Howdy All!

   For a large listed company , who should management rate from the
most important to the least important among the following group of
people:

  1. The Company's Vendors
  2. The Company's Customers.
  3. The Company's Employees
  4. The Company's Shareholders

Cheers 

Mongolia

---

Request for Question Clarification by keystroke-ga on 27 Jul 2006 12:51 PDT

I am willing to answer your question here, however I want to place it
in the Clarification so you can tell me this will earn me the money so
I can post it as the answer. As I am sure you know there is NO right
answer to the question, only personal beliefs on what a company should
do, each person has their own thoughts on it.

At the top of my list I would place Customers. Even though publicly
traded companies should put the shareholders first (I will get to
this) I would place customers first. Without customers you have no
income, without income your vendors won't sell you, the employees will
lose their jobs and the shareholders will hate you and sell their
shares.

Secondly I would put vendors second. If you mistreat vendors you lose
sales area and a reduction in sales means less customers means fewer
employees and fewer profits for the shareholders.

I would then put Employees third. A happy workforce makes a good
product. A good product means more vendors want to sell you and more
customers want to buy you which means more money for the shareholders.

I would put shareholders last. If you are taking care of your
employees, vendors and customers you are already looking after the
shareholders as their sole purpose in having the shares is to make
money.

This order keeps everyone happy.

Any comments, leave me a message, should I post this as the question answer?

--Keystroke-ga

---

Clarification of Question by mongolia-ga on 27 Jul 2006 13:21 PDT

Keystroke 

Please go ahead and post.

Mongolia

I am willing to answer your question here, however I want to place it
in the Clarification so you can tell me this will earn me the money so
I can post it as the answer. As I am sure you know there is NO right
answer to the question, only personal beliefs on what a company should
do, each person has their own thoughts on it.

At the top of my list I would place Customers. Even though publicly
traded companies should put the shareholders first (I will get to
this) I would place customers first. Without customers you have no
income, without income your vendors won't sell you, the employees will
lose their jobs and the shareholders will hate you and sell their
shares.

Secondly I would put vendors second. If you mistreat vendors you lose
sales area and a reduction in sales means less customers means fewer
employees and fewer profits for the shareholders.

I would then put Employees third. A happy workforce makes a good
product. A good product means more vendors want to sell you and more
customers want to buy you which means more money for the shareholders.

I would put shareholders last. If you are taking care of your
employees, vendors and customers you are already looking after the
shareholders as their sole purpose in having the shares is to make
money.

This order keeps everyone happy.

Any comments, leave me a message, should I post this as the question answer?

--Keystroke-ga

Anymore comments on this question would be more than welcome.
Mongolia

This a very nasty question, Mongolia!

My answer: 

All 4 equally.

Bryan

Oh Bryan 

such a cop out!! 

I didn't think the people of the GBA (Greater Brighton Area) were so wimpish

Mongolia

1. Customers.  They always come first.  Without them there's not much
of a company.

2.  Shareholders.  By rights, they should be last, but since the
managers are likely to be significant shareholders, and who are only
human, after all, they will put them high on the list.


3.  Employees.  Critical, but fungible.

4.  Vendors.  Critical, but even more fungible (as a rule of thumb) than employees.


not-as-wimpish-ga

I agree with Keystroke and Paf.  It is management's duty to run the
company for the benefit of the shareholders.  The shareholders
themselves ar the most fungible group, anonymous.  Even if they had
the control over management via the board that was originally
intended, their criteria for good management are shown by the bottom
line.  Management achieves results by caring for customers and staff. 
The importance of vendors can vary greatly from industry to industry,
or from a very vertically structured firm relative to one in the same
industry that is more dependent on independent vendors.
 ONe example, years ago, Mercedes bought out (almost?) all its
independent vendors in Germany.  Perhaps that is backhanded
confirmation of the importance of vendors.