Profit Is Not a Four-Letter Word: The real truth about what it is * where it comes from * how it improves the quality of life for everyone

PROFIT IS NOT A FOUR-LETTER WORD The real truth about what it is * where it comes from * how it improves the quality of life for everyone Some people worship it. Others rage against it. But John Stieber would like to set the record straight. Profit is neither inherently good nor inherently evil. What it IS is a powerful catalyst for producing every good and service that makes our lives easier -- from a leak-proof roof to the Concorde jet. And the pursuit of profit is not just the driving force for creating new and wondrous things. As the economic and environmental devastation left over from most of the profit-suppressed Communist-bloc nations will attest, profit is the best incentive to use our scarce resources efficiently. Profit Is Not a Four-Letter Word is a wonderfully succinct and incredibly lively primer on the topic. With a breezy style, delightful illustrations, enlightening parables, and bulls-eye explanations, the book is designed so that business professionals of every stripe can grasp the key economic ideas about profit in one quick read. Though brief and concise, this book takes readers far beyond the simplistic formula of 'what's left over after you pay the bills.' It brilliantly illuminates the crucial concepts of fixed, variable, and opportunity costs * the difference between accounting and economic profit * the human endeavors required to make a profit * and why making profit is good for companies and for society. JOHN A. STIEBER (Dallas, TX) has taught economics and finance at the Edwin L. Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University, for more than 30 years. His students include undergraduates, middle managers, and senior executives. The winner of numerous awards for outstanding teaching, he is also active as a consultant and speaker.