Thinking in three dimensions: How businesses can maximise profits and be a force for social good

This paper argues that the quest for profit can never be the sole goal of business. The author cites research showing that ethical businesses outperform their less-ethical rivals on a host of metrics.

Thinking in three dimensions: How businesses can maximise profits and be a force for social good

Mike FollettImperial College Business School

The quest for profit can never be the sole goal of business. Marrying multiple objectives together three-dimensionally is the route to business success.

I blame Milton Friedman. Great thinkers have a tendency to set the terms of a debate, and so determine what's up for discussion and what should be passed over in silence. In 1970, the Nobel Prize-winning economist wrote an article for The New York Timesentitled 'The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase...

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