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Companies have always basically been about shareholder value. The whole point of a 'company' was for investors to hire an 'Executive Officer' sailor, so he cou
by sonnyblarney 8y ago
Companies have always basically been about shareholder value.
The whole point of a 'company' was for investors to hire an 'Executive Officer' sailor, so he could make/rent a ship, hire a crew, buy some stuff 1/2 way around the world, come back and sell it a profit so the investors could make money.
That's it.
And there are definitely laws to protect those interests.
People mostly buy shares and found companies to make money.
There are other motivations and concerns, always ...
But if a group of people are getting together, raising money, to do something other than making money ... there are other words for those: non-profits, NGOs, clubs ...
- EliRivers 8y agoCompanies have always basically been about shareholder value. History seems to disagree, and given that companies predate shareholders, that's not really surprising. In the early modern era, companies were about a convenient way to group together people engaged in a common business endeavour. [0] In more modern times, shareholders are one responsibility amongst many. The idea that shareholder value is the number one priority always is new, and it's an idea that has done very well over the last three or four decades. However, according to some, that consensus is already crumbling [1]. Perhaps we'll see the idea vanish over the next couple of decades. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporation [1] https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2311&context=facpub https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?arti...
- ummonk 8y agoNote, non-profit and corporation are not mutually exclusive. A not-for-profit corporation is a type of corporation, and has shareholders.