It is time to take a hard look at the universally accepted principle that the goal of business is to maximize shareholder value.

Although the concept seems entrenched in business practice, it actually originated in a 1976 article by two business school professors at the University of Rochester who postulated that corporate executives act as agents on behalf of the (more…)

Representative Henry Waxman (D-California) and his colleagues, got an earful of excuses and an eyeful of blank stares from the heads of Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, Conoco-Phillips, BP, and Shell Oil as the bosses appeared before the Congressional Subcommittee on Energy and Commerce.

Appearing later on CNN, Waxman reported that the executives “all said they thought they could handle a disaster (more…)