issue 152求拍

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菜鸟未限时作，考试在即，求各方指点，谢过。

Issue152: The only responsibilityof corporate executives, provided they stay within the law, is to make as muchmoney as possible for their companies.

While it is widely accepted that the majorresponsibility of corporate executives at all levels is to maximize theshareholder profit of the company, is this the exclusive responsibility theyshould shoulder, provided that they stay within the frame of laws? I wouldargue in favor of this contention fundamentally, as the maximization of profitis not merely a short-term target but rather a long-term vision giving rise tothe tremendous achievements of economy and delivering social good via theinvisible hand.

First and foremost, it is common knowledgethat the economic benefits serve as the key for a company's recognized success,which involving shareholders' benefit, employees' salaries and job openings,and the holistic economic vigor at large. To achieve this major goal of the company,to make money as much as possible is, after all, the most direct and effectiveway. There is no such a company at the edge of bankruptcy or delinquency thatis able to declare a good benefit for its workers and an attractive return forits investors. Simply put, money matters at the first place.

In addition, some people, I myselfincluded, would agree that other responsibilities than apparently "makingmoney" is necessary from the standpoint of a company. Of them may involveeffective and efficient firm structure, employee motivation, as well as aharmonious and affirmative atmosphere. For this argument, just consider theultimate purpose of those "responsibilities", isn't a betterstructure benefiting the company endlessly in the long run? Isn't it the casethat building the company culture and improving employees' benefit serve as along-term vision for wise executives, which in turn deliver more handsomeprofits in the long run despite no profits immediately? Those are, viewed froma visionary perspective, necessary strategies for a company to attain highprofits over periods.

How about the social responsibilities then,as some would wonder? Look at Bill Gates who made a brilliant sum to charity tothe society. Or take a look at Honda, who recalled 150 thousand cars due to thedefects in vehicles, which led directly to a 3 million profit loss. Are theylosing money for the company to address social needs? The answer is obviouslyno within the scope of modern company management. In modern society with unprecedentedlyincreasing competency among firms, especially those firms with a globalambition, mere attention on product quality and customer service cannot sufficeany longer. New emphasis has been put on brand building, or put in anotherword, establishing a good firm image. From this perspective, all those"supreme behaviors" with morality of firms are conditions that liftthe firms out of the general mass to the social spotlight, and to improve theprofits subsequently, if such a policy is adopted properly.

Nevertheless, to argue that the abovestrategies all serve to gain the company an unswerving position against all itsopponents is, by no means, to defy the social good generated from suchbehaviors. Actually, it is indeed those spontaneous actions of companies thatconstitute the benefits for the society at large. This process is somewhatsimilar to what Adam Smith put at the beginning of economic theory, theso-called force of "invisible hand" -- via the mechanism of anefficient market, the individuals who are only interested in pursuing their ownprofit would in the end deliver a social efficiency altogether. I would ratherview the interaction between society and companies as the amendment to thisinvisible hand notion, in which both parties address a win-win strategy, andtherein follows the profit of the latter.

In sum, it is with no doubt that theunderlying responsibility of corporate executives is to maximize the profit forcompany and its shareholders. While there may exist disputes concerning whetherthe above mentioned social-beneficial behaviors should be included in thisexclusive responsibility or not, those behaviors do indeed improve firms'profit, if we take a long run vision and acknowledge that the profit is notmerely instant money at hand.