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That said, a focus on maximising share value per se is, in the world of real human beings, likely to lead to short-term thinking that produces inferior long-term results.
I believe the thinking that I espoused above is now very standard in business, at least US business. But like so many other things the press writes about, it's the scandals at Enron, etc. etc. that make the headlines--not the consistent progress at Medtronic, GE, etc, etc.
Good management must indeed balance many tasks, including those with short- and long-term goals. I'm only claiming that there is not only an inherent trade-off between goals (as you note), but also a psychological tendency for easily measured, short-term, monetary goals to crowd out long-term investment in (for example) people and knowledge. An attitude that directly values the latter serves, I think, as a counterweight to this tendency.
This is a squishy point, and I was moved to state it in order to expand my agreement with your earlier point, as I understood it. Disparage my effort at ET civility if you must... Bite the hand... Examine the equine teeth... ;^) Words and ideas I offer here may be used freely and without attribution.
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