Ling SM wrote:
>>>By definition, the primary purpose of a business is to make money.
>
> Nothing is 100%, I think at least 80% of the people or businessman
> accept that definition.
>
> But one of the obvious problems is the "time" duration is not captured.
>  Is it profit maxisation over 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 1 year, 1 decade,
> or even longer?  There are countless examples of high-paying CEO being
> airlifted into a company, then show impressive results over the next few
> quarters, but destroyed the employees' lives, the customers' trust, and
> eventually the whole company in a few years.  Along the way, he/she
> could have killed off some companies who employed a longer term profit
> maxization strategies.

Ling, have I ever said "make profit at the expense of X", where X is 
employees' lives, customer's trust, etc.? My company employs eight people, 
all of them American citizens (both natural born and naturalized). We pay 
competitive wages and benefits, and based on the retention rate and informal 
interviews, the employees are happy to work here. We always try to be fair 
to the customer, and when in doubt, always err on the side of the customer. 
We never cheat our vendors. I can even say that I enjoy what I do (for the 
most part). And yet the main reason our company exists, is to make profit --  
this is the only way we can continue to provide employment, and pay our 
vendors. There is nothing shameful in it.

You can make a car into a flower bed, but then it's pupose in life is to be 
a platform for flowers, not a means of transportation. Some people breed 
horses for personal enjoyment, and call it a business. But I agree with IRS 
that horse breeding that year after year breaks even or even loses money, is 
a hobby, not a business.

You make a good point regarding the period we should consider. Obviously, 
the goal should be to maximize the earnings of a company over the long term, 
and companies that employ such strategies will win in the end.

Vitaliy 

-- 
http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
View/change your membership options at
http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist