Download or read book The Shareholder Value Myth written by Lynn Stout and published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers. This book was released on 2012-05-07 with total page 151 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An in-depth look at the trouble with shareholder value thinking and at better options for models of corporate purpose. Executives, investors, and the business press routinely chant the mantra that corporations are required to “maximize shareholder value.” In this pathbreaking book, renowned corporate expert Lynn Stout debunks the myth that corporate law mandates shareholder primacy. Stout shows how shareholder value thinking endangers not only investors but the rest of us as well, leading managers to focus myopically on short-term earnings; discouraging investment and innovation; harming employees, customers, and communities; and causing companies to indulge in reckless, sociopathic, and irresponsible behaviors. And she looks at new models of corporate purpose that better serve the needs of investors, corporations, and society. “A must-read for managers, directors, and policymakers interested in getting America back in the business of creating real value for the long term.” —Constance E. Bagley, professor, Yale School of Management; president, Academy of Legal Studies in Business; and author of Managers and the Legal Environment and Winning Legally “A compelling call for radically changing the way business is done... The Shareholder Value Myth powerfully demonstrates both the dangers of the shareholder value rule and the falseness of its alleged legal necessity.” —Joel Bakan, professor, The University of British Columbia, and author of the book and film The Corporation “Lynn Stout has a keen mind, a sharp pen, and an unbending sense of fearlessness. Her book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the root causes of the current financial calamity.” —Jack Willoughby, senior editor, Barron’s “Lynn Stout offers a new vision of good corporate governance that serves investors, firms, and the American economy.” —Judy Samuelson, executive director, Business and Society Program, The Aspen Institute

Download or read book The Shareholder Value Myth written by Lynn Stout and published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers. This book was released on 2012-05-07 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Distinguished legal scholar Stout proves that there is in fact absolutely no legal obligation for corporations to maximize shareholder value. She looks at new theories that not only better serve the needs of real human beings who invest, but of corporations and society as well.

Download or read book Summary of Lynn Stout s The Shareholder Value Myth written by Everest Media, and published by Everest Media LLC. This book was released on 2022-05-10T22:59:00Z with total page 19 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The Deepwater Horizon disaster was a tragedy on an epic scale not only for the rig and the eleven people who died on it, but also for the corporation BP. By June of 2010, BP had suspended paying its regular dividends, and its stock had plummeted to less than $30 per share. #2 The Deepwater Horizon disaster is just one example of a larger problem that afflicts many public corporations today. That problem is called shareholder value thinking, and it says that public corporations exist to maximize shareholders’ wealth. #3 The 1990s saw the emergence of the idea that corporations should serve only shareholder wealth, which was reflected in stock price. This idea became dominant by the turn of the millennium. #4 The past dozen years have seen a daisy chain of corporate disasters, from massive frauds at Enron, HealthSouth, and Worldcom in the early 2000s to the near-failure and costly taxpayer bailout of many of America’s largest financial institutions in 2008.

Download or read book Cultivating Conscience written by Lynn Stout and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2010-10-04 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How the science of unselfish behavior can promote law, order, and prosperity Contemporary law and public policy often treat human beings as selfish creatures who respond only to punishments and rewards. Yet every day we behave unselfishly—few of us mug the elderly or steal the paper from our neighbor's yard, and many of us go out of our way to help strangers. We nevertheless overlook our own good behavior and fixate on the bad things people do and how we can stop them. In this pathbreaking book, acclaimed law and economics scholar Lynn Stout argues that this focus neglects the crucial role our better impulses could play in society. Rather than lean on the power of greed to shape laws and human behavior, Stout contends that we should rely on the force of conscience. Stout makes the compelling case that conscience is neither a rare nor quirky phenomenon, but a vital force woven into our daily lives. Drawing from social psychology, behavioral economics, and evolutionary biology, Stout demonstrates how social cues—instructions from authorities, ideas about others' selfishness and unselfishness, and beliefs about benefits to others—have a powerful role in triggering unselfish behavior. Stout illustrates how our legal system can use these social cues to craft better laws that encourage more unselfish, ethical behavior in many realms, including politics and business. Stout also shows how our current emphasis on self-interest and incentives may have contributed to the catastrophic political missteps and financial scandals of recent memory by encouraging corrupt and selfish actions, and undermining society's collective moral compass. This book proves that if we care about effective laws and civilized society, the powers of conscience are simply too important for us to ignore.

Download or read book Citizen Capitalism written by Lynn A. Stout and published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers. This book was released on 2019-01-29 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Corporations have a huge influence on the life of every citizen—this book offers a visionary but practical plan to give every citizen a say in how corporations are run while also gaining some supplemental income. It lays out a clear approach that uses the mechanisms of the private market to hold corporations accountable to the public. This would happen through the creation of what the authors call the Universal Fund, a kind of national, democratic, mega mutual fund. Every American over eighteen would be entitled to a share and would participate in directing its share voting choices. Corporations and wealthy individuals would donate stocks, bonds, cash, or other assets to the fund just like they do to other philanthropic ventures now. The fund would pay out dividends to its citizen-shareholders that would grow as the fund grows. The Universal Fund is undoubtedly a big idea, but it is also eminently practical: it uses the tools of capitalism, not government, to give all citizens a direct influence on corporate actions. It would be a major institutional investor beholden not to a small elite group of stockholders pushing for short-term gain but to everyone. The fund would reward corporations that made sure their actions didn't harm people, communities, and the environment, and it would enable them to invest in innovations that would take more than a few months to pay off. Which is another reason corporations would donate to the fund—they could be freed from the constant pressure to maximize their quarterly share price and would essentially be subsidized for doing good. The authors demonstrate that our current economic rules force corporations to be shortsighted and even destructive because for most large investors, nothing matters but share price. The Universal Fund is designed to be a powerful positive balancing force, making the world a better place and the United States a better nation.

Download or read book Benefit Corporation Law and Governance written by Frederick Alexander and published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers. This book was released on 2017-10-16 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Corporations with a Conscience Corporations today are embedded in a system of shareholder primacy. Nonfinancial concerns—like worker well-being, environmental impact, and community health—are secondary to the imperative to maximize share price. Benefit corporation governance reorients corporations so that they work for the interests of all stakeholders, not just shareholders. This is the first authoritative guide to this new form of governance. It is an invaluable guide for legal and financial professionals, as well as interested entrepreneurs and investors who want to understand how purposeful corporate governance can be put into practice.

Download or read book The Cambridge Handbook of Stakeholder Theory written by Jeffrey S. Harrison and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-05-09 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive foundation for stakeholder theory, written by many of the most respected and highly cited experts in the field.

Download or read book Green Giants written by E. Williams and published by AMACOM. This book was released on 2015-08-12 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What do Brazil’s top beauty brand, America’s second-fastest-growing restaurant chain, and the world’s third bestselling car have in common--besides achieving enormous success with revenue in the tens of billions? They are doing it all while holding to their convictions of implementing sustainable principles that help consumers live better lives. But they aren’t the only ones. Green Giants examines nine companies--including Chipotle, Toyota, Unilever, Tesla, General Electric, and more--who have established the blueprint for sustainable success that anyone can follow. Author Freya Williams, an early pioneer of the modern sustainable business movement, discovered six factors responsible for the overwhelming success of these nine socially responsible companies: The Iconoclastic Leader Disruptive Innovation A Higher Purpose Built In, Not Bolted On Mainstream Appeal New Behavioral Contract Packed with eye-opening research, exclusive interviews, and enlightening examples, Green Giants serves as your blueprint for merging wild profitability with social responsibility.

Download or read book Business Ethics written by J. S. Nelson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022 with total page 545 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An authoritative and practical guide to business ethics, written in an accessible-question-and answer format In today's turbulent business climate, business ethics are more important than ever. Surveys of employees show that misconduct is on the rise. Cover stories reporting indictments, prosecutions, and penalties imposed for unethical business conduct appear almost daily. Legislatures pass requirements elevating the levels of punishment and their enforcement against corporations and individuals. Organizations face pressure to design and implement effective ethics and compliance programs. As a result, businesses and businesspeople are increasingly worried that their conduct might cross lines that put their wealth and reputations at risk. Business Ethics: What Everyone Needs to Know (R) explains what those lines are, how not to cross them, and what to do when they are crossed. Written for both businesspeople facing real-life dilemmas and students studying ethical questions, this succinct book uniquely surveys materials from moral philosophy, behavioral science, and corporate law, and shares practical advice. Experts J.S. Nelson and Lynn A. Stout cover a wide array of essential topics including the legal status of corporations, major ethical traps in modern business, negotiations, whistleblowing and liability, and best practices. Written in a short question-and-answer style, this resource provides engaging and readable introductions to the basic principles of business ethics, and an invaluable guide for dealing with ethical dilemmas.

Download or read book The Rise of the Working Class Shareholder written by David Webber and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2018-04-02 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Steven Burd, CEO of the supermarket chain Safeway, cut wages and benefits, starting a five-month strike by 59,000 unionized workers, he was confident he would win. But where traditional labor action failed, a novel approach was more successful. With the aid of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, a $300 billion pension fund, workers led a shareholder revolt that unseated three of Burd’s boardroom allies. In The Rise of the Working-Class Shareholder: Labor's Last Best Weapon, David Webber uses cases such as Safeway’s to shine a light on labor’s most potent remaining weapon: its multitrillion-dollar pension funds. Outmaneuvered at the bargaining table and under constant assault in Washington, state houses, and the courts, worker organizations are beginning to exercise muscle through markets. Shareholder activism has been used to divest from anti-labor companies, gun makers, and tobacco; diversify corporate boards; support Occupy Wall Street; force global warming onto the corporate agenda; create jobs; and challenge outlandish CEO pay. Webber argues that workers have found in labor’s capital a potent strategy against their exploiters. He explains the tactic’s surmountable difficulties even as he cautions that corporate interests are already working to deny labor’s access to this powerful and underused tool. The Rise of the Working-Class Shareholder is a rare good-news story for American workers, an opportunity hiding in plain sight. Combining legal rigor with inspiring narratives of labor victory, Webber shows how workers can wield their own capital to reclaim their strength.

Download or read book Corporate Governance in the Common Law World written by Christopher M. Bruner and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-03-29 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The corporate governance systems of Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States are often characterized as a single 'Anglo-American' system prioritizing shareholders' interests over those of other corporate stakeholders. Such generalizations, however, obscure substantial differences across the common-law world. Contrary to popular belief, shareholders in the United Kingdom and jurisdictions following its lead are far more powerful and central to the aims of the corporation than are shareholders in the United States. This book presents a new comparative theory to explain this divergence and explores the theory's ramifications for law and public policy. Bruner argues that regulatory structures affecting other stakeholders' interests - notably differing degrees of social welfare protection for employees - have decisively impacted the degree of political opposition to shareholder-centric policies across the common-law world. These dynamics remain powerful forces today, and understanding them will be vital as post-crisis reforms continue to take shape.

Download or read book The Shareholder Value Myth written by Lynn Stout and published by ReadHowYouWant. This book was released on 2012-05 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Proves that shareholder primacy has no basis in law or economics and does not deliver better bottom - line results. Suggests better ways to think about shareholders and their relationship to corporations Written by one of America's most distinguished legal scholars, Executives, investors, and the business press routinely chant the mantra that co...

Download or read book Love Lucas written by Chantele Sedgwick and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2015-05-05 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A 2015 Whitney Award Nominee! A powerful story of loss, second chances, and first love, reminiscent of Sarah Dessen and John Green. When Oakley Nelson loses her older brother, Lucas, to cancer, she thinks she’ll never recover. Between her parents’ arguing and the battle she’s fighting with depression, she feels nothing inside but a hollow emptiness. When Mom suggests they spend a few months in California with Aunt Jo, Oakley isn’t sure a change of scenery will alter anything, but she’s willing to give it a try. In California, Oakley discovers a sort of safety and freedom in Aunt Jo’s beach house. Once they’re settled, Mom hands her a notebook full of letters addressed to her—from Lucas. As Oakley reads one each day, she realizes how much he loved her, and each letter challenges her to be better and to continue to enjoy her life. He wants her to move on. If only it were that easy. But then a surfer named Carson comes into her life, and Oakley is blindsided. He makes her feel again. As she lets him in, she is surprised by how much she cares for him, and that’s when things get complicated. How can she fall in love and be happy when Lucas never got the chance to do those very same things? With her brother’s dying words as guidance, Oakley knows she must learn to listen and trust again. But will she have to leave the past behind to find happiness in the future? Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readers—picture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft; stories told with LEGO bricks; books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Download or read book There s No Such Thing as The Economy written by Samuel A. Chambers and published by punctum books. This book was released on 2018 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Every Economics textbook today teaches that questions of values and morality lie outside of, are in fact excluded from, the field of Economics and its proper domain of study, "the economy." Yet the dominant cultural and media narrative in response to major economic crisis is almost always one of moral outrage. How do we reconcile this tension or explain this paradox by which Economics seems to have both everything and nothing to do with values? The discipline of modern economics hypostatizes and continually reifies a domain it calls "the economy"; only this epistemic practice makes it possible to falsely separate the question of value from the broader inquiry into the economic. And only if we have first eliminated value from the domain of economics can we then transform stories of financial crisis or massive corporate corruption into simple tales of ethics. But if economic forces establish, transform, and maintain relations of value then it proves impossible to separate economics from questions of value, because value relations only come to be in the world by way of economic logics. This means that the "positive economics" spoken of so fondly in the textbooks is nothing more than a contradiction in terms, and as this book demonstrates, there's no such thing as "the economy." To grasp the basic logic of capital is to bring into view the unbreakable link between economics and value.

Download or read book Wall Street Values written by Michael A. Santoro and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2012-12-17 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What are the economic and moral connections between Wall Street and the overall economy? This book chronicles the transformation of Wall Street's business model from serving clients to proprietary trading and explains how this shift undermined the ethical foundations of the modern financial industry.

Download or read book Fixing the Game written by Roger L. Martin and published by Harvard Business Press. This book was released on 2011 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Martin (management, U. of Toronto, Canada) uses the National Football League as his most prominent example to show that it is possible to end the destructive pattern of increasing volatility, dropping investor returns, and generally bad behavior among executives that is crippling American capitalism. Some of his concepts include realigning executive compensation with real-world markets and not expectations, rethinking board governance and the parts board members play, and whittling down power of hedge funds and monopoly pension funds.

Download or read book Business Persons written by Eric W. Orts and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2013-08-29 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Business firms are ubiquitous in modern society, but an appreciation of how they are formed and for what purposes requires an understanding of their legal foundations. This book provides a scholarly and yet accessible introduction to the legal framework of modern business enterprises. It explains how the legal ideas allow for the construction and recognition of business firms as persons having rights and responsibilities. It also shows how law sets the boundariesof firms. Specific applications include contributions to debates about executive compensation and political free-speech rights of corporations. Anyone who wishes to have a deeper understanding of thenature of business firms and their role in modern society will benefit from reading this book.