Do large corporations really work?

[MPwannadecentincome]

I think it boils down to 'Do large corporations really work?' For who? The shareholders or the end customers/users? There are few companies that please both.

I think that is why some companies delist from the stock market and go private again - so that they can focus on the long term.

[MPwannadecentincome]

a good local carpenter could put something together at a sensible price.

I wish - tried that at our last house but it was sooooo expensive we just bought flat pack.

[MPwannadecentincome]

Large Corps don't really work because what's "important" is generally reversed from small companies

Large Corp Priority list (in order)

• Individual - Promotion/pay rises
• Department - Budget/politics
• Region (If large enough) - politics
• Product
• Company

And that list is pretty fixed, it's vary rare for something lower in the list to put ahead of something higher for "the good of the company"

Small Company list is virtually reversed

• Product
• Company
• Department
• Individual

And unlike the Corp list this one can be pretty fluid


Only reason large corps exist is because they start out as small companies, do well and get enough market share to maintain their profit margins when everything goes down hill due to the transition from small company to Corporation and the accountants take over

Bank's fiasco though was slightly different though, while the normal Corp priority list went into force, the accountant's either shut up or got fired

Funny who knew, accountants actually do some good

[d000hg]

Just to through a spanner in the works, there is no reason why mass-manufactured, flat-pack furniture can't be stronger and more durable than a bespoke crafted piece. With decent production you can create 1000 tables that are exactly the same, and just because you use modern techniques to construct/assemble the flat-pack doesn't make it intrinsically weak.

I don't know if there is such a thing - high-quality mass-manufactured - but it could still be much cheaper... the one thing it can't give is the aesthetic/art quality. But if you only want something with decent build quality, this wouldn't be your main factor as long as it's got a little attractiveness - screws hidden underneath for instance.

[PM-Junkie]

I think it boils down to 'Do large corporations really work?' For who? The shareholders or the end customers/users? There are few companies that please both.

Large corporations exist purely to make money for shareholders (and once you get your head round that fact, everything else slots into place). If in order to do that they have to please their customers then they will. But they will only please their customers as much as they have to, because doing that invariably costs money...and I am sure we can all think of numerous examples of companies who couldn't give two hoots about their customers for that reason.

There is a fascinating academic paper knocking about that hypothesises and discusses that the shareholder model is destined to change, with greater balance against leveraging and employee/customer reliance. I'll dig it out and send the link in case anyone is interested.