> What does that say about our societies that we have embedded the profit motive in (most) organisations?
It says that capital management is non-trivial and full of risk that needs to be proportionally rewarded with profit to justify the outlay.
Even non-profits have to grow revenue, because organizations require resources. But non-profits are hampered by the fact that they can't reward people for taking risks on them. A for profit organization can seek outside capital and reward risk. A non-profit can only seek donations or charge for services.
Ultimately, society benefits a great deal from it.
Sure, some good points but ultimately, it’s all about proportionately.
One can still receive many financial rewards in not-for-profit organizations: a high wage, payments, etc. without those rewards being ‘unlimited’ in scope.
As an experiment, imagine if the FAANGS and the BATs of this world were not for profit organizations; appreciating the role that venture capital played for all of them so maybe the experiment is that they wouldn’t exist!
What I struggle to understand is the relationship between the financial interests of humans (extending between the two extremes of billionaires on one hand and absolute poverty on the other) and organizational design in the west.
In other words, revenue is not profit and wages are still income, so why does the current system benefit capital (owners, investors) to such an extent.
Could we live in an alternate economic reality - maybe one that is ‘fairer’ if more of our for-profit organizations were not for profits. Or is that a fallacy?
It says that capital management is non-trivial and full of risk that needs to be proportionally rewarded with profit to justify the outlay.
Even non-profits have to grow revenue, because organizations require resources. But non-profits are hampered by the fact that they can't reward people for taking risks on them. A for profit organization can seek outside capital and reward risk. A non-profit can only seek donations or charge for services.
Ultimately, society benefits a great deal from it.