> It was argued that professional managers should be rewarded according to the amount they can give to shareholders.
To put a face on this: I had a boss who lectured my team on "shareholder value" and "capitalism" to justify his decisions regarding how he chose to restructure our team, set goals, etc. I left that company within 60 days of that lecture. Not because I fundamentally disagree with the philosophy of shareholder value, but because the outcome of his decisions destroyed my morale. Any attempt to discuss the issue with him was always steered back to increasing shareholder value. He didn't seem to grasp the fact that other things matter, too.
Most people don't know what they're doing. To be able to fill one's head with a script in the form of shareholder value is a godsend for such managers. It sure beats trying to understand the employee machine.
To put a face on this: I had a boss who lectured my team on "shareholder value" and "capitalism" to justify his decisions regarding how he chose to restructure our team, set goals, etc. I left that company within 60 days of that lecture. Not because I fundamentally disagree with the philosophy of shareholder value, but because the outcome of his decisions destroyed my morale. Any attempt to discuss the issue with him was always steered back to increasing shareholder value. He didn't seem to grasp the fact that other things matter, too.