RE: Maximum vs Fair and Reasonable

[roger.tov@btinternet.com]

Hi All

Why do organisations exist - the reason for their starting may be 
lost in the ists of time, and current regulation in the UK (and I 
guess the US and elsewhere) is that a publicly quoted company has but 
one obligation - maximisation of shareholder value.  However I often 
ask in relation to this - Why is your company in existance? - to 
which the reply is ofen "to make a profit", or, "to maximise 
shareholder value."  Which brings the second question - "Why are you 
not making and selling crack cocaine then - possibly the best returns 
on investment going?"  The introduction of all the legal and moral 
reasoning then identifies that the organisation exists for much more 
reason than to make a profit (which is possibly the least important 
thing it MUST do) and opens up a whole raft of other reasons.  This 
is starting to get the organisation to move from thinking 
operationally into tactical - or god forbid - strategic thinking. 
However the shrot-termism of Western stockmarkes do drag us back to 
short term profit and low level operational thinking....

R