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posted by janrinok on Friday October 11 2019, @10:07PM   Printer-friendly
from the would-it-work? dept.

The rise, fall and rise again of businesses

What's the purpose of a business? For a long time, the textbook answer to that question has been purely "to make as much money as possible for its shareholders". But business leaders – who often themselves get huge payouts from this model – are beginning to challenge this orthodoxy.

Or so it seems. The influential Business Roundtable association of top US business leaders, which includes CEOs of Apple, Boeing, Walmart and JP Morgan, made a landmark statement in August. They committed "to lead their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders – customers, employees, suppliers, communities and shareholders". Maximising profits, they said, would no longer be their primary goal.

For many, it was seen as an historic moment for business. Markets, however, greeted the news with a yawn. Both the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 in the US increased marginally on the day of the announcement.

[...] This brief history has us lurching back and forth between the ideas of shareholder versus stakeholder primacy that have waxed and waned over the decades. Are we doomed to pontificate on this endlessly?

As a way forward, I would advocate for a modest approach to end this interminable debate. A Hippocratic oath for corporations, based on seven principles:

1. Do no evil.

2. Pay taxes and adhere to laws and regulations.

3. Avoid interfering in politics.

4. Do not deny science.

5. Focus on core competencies and embrace competition.

6. If invested in the stakeholder model, ensure that stakeholders are represented in your governance structures.

7. If concerned about inequality, start at home.

This approach can help restore faith in corporations, protect their brands and reputation, and avoid accusations of hypocrisy, while focusing their attention on what they truly do best – producing goods or services. To paraphrase the writer Anand Giridharadas: "Avoid virtue signalling and virtuous side projects; do your day jobs more honourably."

And to quote Milton Friedman, business "should engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud".

What do you guys think ??


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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 11 2019, @10:09PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 11 2019, @10:09PM (#906075)

    I mean if we're talking about fantasies, might as well pull out all the stops.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 11 2019, @11:19PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 11 2019, @11:19PM (#906095)

      However, saying 'Only lobby in politics related to your industry in a clear and honest fashion.'

      Saying you need x pollution in order to compete with foreign group, or an import duty of x percent in order to ensure price parity with your environmentally conscious manufacturing? Ok. Support the total deregulation of industry and the closure of EPA/oversight committees? Not okay.

      It's entirely possible for companies to both lobby/politicize in their own interest, while also taking into consideration the best interests of their parent nation, community, and future long term profits. There are not all isolated systems, but a complex ecosystem not unlike nature that requires a careful balance to ensure the entire system doesn't collapse, or find itself obsoleted by environmental factors it created against itself.

      Personally, given the companies involved, I think we should take all their executives money, execute them, and then promote workers/managers who were not documented as involved in any of their former corruption and damaging to the economy or people of the country schemes.

  • (Score: 1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 11 2019, @10:14PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 11 2019, @10:14PM (#906078)

    Stop posting crap from that website.

  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by NotSanguine on Friday October 11 2019, @11:08PM (1 child)

    by NotSanguine (285) <NotSanguineNO@SPAMSoylentNews.Org> on Friday October 11 2019, @11:08PM (#906092) Homepage Journal

    The influential Business Roundtable association of top US business leaders, which includes CEOs of Apple, Boeing, Walmart and JP Morgan, made a landmark statement in August. They committed [businessroundtable.org] "to lead their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders – customers, employees, suppliers, communities and shareholders". Maximising profits, they said, would no longer be their primary goal.

    Actions speak louder than words. I'll leave unpacking that statement in this context as an exercise for the reader.

    --
    No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
    • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday October 12 2019, @12:04AM

      by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Saturday October 12 2019, @12:04AM (#906113) Homepage

      First, it was the mostly private power struggle between the deep state and the patriots. Now, it is the public struggle between the Chinese and the Jews fighting over dominance and control over their American Golem's flow of information.

      Our beloved monsters. Enjoy yourselves!

  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Friday October 11 2019, @11:34PM (10 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday October 11 2019, @11:34PM (#906099) Journal

    So long as universities are churning out morally corrupt MBA's, these people have a snowball's chance in hell. They have UNdone much of the good accomplished 100 years ago by unions and other labor activists. Overtime, for instance. How many kids today work sixty hours or more, but never see overtime, because none of their three employers will put them full-time?

    • (Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday October 11 2019, @11:59PM

      by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Friday October 11 2019, @11:59PM (#906109) Homepage

      Well, I suspected that Soylentnews stopped posting controversial stories on Friday and Saturday evenings, American time, because they didn't want them shitposted to death by drunken Americans.

      But speaking of businesses serving their shareholders, PG&E (which sounds suspiciously a lot like AT&T) are now cutting power to Californians, turning the richest and most tolerant and progressive state into Venezuela. And now our local Sempra Energy is doing the same to us here down south. Apparently both of those are public companies which have a fiduciary duty to prioritize their shareholders. And also are suspiciously targeting right-leaning ruralists, disproportionately.

      As a guy who likes ruralists and ham enthusiasts, I don't like it. But as a guy who does want to see liberal California continue to make itself the laughing-stock of the USA, I do.

    • (Score: 4, Funny) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday October 12 2019, @02:18AM (8 children)

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Saturday October 12 2019, @02:18AM (#906167) Homepage Journal

      ...the good accomplished 100 years ago by unions and other labor activists.

      You mean like pricing American labor nearly completely out of the manufacturing market? Unions did some good things back in FDR's day and earlier but even then they had already started cutting the limb they were sitting on for firewood. Today they're all about short-term gain at any cost, including causing the inability to grow or even outright bankruptcy of the companies they're contracted with.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday October 12 2019, @01:48PM (7 children)

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday October 12 2019, @01:48PM (#906319) Journal

        No, I most certainly don't mean pricing the US out of the labor market. THAT happened a mere 40 years ago. The unions got too damned powerful, too corrupt, and, it got so you couldn't tell a union officer from a mid-level manager, or a senior union officer from a CEO.

        Tell me, Buzzard - do you think child labor laws are reasonable, and correct? Or, do you think the company should be able to fire Grandpa, who makes ten dollars a day, then hire his grandson to replace him for two dollars a day? Junior is only nine years old, but he can work circles around the half crippled old man!! And, how about overtime? If you work 70 or more hours per week, do you expect time and a half for thirty of those hours?

        How many labor laws do you consider to be unreasonable? A few? A lot? All of them? Should a manager get away with firing a woman who works for him, because she refuses to give him head?

        A hundred years ago, is more or less contemporary with 'The Jungle' by Upton Sinclair. If you've never read that one, I recommend it pretty highly.

        I certainly don't want to go back where my great-great grandparents came from. Back in the day, the advantage of hiring newly freed slaves was, you didn't become responsible for their maintenance and upkeep. You could work them to death, and toss the carcass out the door for the authorities to deal with. And, poor white trash wasn't valued one bit higher than those freed slaves, 140 years ago.

        • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday October 12 2019, @03:36PM (6 children)

          by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Saturday October 12 2019, @03:36PM (#906348) Homepage Journal

          You really wanna know, yes, I think the labor laws were closer to correct in 1945 when FDR left office than they are today. Yes, I think kids should be able to get a job in their mid-teens without having to get a continual sign-off by their school and parents. Hell, I think they should be able to drop out and work full time if they have the desire or need to. And, yes, I think a company should be able to fire grandpa and hire his grandson for a quarter what he makes. If the job's that unskilled that an untrained, poorly paid teenager can do it, then an untrained, poorly paid teenager should be doing it; a grown-assed man should have learned something useful by the time he's a grandparent.

          --
          My rights don't end where your fear begins.
          • (Score: 3, Interesting) by RS3 on Sunday October 13 2019, @02:55AM (5 children)

            by RS3 (6367) on Sunday October 13 2019, @02:55AM (#906505)

            I dunno. Some people are happy to do the same job for the same pay for most of their lives. They don't live for their work, they work to live. I think money, and people who control it, control too much of society. In a simpler time and society, based more on barter, people could keep doing whatever they want to. With money involved, you have inflation, interest to pay, and someone is motivated by greed to have huge control of most everyone and everything, including congress and the people through media. But I'm getting myself depressed thinking about it!

            s

            Speaking of keeping your job, how will you like retraining to become a Raku programmer?

            /s

            • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday October 13 2019, @06:15AM (4 children)

              by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Sunday October 13 2019, @06:15AM (#906551) Homepage Journal

              Doesn't matter what they want, it matters what they offer the company paying them. See, that's how employment works: The company offers them money in exchange for tasks that the company wants done, hopefully with the values being round about equal. So, if they offer labor of little value, it is completely morally correct they should get paid shit. If they're willing to pick up valuable skills, they should likewise be paid like it. If they want to do the minimum necessary to keep from getting fired, they shouldn't be surprised when they're the first ones on the chopping block. And they damned sure don't need to be whining about wanting more money if they're halfassing the job.

              In a simpler time and society, based more on barter, people could keep doing whatever they want to.

              My entire hairy ass they could. Society was a whopping fuckload more harsh about it than it is now. When barter was more of a thing, you had to have something people valued to barter with or you could fuck right off.

              As for having to write things I don't like in languages that annoy me, what do you think I do now? That's why they call it "work" instead of "play". Fuck's sake, man.

              --
              My rights don't end where your fear begins.
              • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Monday October 14 2019, @09:49PM (3 children)

                by RS3 (6367) on Monday October 14 2019, @09:49PM (#907131)

                Well, no intelligent discourse to be found here.

                I thought you knew Larry Wall approved perl6 being renamed "Raku" and I was attempting humor.

                I'll leave you alone.

                • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday October 14 2019, @10:56PM (2 children)

                  by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Monday October 14 2019, @10:56PM (#907153) Homepage Journal

                  I got the humor. I've even coded in the bloody thing. It sucks ALL OF THE BALLS but I'm still not drawing a line in the sand saying I won't code it no matter how hungry I get. Just one saying shitty jobs will only be chosen if no less shitty jobs are to hand.

                  --
                  My rights don't end where your fear begins.
                  • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Tuesday October 15 2019, @04:11AM (1 child)

                    by RS3 (6367) on Tuesday October 15 2019, @04:11AM (#907238)

                    I feel your pain. I hated OSes so much I wanted to write one. GDT, IDT, etc. fun stuff. Unbeknownst to me, Linux was being developed so I'm glad I didn't waste time. Ever consider designing a language?

                    • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday October 15 2019, @10:51AM

                      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday October 15 2019, @10:51AM (#907307) Homepage Journal

                      Nah, rehash is plenty of confusion for anybody's hobby. No need to go full OS.

                      Joking aside, I've done just that for many a microcontroller. Very limited in scope, mind you. I'm pretty sure trying to design and code my own GP OS by myself would end in my tears and other people's laughter. But not until a decade or two later.

                      --
                      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
  • (Score: 2) by radu on Saturday October 12 2019, @12:05AM

    by radu (1919) on Saturday October 12 2019, @12:05AM (#906114)

    I believe you!

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Mojibake Tengu on Saturday October 12 2019, @12:29AM (4 children)

    by Mojibake Tengu (8598) on Saturday October 12 2019, @12:29AM (#906122) Journal

    They would not say this, otherwise. Not even think this way, this is not their haughty style of thinking. What they are afraid of?

    --
    Respect Authorities. Know your social status. Woke responsibly.
    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Gaaark on Saturday October 12 2019, @01:35AM (3 children)

      by Gaaark (41) on Saturday October 12 2019, @01:35AM (#906146) Journal

      They're seeing the rise of socialism and ARE afraid: they see unions coming and people not willing to put up with the corporate shite and politicians willing to help the people out.

      They're hoping to make people believe they wish no evil and THEY are going to make the people's lives better: THEY will MAGA.

      --
      --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @01:48AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @01:48AM (#906153)

        So, are you saying socialism is good or bad?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @02:01AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @02:01AM (#906159)

        e.g. Nelson Rockefeller, Lowell Weiker et al

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @02:21AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @02:21AM (#906172)

        They're seeing the rise of MAGA and ARE afraid: they see jobs coming back and people not willing to put up with the corporate shite and politicians willing to help the people out.

        They're hoping to make people believe they wish no evil and THEY are going to make the people's lives better: THEY will Socialism.

  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @01:57AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @01:57AM (#906158)

    If a parasite is too effective in maximizing its survival and draining its host, the hosts will die without reproducing, eventually leaving the parasite without new hosts.

    Likewise with farmers - you can't plant the same crop over and over and not expect your land to be ruined. You have to take care of your land to maximize production.

    Business sees no problem stripping everything because there's always a new untapped market/cheaper labor force to move on to. But we'll eventually run out of new places to swarm and consume.

    • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday October 12 2019, @02:20AM (1 child)

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Saturday October 12 2019, @02:20AM (#906170) Homepage Journal

      Neither do unions or any other socialistic organization.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @04:16AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @04:16AM (#906226)

        Unions have little purpose or power without a business to bargain with. And agreed, a union that prioritizes its own enrichment over the survival of its company is not acting in the best interest of either. IIRC the iimmolation of the former Hostess baking co. by the actions of (the Teamsters?) a while back may be a lone exception where the company was better euthanized than continuing under poor and abusive management as it was.

  • (Score: 2) by EJ on Saturday October 12 2019, @02:07AM (2 children)

    by EJ (2452) on Saturday October 12 2019, @02:07AM (#906163)

    So, you want businesses to completely toss away all of the American values that our country was founded on? You want them to pay taxes without having political representation?

    Businesses are very often landowners. When issues like bonds come up, those affect property taxes. You think businesses should stay out of such matters that they directly have to pay for?

    The world isn't as simple as you try to make it out to be.

    • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @02:43AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @02:43AM (#906176)

      The world isn't as simple as you try to make it out to be, is all we can agree on. According to opensecrets.org the top lobbying spenders
      https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/top.php?indexType=s&showYear=2019 [opensecrets.org] are corporations, and they spend in the millions on lobbying for their best interests.
      I don't see individuals on that list. Meanwhile corporations contribute only 11% of federal tax revenue vs 47% of federal revenue coming from individuals.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_the_United_States#/media/File:U.S._Federal_Receipts_-_FY_2007.png [wikipedia.org].

      Lobbying is what influences policy, it is well known that it has the best return on investment. So while individual taxpayers contribute the lion's share of the federal tax revenue, they don't have much influence on policy.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @04:26AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @04:26AM (#906232)

      Thanks for reminding me that I see a conflict between libertarianism and virtually all limited-liability corporate structures. The government should not be able to coerce me into taking pennies on the dollar from a business that has wronged me when its owner has assets I can take.

      Businesses shouldn't be people.

  • (Score: 2) by rigrig on Saturday October 12 2019, @03:03AM

    by rigrig (5129) Subscriber Badge <soylentnews@tubul.net> on Saturday October 12 2019, @03:03AM (#906188) Homepage

    tomorrow the sun will come up again, and I’m pretty sure that whatever happens we won’t have found Freedom, and there won’t be a whole lot of Justice, and I’m damn sure we won’t have found Truth. But it’s just possible that I might get a hard-boiled egg.

    — Samuel Vimes Terry Pratchett, Night Watch

    1. Do no evil.

    Good luck defining "evil", but once you do, at least you get to use JSON [debian.org]

    I was about to post a point-by-point snarky commentary, but realized nobody really needs that.
    (that includes 1, but I just liked that too much to delete)

    --
    No one remembers the singer.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @08:59AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @08:59AM (#906270)

    How about paying your workers a good salary and not grinding them into the ground? Benefits for employees, you were saying.

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