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submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by _number8_@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

like I went to taco bell and they didn't even have napkins out. they had the other stuff just no napkins, I assume because some fucking ghoul noticed people liked taking them for their cars so now we just don't get napkins! so they can save $100 per quarter rather than provide the barest minimum quality of life features.

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[-] satanmat@lemmy.world 24 points 11 months ago

Yep.

Corporations have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders. They have to make money. And how much money do they have to earn? MORE.

To grow, they offer good food at a reasonable price. It seems cheaper to put the drink machine out for customers to make their own drinks choices… but then we need those extra pennies, so behind the counter it goes, so customers don’t get free refills… then how can we source cheaper stuff, beef beans etc. there will be c constant demand to squeeze every penny from the system… Bob is making too much; better fsck his schedule until he quits so we can hire Alice as she make only minimum wage.

I’m not sure where napkins fall in the chain but yes the quality likely will continue to spiral down.

There are very few companies who recognize that there is a quality floor they should not go below. Where they acknowledge that we can’t get any worse, but they have to raise prices. And depending on the managers this cycle will continue back and forth

[-] Couplqnd@lemmy.world 17 points 11 months ago

Can we stop with the myth that "corporations/board members have a fiduciary duty to share holders for maximum profit"

It's not true and never has been! It's just some bullshit that was said in the 80s that sounds good but has no basis in reality

[-] ElleChaise@kbin.social 11 points 11 months ago

I mean, they do though? I'm totally against that, but hear me out: if we infiltrated for instance, and tried to do the opposite approach of only screwing the shareholders while providing maximum value to workers and consumers, we wouldn't last long enough to bring it to a vote at the corrupted board. If you don't provide a solid plan on how you're gonna fuck consumers in the coming quarter, they won't even let you stay on as CEO. It's literally not possible to do good in this system, you can either not participate and keep getting fucked as consumers/workers, or you can trade class and provide value for shareholders, there is no in between anymore. The only option that will change this without another Teddy, is revolution. Hopefully a peaceful one.

[-] redballooon@lemm.ee 2 points 11 months ago

According to your statement there must be someone getting fucked. An trade where all parties are satisfied does not seem possible.

[-] TheMongoose@kbin.social 2 points 11 months ago

Isn't that because at the root of greed is the inability to be satisfied? Why don't billionaires, when they have literally money beyond avarice, more than they could possibly spend in a thousand lifetimes, just say "nope, I don't need any more, everything else I earn can go to charity"?

But they don't. They get richer. And despite the public image of them, they'll still try and screw the regular workers out of as many toilet breaks as they can get away with in order to maximise how much they earn.

It's almost beyond evil.

[-] redballooon@lemm.ee 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I think that's two different things. Billionaires can and do get continuously richer also when there are napkins in a restaurant to satisfy customers.

Actually, satisfied customers are return customers, which every businessman knows are the best customers. Amazon certainly knows that. The reason why Amazon is so succesful is because they focus intensely on customer satisfaction. They're fucking their employers, yes, but they wouldn't need to. They just do because the regulations allow for it.

[-] satanmat@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

No?

As long as upper level management receives bonuses based on share price, and the board reenforces that…

The stock market is a voting machine not a weighing machine.

I simply disagree Management generally must keep increasing ARPU average revenue per user or else the market punishes the stock price

[-] sunbrrnslapper@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago

Dumb question: did the laws change or was it a change in trends to maximize shareholder returns?

[-] sbv@sh.itjust.works 12 points 11 months ago

There was a cultural shift in the 1970s:

From the end of World War II until the late 1970s, a retain-and-reinvest approach to resource allocation prevailed at major U.S. corporations. They retained earnings and reinvested them in increasing their capabilities, first and foremost in the employees who helped make firms more competitive.

See https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2019/08/22/so-long-to-shareholder-primacy/#:~:text=The%20shift%20to%20shareholder%20primacy,increase%20its%20profits.%E2%80%9D%20Subsequently%2C

[-] nitefox@sh.itjust.works 1 points 11 months ago
[-] sbv@sh.itjust.works 1 points 11 months ago

I think it was a self-beneficial fad. All the rich shareholders think it's a great idea, as do many on boards (since the shareholders elect them), so it becomes dogma. All fads eventually lose their shine, as this one is.

But I'm neither an economist, nor a historian, so take my guess with a big grain of salt.

[-] cerpa@kbin.social 4 points 11 months ago
[-] satanmat@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

Not at all is that a dumb question.

See the other comments.

It is much more cultural than anything else.
As the stock market moved from buy and hold for the long term to the more manic trading we see today where shit like robinhood allows everyone to trade options

this post was submitted on 26 Nov 2023
984 points (100.0% liked)

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