... using profits to buy Goodwill and connections to your customers and suppliers is probably a way better investment.
I agree with this. For example, when I see the names of the major sponsors of a PBS show, I feel a sense of goodwill toward them. When companies support less public causes, they must be able to publicize that support to their customer base to take advantage of the “goodwill effect. Another example... while I don’t necessarily agree with the allocation of all of the donations from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the effort on their part creates a sense of goodwill in my mind for your old competitor. They get a tremendous amount of publicity for their philanthropy. Andrew Carnegie got a similar personal goodwill effect when he gave away the funds for the creation of all of those libraries. I don’t know whether or not this helped his industrial businesses. Chris From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Dr. Ernie Prabhakar Sent: Monday, October 13, 2014 10:17 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [RC] Capitalism: What is the purpose of business? | People-Centered Economic Development Hi Chris, In my experience, either the business is not profitable at all, or the scarce resource is not really capital, but trust and empathy. In the first case giving away half the profits doesn't hurt. In the latter case, using profits to buy Goodwill and connections to your customers and suppliers is probably a way better investment. Companies that hoard wealth almost always end up spending it badly. To be sure, organizations that give money away also tend to do it badly. But, that's another discussion… Sent from my iPhone On Oct 13, 2014, at 08:13, Chris Hahn <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: It is a very nice model for improving the human condition. The main problem I see is that reinvestment in the business is neglected because of excess enthusiasm in using profits for social good. The growth and sustainability of P-CED could be put at risk. Chris From: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Dr. Ernie Prabhakar Sent: Saturday, October 11, 2014 9:06 PM To: Centroids Discussions Subject: [RC] Capitalism: What is the purpose of business? | People-Centered Economic Development Amen. This is exactly what we are going to do at The Swan Factory. Capitalism: What is the purpose of business? | People-Centered Economic Development http://www.p-ced.com/1/node/332 via Instapaper Sent from my iPhone http://www.p-ced.com/1/node/332 -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> . For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> . For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> . For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
