e was a primary guide to her actions. She asserted that she chose the Golden Rule many years ago as her standard of how to deal with human relationships and how to treat other people. As she stated it, the standard is to "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (1995, p. 1). Again, she emphasized that this was a 24 hour a day commitment, and that the value undergirded all her actions. She recommended it to other people, noting that it should be applied in all situations and with all people.
Mary Kay also noted that her prime motivation for going into business was to help women. She noted that she wanted to provide opportunities for women to improve their lives, including single mothers and others who had difficulties in the more conventional workplace. She noted that she thought her company could provide the support for women in terms of education, encouragement, and motivation, that would allow them to succeed (Ash, 1995, p. 4)
For Mary Kay Ash, profit was important, and conventional business success, but she did not see that as conflicting with the Golden Rule, with love, benevolence, compassion, and care for the people working for her. Instead, she saw the Golden Rule as in harmony with profits, because she believed that when employees were treated well and felt valued, they were more enthusiastic and loyal, creating even more profit for the company. Thus, the Golden Rule and basic altruism was seen as being good business practice (Ash, 1995, p. 4).
One of the other basic elements of her moral philosophy is related to this. As she put it, that is the possibility of "doing well by doing good." There are two ways in which she applied this to her business. First, she wanted to ens
...