Categories
Economics

Taking Profit

I am currently living in Beijing, lecturing strategy and finance courses to undergraduates. One observation I’ve made is that the people here are good at identifying opportunities for profit. And I use the word profit not in a financial sense, but with the broader meaning of the French verb profiter, which means “to make the most advantage of”. This […]

Categories
Frameworks

Profitability Framework

The profitability framework can help executives, consultants and entrepreneurs to diagnose and respond to falling prices, declining sales volume, or rising costs BUSINESSES sometimes experience reduced profitability. This is not necessarily a problem if the decline was expected because a business is sustained from cashflow, not profit, and long term growth can be pursued through capital appreciation, which shows […]

Categories
Economics

What is the purpose of a business?

MAINSTREAM economics would have you believe that the purpose of business is to maximise profits. If a business loses money it will soon go bust, this much is clear. Profit is necessary for any ongoing business operation, however the fact that a business makes a profit does not explain the purpose or raison d’être of […]