Industry and Values

This book deals with a subject that has not been systematically explored that of the values and ethical standards of industry. This does not mean, of course, that businessmen operate in a moral vacuum. They share the values of their fellow- countrymen, but they make their choices and construct their principles in relation to different circumstances.

Profitability is a basic yardstick of the success of business operations, but it is not the only one. In practice the businessman has a wide variety of responsibilities to balance. His problems may include his responsibilities to the community, to what extent he should cooperate with the Government, the needs of his employees, customers, suppliers, and the trade unions. Finally, as many hard-pressed businessmen discover, there are his responsibilities to his family and also to himself: to what extent does he allow the pressure of business to dull some of his spiritual and intellectual ambitions?