The answer is "yes"

The answer to the question that formed the title of my previous post is, as per my instinct, "Yes".

To help me with this argument,I came across a book by the late Mr. C. K Prahalad called "The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid".

The book includes several case-studies of corporates that have earned great profits by doing good!

I think every big corporate company should follow this principle to simultaneously eradicate poverty while earning profits.

The entire book is available online on googlebooks. But, for those who'd like a hard copy, I found it at Landmark for Rs 650/-. My guess is that it should be easily available at any good book store in India.

Can doing good make business sense?

This is a question I have always pondered over. My inclination is to believe that it can. The movie Rocket Singh released in Dec 09 explores this subject and proves how it indeed can help your company in getting an edge over others. Let me not give away the plot. Please see it if you get a chance.

And now, here's a real life story about a factory in the Domninican Republic that supplies college logo apparel for universities across the US.

This factory has undertaken the initiative of paying it's workers a "living wage" — in this case, three times the average pay of the country’s apparel workers. A living wage is generally defined as the amount of money needed to adequately feed and shelter a family.

Now, the question is whether students, alumni and sports fans will be willing to pay $18 for the factory’s T-shirts — the same as premium brands like Nike and Adidas — to sustain the plant and its generous wages.

Will this factory owned by Knights Apparel thrive? What do you think?

You can read the NYT article to know more about this unique factory including the point of view of it's workers.

Would love to know your views...