Profits Two Views BUSINESS OBJECTIVES As we stated above, businesses must achieve their objectives to remain in operation. Lists of business objectives generally include such factors as profit, survival, growth, and social responsibility. Survival, Growth, and Social Responsibility Survival is an obvious objective. Other objectives can be accomplished only if the business enterprise survives. Growth is an objective because business does not stand still. Market share increase, personal and individual development, and increased productivity are important growth objectives. The growth of Compaq Computer and Wal-Mart to multibillion-dollar enterprises is often used as an example of business success accomplished through growth. In recent years, meeting social responsibilities has been recognized as an important objective. Businesses, like each person in society, must accept their responsibilities in areas such as pollution control, eliminating discriminatory practices, and energy conservation. Examples of new corporate acceptance of social responsibilities appear almost daily in the media, such as: • Du Pont pulling out of a $750 million-a-year business because of some fear that it may harm the earth's atmosphere. • McDonald's, which produces millions of pounds of paper and plastic waste annually, becoming a crusader for recycling. (In late 1990, the company announced that it would no longer use plastic containers.) • 3M investing, beyond what the law requires, in pollution controls for its manufacturing facilities. (未完待续)