'The bottom line' does not tell the whole story

摘要

In those business circles where it is better to be perceived as hard rather than soft, "the bottom line" - profitability - is put forward as the ultimate value. The financial situation of an organization is obviously of basic importance. However, believing that it is all that really counts is like believing that we live to breathe, instead of the contrary. Other values have their importance -even in business. The International column of this issue includes an article on the Recuperar workers' cooperative of Medellin, Colombia, formed by a socially disadvantaged group of refuse collectors whose livelihood was threatened when a decision was taken to replace the city's waste dumping area with a modern sanitary landfill. The article recounts the part played by an ISO 9002 implementation and certification programme in the success of what has become both a thriving enterprise and provider of social services to its members and their families.