Business can not be done just for a profit. It wouldn´t be enough.

The company is good when it produces profit. Is it enough, or should it bring something more?

Most companies, of course, focus on the high quality of their products, which is normal and correct. Because of this, the factory is established and works. On the other hand, however, there are also so-called secondary areas which are the side effect of the main production. And which companies should also not neglect.

This category includes, for example, wastewater treatment that our company - Hydrotech is also involved in, but also employee care, waste recycling, building architecture, the appearance of the work environment, and so on. Let's try to answer the question:

Why should companies and their owners deal also with these areas?

On the one hand, I can fully understand that any investment in secondary areas is in some sense unnecessary, because it brings little profit, if at all, and companies are made just for the production of profit. However, it can not be just a profit. It would be too little the company would produce.

Let's look at few arguments why interest should also be directed to things other than just profit itself:

1. Co-responsibility for the nature I use

It should be respected that any production uses natural resources (from water through chemical elements to energy). It would be an unconscious attitude to just take, use, sell, and what I do not need to throw away over the factory´s fence.


It would be strange to have a neighbor, who would be nice, always smiling, elegantly dressed, but would throw trash out of the window on the sidewalk. Something would be not right here. A person who leaves very good impression suddenly does something that speaks the opposite. As if some area in his life was ragged, undeveloped, neglected. It should be the indispensable development of a person or a company.

In connection with the quality product we also expect high-quality production, quality treatment of people, high-quality behavior. We are co-responsible for how our country and planet will look like in 5, 10 or 50 years.

2. Beauty attracts

In many spheres of business a large number of buildings is being built often fulfilling only one function. Is not that a pity? The environment in which most employees spend at least half of their active time should be nice, eye-catching. Indeed, beauty is uplifting man.


J. H. Newman once wrote that the wars are also bad because people become less cultural - they do not go to theaters or parks and many architecturally rare buildings are destroyed. Man is also shaped and educated by the beauty of his surroundings.

3. Selflessness

If a company profits from the sale some small part of the profit should be invested into the surrounding area. Whether it is a bit of beauty in architecture, promoting education or helping people that are not that happy as we are.


4. Utilizing talent of people and their improvement

Investing in employees is important and many businesses have been aware of it for years. When an employee feels good, has decent work and appropriate conditions, he also has a positive incentive to better performance. Again, it is only the optics through the profit and benefits of the company.

Firms are, to a certain extent, responsible for the quality of their employees' lives. It depends, therefore, on the extent to which employees look at themselves as a human being and how much they can be used as a substitutable object.

It is not easy to estimate the boundary and to correctly set the balance between profit and care for 'secondary things'. It is, however, important to constantly strive for this balance and to strive for a firm development of the company with everything it involves.

Author: Ing. Matúš Palguta, chemical technology engineer

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