This is personal. For years I’ve had to endure abuse from old world car dealers who turned a cold shoulder to issues about treating customers with honest, integrity and virtue. Even when my own success and the success of others suggested we were on the right track.

Well now, research by The University of Michigan Business School reveals that investing in human "capital" also creates economic "capital".

According to an article by Richard Morin published last week in The Washington Post, there is now evidence that "virtuous behavior pays off big for companies that play by the moral rules and nurture compassionate relationships with their employees and customers".

Hold on a minute! What did he say? He used words like moral, compassion and nurture. I thought those words were stricken from the Auto Dealers Unabridged Dictionary years ago. This must be common among high powered companies, because the report says a study of words used by the Wall Street Journal during a six year span between 1984 and 2000 "indicates a four fold increase in the use of words like ‘win’, ‘advantage’ and ‘beat’ while ‘virtue’, ‘caring’ and ‘compassion’ seldom appeared."

But according to Professor Kim Cameron, their research showed that "Organizations in which employees perceive higher levels of virtuousness have a significantly higher profit margin." Additionally, these companies also enjoy:

• Higher productivity
• Higher levels of employee morale
• Lower employee turnover
• Higher levels of customer loyalty

Auto University works hard at providing tools and resources that encourage a virtuous approach to business. You can find out more by contacting us or by enrolling in our courses on line.