WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A “Modern” CORPORATION?

Posted on June 13, 2024 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA

An Emerging New Definition?

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP

When I was in business school back-in-the day, I studied the late great economist Milton Friedman Ph.D who opined that the purpose of a corporation was to enhance shareholder value, in an ethical and legal manner; period? Shareholders could then do what they wished with profits; if any. Charitable giving or Selfish intent, etc!

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Now, for those of you who haven’t had time to review the recent seismic tome from The Business Roundtable Announcement this week, let me review why this is as big a moment as the Larry Fink BlackRock letter.

  • The Business Roundtable, a group of chief executive officers of nearly 200 major U.S. corporations, issues a statement with a new definition of the “purpose of a corporation.” Seven [7] refused to sign.
  • The reimagined idea of a corporation drops the age-old notion that they function first and foremost to serve their shareholders and maximize profits.
  • Investing in employees, delivering value to customers, dealing ethically with suppliers and supporting outside communities are now at the forefront of American business goals; ie., community good.

MORE: https://www.forbes.com/sites/afdhelaziz/2019/08/23/the-power-of-purpose-milton-friedman-is-rolling-in-his-grave/#6ed8506f7532

DEFINITION: A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or institution (including a corporation) that legally owns a share of stock in a public or private corporation. Shareholders are the owners of a limited company. They buy shares which represent part ownership of a company.

DEFINITION: A stakeholder as defined in its first usage in a 1963 internal memorandum at the Stanford Research Institute, are “those groups without whose support the organization would cease to exist.” The theory was later developed and championed by R. Edward Freeman in the 1980s.

LINK: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/19/the-ceos-of-nearly-two-hundred-companies-say-shareholder-value-is-no-longer-their-main-objective.html

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The Conundrum [real or perceived]

Shareholders are ever stakeholders in a corporation, but stakeholders are not always shareholders. A shareholder possesses part of a public company through shares of stock, while a stakeholder has a concern in the performance of a company for reasons other than stock performance or appreciation; ie., community good.

QUERY: So, exactly who will determine community good? And, who selects the stakeholders? Haven’t socially responsible companies, stocks, mutual funds and ETFs, etc., been in existence for decades? Is Professor Friedman rolling in his grave? OR, is this condundrum just linguistic gymnastics?

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LINK: https://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Health-Economics-Finance-Marcinko/dp/0826102549/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254413315&sr=1-6

Your thoughts are appreciated.

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What is the Economic CONSUMPTION FUNCTION Theory?

Posted on January 18, 2022 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA

WE ARE NOT CONSUMING AND THE MARKETS ARE DOWN

By Staff Reporters

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A Theory of the Consumption Function

One of Milton Friedman’s most popular works, A Theory of the Consumption Function, challenged traditional Keynesian viewpoints about the household. This work was originally published in 1957 by Princeton University Press, and it reanalyzed the relationship displayed “between aggregate consumption or aggregate savings and aggregate income.”

CITE: https://www.r2library.com/Resource/Title/082610254

Keynes: https://medicalexecutivepost.com/2016/05/25/keynesian-versus-austrian-economics/

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Consumption Function Definition

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Now, according to Wikipedia, Friedman’s counterpart Keynes believed people would modify their household consumption expenditures to relate to their existing income levels. Friedman’s research introduced the term “permanent income” to the world, which was the average of a household’s expected income over several years, and he also developed the permanent income hypothesis. Friedman thought income consisted of several components, namely transitory and permanent. He established the formula y = y p + y t {\displaystyle y=y_{p}+y_{t}} {\displaystyle y=y_{p}+y_{t}} in order to calculate income, with p representing the permanent component, and t representing the transitory component.

A model of the Permanent Income Hypothesis

Milton Friedman’s research changed how economists interpreted the consumption function, and his work pushed the idea that current income was not the only factor affecting people’s adjustment household consumption expenditures. Instead, expected income levels also affected how households would change their consumption expenditures. Friedman’s contributions strongly influenced research on consumer behavior, and he further defined how to predict consumption smoothing, which contradicts Keynes’ marginal propensity to consume. Although this work presented many controversial points of view which differed from existing viewpoints established by Keynes, A Theory of the Consumption Function helped Friedman gain respect in the field of economics. His work on the Permanent Income Hypothesis is among the many contributions which were listed as reasons for his Sveriges-Riskbank Prize in Economic Sciences. His work was later expanded on by Christopher D. Carroll, especially in regards to the absence of liquidity constraints.

READ MORE HERE:

Of course, the Permanent Income Hypothesis faced some criticism, mainly from Keynesian economists. The primary criticism of the hypothesis is based on a lack of liquidity constraints.

HAYEK: https://medicalexecutivepost.com/2011/05/06/john-maynard-keynes-v-s-fa-hayek/

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Your comments are appreciated.

QUERY: What is the CF for Healthcare?

MORE: https://medicalexecutivepost.com/2018/09/18/are-doctors-practitioners-of-conspicuous-consumption/

THANK YOU

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