History tells us that everyone wants to work for profitable companies, even though profit itself is a real moral-buster. Companies are supposed to make enough of a profit to sustain its investors and shareholders’ interest, take care of their own people, and also contribute some of the profit to the national exchequer for the good of the country.
These days, a piece of the pie must also be shared with the common people, for the public good, or CSR, as it is known. Share prices of profitable companies are always good. Large, profit-making companies are better tax-payers, creating jobs for more people, and sharing the success with multiple stakeholders. Profitable companies with better corporate governance and management efficiency, have created many brands in this world. Loss-making companies demotivate employees, can’t pay taxes, and don’t share their success with people, be it shareholders, employees, or the government.
These companies, usually state-owned or family-owned, also reek of corruption and failure in governance. In Bangladesh, most public enterprises are loss-making, but their directors, though government-nominated, are very rich or above-average rich. These organisations don’t encourage a culture of performance, thin or flat organisation structures, or even corporate governance. “Morbid” is the only way to describe such organisations.
Tax-payer money is wasted on them, most of the owners of loss-making private organisations are tax-evaders or loan defaulters -- they can easily take shelter under the government. Though they don’t pay taxes to the national exchequer, often, they pay money to certain political leaders, be it the party in power or the ones sitting in the waiting room.
While profit has been the most important driver for most of companies, they soon realise that, without good people, they can’t even protect their earnings or revenue, not to mention increasing them. Most customer-centric organisations have a “people first” attitude, even in order to retain or grow their clients. Though it may be deemed as a catch-22 -- whether its “customer first” or “people first,” as people like Vineet Nayar or Richard Branson show, entirely firm on their conviction -- good people are the only differentiating factor in a fiercely competitive, customer service-driven world.
Many enterprises want to be known as “investors in people.” AT&T would agree, claiming to offer “a winning combination of our people and the customer.” It is always the “man behind the machine,” not the machine itself. While in Bangladesh, too many people are running after too few jobs, large entrepreneurs or investors are always seen lamenting the dearth of good people. Companies retaining or recruiting good people can only be described as a rat race -- be it in textiles, pharmaceuticals, or FMCG, the price is going up for good executives.
Even a small company feels that they need to attract good resources and retain them to serve their purposes better. Global corporations, even here, would recruit six guys, pay them the salary of eight people, and try to get the contribution performance of 10 people out of them. They create a better environment for the employees to work and feel empowered, and most importantly, to invest on them. Now, many local companies are also realising this and including young and energetic employees in decision-making positions. People-centric organisations are the most profit-making, it appears.
While “profit” and “people” are adjusting well with one another in the corporate world, they are, in togetherness, gradually, if not already, making this world unlivable. Too much torture has been done on Mother Earth, perpetrated by its children, in the name of profit, growth, and development. And, unfortunately, the world is suffering for it now -- the rise in sea-level and the effects of climate change are made manifest due to man-made disasters.
Companies and their leadership have contributed significantly towards water pollution, air pollution, as well as sound pollution. The countries which were known to be winter-prone cold countries are facing the worst summers, vice versa for warmer countries.
Industrialists and entrepreneurs, in the name of growth, have made too many compromises. Governments kept mum as they thought they needed to grow fast to employ more people. Standard of living was compromised, with rapid industrial growth and lop-sided development processes.
However, more and more global brands are signing up for sustainable growth, or the equator principle. More companies are going for green energy, alternative energy, green financing, or green environment. However, poor governments, SME owners, or micro-borrowers can’t make adequate investments for this, deviating from standards thereby.
Corporate leaders, shakers, and drivers are now talking of the Triple Bottom Line theory, objectives to rapidly bring in the environmental and social dimension to enterprise management. They think that there must be a balance between profit, people, and most importantly, our planet. There must be a winning combination between these three attributes. Good companies should be making good profits, but must also look after their people, and, above all, ensure that their business model is environment-friendly and sustainable.
Mother Earth has started reacting to us -- we have to smarten ourselves up, before we feel her full wrath. In Bangladesh too, despite accumulation of wealth and national wealth-building, we are seeing the adverse effects of the sheer torture on nature, while the incidental expenses are becoming too high. This is our loud wake-up call. If the country is submerged in knee-deep water or finds itself mingling with the Bay of Bengal, where will entrepreneurs make money from?