Nelson 1
The Power of Compassion in Business
Final Paper
Gary Nelson
Business Ethics
Professor Linda Coleman
University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg
December 3, 2014
Nelson 2
“Treat customers like human beings, and they will always come back for more.” Those
were the words of Leon L. Bean, an avid hunter and fisherman who founded the L.L. Bean chain
in 1912 with just $400. A century later, Bean’s philosophy has been a formula of success for the
company that bears his name. In fact, L.L. Bean is ranked in the top three for five consecutive
years by the National Retail Federation Foundation/American Express Customer Service Survey
for top-rated multichannel retailer in customer service. It is a classic success story that has
fostered deeper, longer-lasting relationships with customers. As such, this example relates to the
power of compassion in business. It’s seldom that we hear “compassion” and “business” in the
same sentence, yet it is compassion that drives us to reach our goals. It creates a sense of trust
and collaboration in which businesses thrive. It builds high-quality relationships that enable
companies to achieve higher levels of performance. Furthermore, it provides the basis for
