Ethics vs Profits

This article brings up one important point...for all the talk about ethics, we need to realise that a business needs to break even to pay the rentals, utilities and salaries of workers, i.e. it must be sustainable, not just in the long run but also immediate short run.

For points on the ethics part, think about:
-casinos, esp our IRs
-our Biopolis centring on pharmaceutical industry
-Sanlu Milk Powder
-horse meat scandal
-haze (plantation owners)
-doctor's/lawyers' exorbitant fees
-education, esp international schools which are run for profits
-SMRT (the local controversy...think why the previous CEO had to step down amid huge public outcry even though she had managed to improve the value of the SMRT shares tremendously during her reign)
-Collapse of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh
-'News of the World' scandal -- forced to shutdown due to infringement of privacy (see background HERE)


Sample Qn:
How far do you agree that ethics are more important than profits in business today? (ACJC Prelim 2010)