> The managers, people who run the company, have an obligation to maximize the profits (in US, and probably UK), otherwise the shareholders can sue them for loo

> The managers, people who run the company, have an obligation to maximize the profits (in US, and probably UK), otherwise the shareholders can sue them for loosing their money, even if they did the morally right thing. Nope. You certainly got it wrong. See the linked posts from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7129788 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7129788. One of the potential source for that confusion might be that directors decisions can be challenged on the presumption that they are wasteful, but you'd have to prove that paying a decent wage is wasteful which is a very hard hurdle to overcome. Bad faith may be another option - but that's a different story. Being traded on the stock market provides a lot of incentive to maximize profits since more profitable companies trade better - but it's not a legal requirement.