Do shareholders play a role in influencing ehtical behavior of a corporate enterprise?
450742
Yes, they can play a gigantic role.  The big conflict for Boards of Directors (as opposed to shareholders) when they are asked to take actions in which a corporation is supposed to do things to further the social good at the expense of profit (use a more expensive but cleaner technology, keep open a plant in the US rather than relocate to another jursdiction) is that the Board of Directors have an obligation to maximize shareholder value -- its their fiduciary duty.  The board is put in a tough position when asked to sacrifice economics for other social goods -- because what they are sacrificing is not what they own (the shareholders own the corporation) but what they are stewards of.\n\nHowever, the shareholders are the owners of the corporation -- if they choose to sacrifice some economic value for soemthing else they value -- the environment, local employment -- they can do so without any breach of duty (ignoring for the moment, majority shareholder obligations to minority shareholders).  Its their company, after all.
255603
For -- Corporations are significant forces in today's social structure and if they are obligated to take into account constituencies other than their stockholders -- employees, the environmentn, their community -- society as a whole benefits.  \n\nAgainst -- corporations are entities designed to maximize shareholder profit and that is their function.  To create an alternative obligation is to make them less efficient and in the end make our entire system of capitalism less efficient.  In a related practical issue, it makes it harder for shareholders to hold management accountable since management now has additional excuses to defend their actions (for example, a management team that rejects a takeover bid at a significant premium to current market value because it claims an acquisition would hurt the employees and the community of the target).
239648
It will depend on the organization.  However, most publically-held organizations exist to maximize the profits and value/wealth of shareholders.  Top priority.  Then, to look good in the public eye, they will devote time/efforts/money to serving the community.
1183634
no\nno opinion\nlet the market forces shape it
859859
Consumers and voters.  Basically, the people, ideally.  But we know it doesn't always work that way.  But the larger the government, the less likely the people are in charge.  Think about, the bigger the government, more taxes, more chances for corruption, and mismanagement.  Big corporations still have influence, but in the end they want consumers' money, so they answer to the consumer.  Ideally, but not always.
17630
A company does not benefit directly by appreciation in its stock price. A company's stock represents ownership interest in the company. Stock holders (e.g. individual investors, mutual funds, etc) own the stock of a company and therefore benefit when the stock price rises, because now they can sell the stock for a higher price than before.\n\nA company can indirectly benefit from stock price appreciation. When company A acquires another company B, the purchase price is usually paid in cash or company A's stock. So if company A's stock price is higher, then it could afford to pay more or buy more using its stock. Another benefit is employee moral. Many companies offer employees stock options, stock grants, or employee stock purchase plans to encourage employee ownership of company stock. So when the company stock price rises, the employees' investment is worth more.
1050824
Effective corporate governance requires a clear understanding of the respective roles of the board and of senior management and their relationships with others in the corporate structure. The relationships of the board and management with stockholders should be characterized by candor; their relationships with employees should be characterized by fairness; their relationships with the communities in which they operate should be characterized by good citizenship; and their relationships with government should be characterized by a commitment to compliance. Senior management, led by the Chief Executive Officer, is responsible for running the day-to-day operations of the corporation and properly informing the board of the status of such operations. Management's responsibilities include strategic planning, risk management, and financial reporting. The board of directors has the important role of overseeing management performance on behalf of stockholders. Its primary duties are to select and oversee a well qualified and ethical CEO who, with senior management, runs the corporation on a daily basis, and to monitor management's performance and adherence to corporate standards. Effective corporate directors are diligent monitors, but not managers, of business operations.\nStockholders necessarily have little voice in the day-to-day management of corporate operations, but have the right to elect representatives (directors) to look out for their interests, and to receive the information they need to make investment and voting decisions.\nEffective corporate governance requires a proactive, focused state of mind on the part of directors, the CEO and senior management, who all must be committed to business success through maintenance of the highest standards of responsibility and ethics. Good governance is far more than a "check-thebox" list of minimum board and management policies and duties. Even the most thoughtful and well-drafted policies and procedures are destined to fail if directors and management are not committed to enforcing them in practice. A good corporate governance structure is a working system for principled goalsetting, effective decision-making and appropriate monitoring of compliance and performance. Through such a vibrant and responsive structure, the CEO, the management team and the board of directors can interact effectively and respond quickly to changing circumstances, within a framework of solid corporate values, to provide enduring value to the stockholders who invest in the enterprise.\nPublicly owned corporations employ diverse approaches to board structure and operations, and no one structure is right for every corporation. Nevertheless, The Business Roundtable believes that the corporate governance "best practices" set forth in the following sections provide an effective approach for corporations to follow.
48710
Usually the term "enterprise" in this context refers to very large companies.  I think your conclusion that Enterprise IT would be the major players like Microsoft, Oracle, Sun, Cisco, etc. is correct.
863291
Effect on company:\n\nLower interest costs, shift of financing over to equity from debt\n\nEffect on shareholders:\n\nDilution to old shareholders, possible change in control due to change in percentage ownerships and/or shift in eligibility for directorship\n\nEffect on holders of convertable bonds:\n\nStop receiving coupon payments (if there were any), start receiving dividends (if applicable),now an equity owner, potentially eligible for directorship (if ownership is high enough)
339060
optimize the system. start wwith your employees make sure they know the company's objective. train them teach them encourage them. trust them. help them. know what makes them tick. they are the key. they are what customers base theu\ndecsions on. you must be organized and everybody must know what their job is and how to do it. the role of the manager should be to guide the employees. read up on w. edward deming and applies his theories.
902685
No. As long as you do your homework and you heartedly work for the company, you do fine. Sometimes you need to convince others, and sometimes you learn that the other side is actually right. It is normal that we have different opinions. We also need to learn that even though we can have different opinions, we need to follow the decisions fully even if it is not what you think is right.\n\nHowever, if your company is not treating well you will need to look for a better place to work. A good company fosters good brainstorm and creative thinking, especially in the investigation stage before a final decision is made.
43179
Multi-national corporations as we know today, are certainly playing a phenominal role. The most important effect on Indian economy is indeed that they are increasing the market force by adding new product everyday. So the immediate consequence of this is we have better options to choose! However, on the negative side, it is also enhancing the feeling  of insecurity for the poor as they render helpless in this competition-ridden market economy.
251778
Transparency can be accomplished through upfront and timely communication of company initiatives. Disclosing both good news and unflattering news as it arises establishes the credibility and feeling that the management is being transparent.  A structural issue would be to include respected members of the stakeholder groups over and above the typical corporate governance membership to decrease the perceptions that decisions are being made which serve to exploit various entities that are affected by the firm.
461500
The board of directors control the company from the top.  If they don't like anything about the company, they're allowed to vote and make certain changes.  They can fire anyone, including the CEO after a vote.  So, in essence, they have final say on the major decisions, making them the ultimate managers.
860069
Businessmen are people, too.\nOK, just took off my rose-colored glasses. Corporate profits can be adversely affected by backlash from consumers and/or government.
212421
The relationship the company has with the public.  Does it create a positive image?
877411
Dude, there are so many idiots on here answering questions....\n\nA stakeholder may or maynot be the holder of responsibility.  A stakeholder is anyone affected by the company doing well or doing poorly.   Some examples of stakeholders are; customers, owners, the bank that loaned the money, stockholders, vendors.  \n\nSo they may or maynot be responsible, but they are affected in some way.