All I was trying to do was to say that the things that influence how a company works are not totally dominated by just short term profit. What I said was
[quote=Speedmog]Pure short term profit can be sacrificed for longer/medium term benefit to all these groups.
Phil, 5-6 years is not short term. It is not even medium term for a small manufacturing company. A micro-economist or business analyst would refer to that length of time as long term for such a company. That changes your statement considerably...at least for me.
I do not believe that Freeman means to suggest that large losses can be healthily entertained for many years under any circumstances..even to serve specific stakeholder interests.
Moving on
[quote=gomog]The ongoing losses and huge capital depletion could easily be explained by the existence of a stakeholder(s) with a priority other than the company's financial well-being and security.Lorne
So be explicit who are you meaning?
I wasn't meaning anyone or anything in particular yet, though I am cogitating on it now. It was your stakeholder theory that put the thought into my head as an arena for possible answers.
I am admittedly heavily trained to think in terms of profits, cash flows and capital preservation and naturally attribute the same motivation to all business endeavors. However, on reflection I must admit that is not always true. For example, TalkMorgan or GoMoG have a non-profit motivation with their "stakeholders".
Perhaps the same is true of the MMC for other reasons. That would explain a lot.
Lorne
