Anyone studying public relations with me will be familiar with Milton Friedman’s famous quote that “the business of business is business.” The economist believed the only social responsibility of management was to the shareholders and to society via employing people and paying taxes.
Interesting then to see a significant proportion of BP shareholders oppose a generous “golden goodbye” package for CEO John Browne at the oil giant’s AGM.
Browne has been much respected with a strong personal reputation – but problems at BP, especially over its safety record, have tainted the image of the company, and Lord Browne.
The appearance of such executive pay deals is that management doesn’t care much about the views of shareholders – and Browne is happy to leave a legacy of a damaged corporate reputation and even a poor personal one – provided he benefits financially.
One thought on “A greedy legacy?”
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