Article by Charles Handy on companies as communities, and how companies should be governed according to political, rather than commercial, theory. Handy begins the article discussing how the myth that shareholders own a business needs to be dismissed. From his perspective, the idea of shareholders controlling all things in a business is inherently flawed, as the true purpose of any business is to deliver quality goods and services to a continuously multiplying customer base. Handy proceeds to emphasize his belief that the whole concept of owning a company is misplaced, as it is not appropriate to own groups of people. He argues that companies are communities, which need rules of governance, not terms of ownership, and that leaders should be looking to ownership precedents in the rules for states and communities to guide organizations. However, he also affirms that shareholders should still be instrumental to a company’s governance, while simultaneously stressing that they should not be the sole arbiters of an organization’s future. Handy concludes his analysis stating that a law of governance, or a new Companies Act, would aid in correcting the current flaws in the business sector and restoring companies’ self-respect.
Handy, Charles B Business, culture and change Business enterprises Business ethics Capitalists and financiers Institute of Directors Companies Acts Shareholders
Source
Article by Charles Handy on companies as communities, and how companies should be governed according to political, rather than commercial, theory, 1990; Charles Handy Papers; Box 20, Folder 3; 1 page
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