Fiduciary duties and responsibilities are NOT tied to profit only!


Ivan Marshall

Technology Novice
Gene,you and Jeff Gamet,among others you've had on your Show,seem to think that a Company or a Corporation has ONLY an obligation to maximize profits over all other decisions and paths! Nothing,could be further from the Truth! Corporate law describes directors as fiduciaries who owe duties not only to the Shareholders,but to the entity itself,and instructs directors to do what's in the best interests of the company. Serving Shareholder's "best interests is not the same as maximizing profits or maximizing Shareholder value. One shareholder value doesn't exist,because different shareholder can have different values. Some are long-term investors and some are short-term speculators. Companies have a responsibility to be good corporate citizens,which explains why they donate to charities,match employees donations to worthy causes,speak up about relevant social-issues,and practice diversity! If a company fires workers unjustifiably,makes poor products,avoids taxes,and/or pollutes the environment,it can hurt shareholder value more in the long-run,can harm their shareholders rather than help them! in the 2011 case of Airgas vs. Air Products, Inc., the Board of Directors decided NOT to sell,even though the shareholders could have made a hefty profit. What about Hewlett-Packard Founder's family being ignored by the board,and decisions were made that the founders didn't agree with,and fought furiously against? I am an Apple shareholder,and long-time Customer,but I'm completely against Apple's practice of avoiding taxes,having HORRIFIC CONDITIONS in their manufacturing plants,working Children in bad conditions for poor compensation,with poor diversity(like most of Silicon Valley/Tech Industry),and ignoring the Pollution and environmental decisions that wouldn't be allowed in the U.S.! You and your Guests obviously mean well,but you are badly uninformed,and you're following the recent trend of short-term focus on profits,and pay for performance schemes by Hedge Fund Activists for short-term strategies to raise Stock prices in the short-term! Lynn Stout,a Cornell University Professor of Corporate and Business Law,wrote an Article for the New York Times on April 16,2015 called," The Shareholder Value Myth: How putting Shareholder first, Harms Investors,Corporations,and the Public. You and your Guests should read it,or a few of the many other articles defining and detailing Fiduciary duties,and Shareholder Value. You are doing your readers and listeners a disservice by repeating terms that have been debunked,and disproven,repeating the talking points of the vey same Wall Street Corporations that sunk our economy! Please,stick to the other parts of Tech,if you're so poorly informed! It would only take five minutes of research to learn that your information is opinion, NOT FACT!
 
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