Hi Don,

"Suffice it to say that the companies that put quality of product or service and welfare of employees at the top of their list of priorities wind up with a solid and reliable customer base and a corps of loyal, hard working employees."

If that is what they put, "at the top of their list of priorities", they also end up as being ripe targets for a "take-over".

What you say is idealistic in every way. I am not saying that I would not prefer it to be as you say, but the plain fact of the matter is that that is not how business is run in general. Having said that, what you describe can work, provided the business you are talking about is specialised enough, privately owned, and can resist tempation to expand and stay small enough to control.

You mention "hit-and-run" investors, they have always been around, and always will be - in the main they are the pension funds for many and absolutely have to operate that way in order to cover their commitments and provide growth for the future. The ones you do not mention are the "hit-and-run" consumers, your customers. Very few people now pay more for something they know they can buy cheaper elsewhere. Unless you are keping a very close eye on your competition there will always be someone who can match you for product and beat you for price.

LH:

"The sole purpose of business is not profit, profit is simply one useful side effect of doing a useful service."

Depends upon which principle applies, whether you "work-to-live", or "live-to-work" Of course the sole purpose of business is profit, especially if you want to be in business the next year, and the year after and in the future.

"A service that was merely a "break-even" proposition would be far more useful to society"

All depends on what you mean by "break-even". If by break-even, those providing that service:
- Are committed to investing in personel development of their work-force;
- Are committed to maintaining HSE and Quality standards/certification;
- Are committed to improvement of the service they provide;
- Are committed to keeping pace with the technology require to provide that service.

Then that is not a "break-even" venture by any strech of the imagination, because all of the above, and they are all essential, come with costs that are significant. To pay for it you need to generate an equally significant profit.