stages: seeing, judging, and acting, even though it is clear that these three aspects are deeply interconnected. We might have more private goods but are lacking significantly in common goods. Business leaders increasingly focus on maximizing wealth, employees develop attitudes of entitlement, and consumers demand instant gratification at the lowest possible price. As values have become relative and rights more important than duties, the goal of serving the common good is often lost. Business leaders need not only to focus the return on their investment, or how they are going to earn money. They should also see