MBA admission essay requirements and strategies

Personal ethics should be one of the most important elements in an organization's culture and environment. However, in today's business, so often that is simply not the case. Ethics usually comes behind profitability, the bottom line, and many other elements of business until the ethical considerations no longer seem to play any part in most organization's operations. In fact, observing many corporations and their operations would seem to indicate ethics are not a viable part of the equation in most organizations. Profits are the most important thing, and many professionals believe profits and ethics cannot share the same stage. I believe they can, and my ultimate goal is to create an organization that is ethically and fiscally sound, and to prove this business model is not unattainable.

This lack of ethical actions is not a recent development, Enron and World Com aside. It has been existence for decades, from the "robber barons" of the American Golden Age whose greed and business practices led to revolt and the first real unionization in the country, to the Union Carbide Chemical Company's chemical spill in Bhopal, India in 1984. Companies are not as interested in ethics as they are in profits, and that is what companies are in business to do - make money. However, I fervently hope that in the future, there can be some kind of balance between the bottom line and doing the right thing for the environment and the people.

There is no question organizations will need to modify their behavior to attain both ethical and fiscal excellence. Many will need to change just about every aspect of their organization, from how they treat vendors and suppliers to how they compensate their employees. While this may seem like a daunting, or even impossible task, some ethically sound organizations have proven it can be done, and in fact, it can be the business model of the future. One of these exceptionally successful organizations is Starbucks.

Just about everyone in the world knows Starbucks Coffee. Starbucks, since its inception in 1971, has spread around the globe. It is probably the most successful coffee company in the world, and yet it maintains high ethical and moral standards, and operates with a very public Social Responsibility agenda. For example, they actively support the communities where they do business with organizational and fund-raising support for local charities and social organizations. They also support the communities where they do business, and require a sustainability growing process from their coffee growers to ensure the best product will continue to thrive in the unique environments that produce it. They pay their coffee producers living wages, and call their employees "partners." This helps create a happier, healthier work environment that is more productive, but also more proactive and positive. Starbucks operates effectively and ethically, believes in strong social responsibility, and does not keep their beliefs a secret. Most people know Starbucks creates a seriously responsible business culture, and promotes wellness and happiness in all its business partners. The more they show it works, the more others may want to emulate their model. Starbucks proves a business can be ethically aware and still be wildly successful. Thus, more businesses should emulate Starbucks' example for all the right reasons - profitability, sustainability, and social responsibility.