If you look into the history of Sears you'll find the CEO, Theodore Houser, addressed this issue in in the late 1950s with a book he wrote called "Big Business

If you look into the history of Sears you'll find the CEO, Theodore Houser, addressed this issue in in the late 1950s with a book he wrote called "Big Business and Human Values". Mr. Houser retired from Sears in the 1960s when it was doing very well. When we read his book now we find an interesting contrast with his successors as time evolves and especially with his current one. It's not a leap to say ignoring human values is exactly what led to Sears current position, which was akin to Amazon.com when Mr. Houser was running it, and for decades before him.