Ambrose Bierce Quotes

Corporations are a fictional entity that are designed to make money, and they're neither people nor patriots.

The question is, do corporate executives, provided they stay within the law, have responsibilities in their business activities other than to make as much money for their stockholders as possible? And my answer to that is, no they do not.

The pendulum of capitalism has swung way too far to only trying to maximize the profit of shareholders rather than many of the traditional other virtues and accomplishments of a company.

Do business managers have a commitment to anything more than the success of their company and to making money? It would be hard to say that they do. Indeed, many business leaders deny that there is any conflict between self-interest and the interests of all.

It is difficult but not impossible to conduct strictly honest business. What is true is that honesty is incompatible with the amassing of a large fortune.

Governments are elected by people; corporations are not. Governments that must answer to the people; corporations must answer only to their boards.

I’ll stop demonizing business when business stops putting their profits before the country and starts putting their workers before their greed.

Business’s objective is to maximize profits—not maximize benefits to the American worker.

Leaders must be reminded that Businesses exist for the service of men.

Corporations are people.

Companies … have a broader mandate than apparently the reformers want to give them in the political sphere. It is not only maximizing profits. It is advancing the economic interests of the corporation in many different ways.

As to the meaning of "corporate social responsibility," Friedman and I would agree: If a certain action improves the corporation's bottom line, there's no point in labeling it "socially responsible." It's just good business.

It is always sound business to take any obtainable net gain, at any cost and at any risk to the rest of the community.

Large corporations, of course, are blinded by greed. The laws under which they operate require it - their shareholders would revolt at anything less.

Corporations are not in business to be social-welfare organizations; they are there to make money.

The history of business has shown that companies usually only regulate themselves if they're forced to by legislation, or out of self-interest - often in the shape of a marketable message that will help sell more products.

I pretty much believe, as everyone in the B Team does, that business must succeed beyond the bottom line. More important than profits is how you get to them. Measuring financial earnings and losses only is definitely not enough and has led us astray from creating a better world for all.

Despite their good intentions, today's businesses are missing an opportunity to integrate social responsibility and day-to-day business objectives - to do good and make money simultaneously.

In the final analysis, finding a way to do clean business and not to pay bribes actually improves your bottom line.

Far too many executives have become more concerned with the 'four P's' - pay, perks, power and prestige - rather than making profits for shareholders.

Shareholders have the right and obligation to set the parameters of corporate behavior within which management pursues profit.

The average member of the public thinks of 'business' as an impersonal corporate entity, owned by the very rich and managed by over-paid executives.

A corporation is an artificial being, invisible, intangible, and existing only in contemplation of law. Being the mere creature of law, it possesses only those properties which the charter of its creation confers upon it, either expressly or as incidental to its very existence

We have to raise the bar on corporate governance. Shareholders want ethical behavior and honesty.

Corporations are not capable of doing things out of the goodness of their hearts. They don’t have hearts.