Devoir de Philosophie

Why might the separation of ownership and control result in lower firm profits? Do you think that the market for corporate control is effective disciplining managerial behavior?

Publié le 08/02/2012

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Introduction

The separation of ownership and control in the modern corporations traces back to the idea that in general the division of labour leads to more efficient performance. The shareholders take the risk by handing over their capital to people who have the expertise and the time that they do not have in order to achieve the best possible outcome. Hence they give up the control over the property. In return the owners are paid dividends and have the ultimate right to transfer the interest. Moreover the shareholders can reduce the undertaken risk by diversifying their portfolio of shares, i.e. investing in different industries. The managers who are then in charge of directing company’s actions are assumed to always handle with the primary goal of maximizing shareholder’s wealth. However there is sufficient empirical evidence to conclude that the firms often pursue objectives other than value-maximizing.  

« 2 Why might the separation of ownership and control result in lower firm profits? Do you think that the market for corporate control is effective disciplining managerial behavior? Introduction The separation of ownership and control in the modern corporations traces back to the idea that in general the division of labour leads to more efficient performance.

The shareholders take the risk by handing over their capital to people who have the expertise and the time that they do not have in order to achieve the best possible outcome.

Hence they give up the control over the property.

In return the owners are paid dividends and have the ultimate right to transfer the interest.

Moreover the shareholders can reduce the undertaken risk by diversifying their portfolio of shares, i.e.

investing in different industries.

The managers who are then in charge of directing company’s actions are assumed to always handle with the primary goal of maximizing shareholder’s wealth.

However there is sufficient empirical evidence to conclude that the firms often pursue objectives other than value-maximizing.

As Smith (1838) pointed out “the directors of such companies [joint stock companies], being the managers rather of other people’s money than of their own, it cannot well be expected that they should watch over it with the same anxious vigilance with which the partners in a private copartnery frequently watch over their own”. Managerial Non-value-maximizing Behaviour As Smith correctly stresses in his statement, it is naïve to believe that the managers will always pursue shareholders’ objective that is maximizing firm’s profits.

Furthermore the separation of ownership and control arouses the agency theory problem which is the asymmetrical information flow: the owner (principal) does not have the access to the information which the manager (agent) has. Especially in large corporations where the lack of monitoring results in only few restrictions of manager’s actions’ freedom, there is a great. »

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