Managerial responsibilities on the micro level

Abstract

I t is possible think of the responsibilities of corporate managers on either the macro level--accountable w h o m o r the micro level--accountable what. Discussions of managerial responsibilities on the macro to whom level have been ongoing years, certainly since Berle and Means (1936) first noted the replacement of company owners by professional managers, without reaching a widely accepted conclusion. Perhaps instead of continuing those discussions it would be well move back a step, or down a notch, and begin consider the micro, for what responsibilities of management. What activities should corporate managers be held accountable perform, and perform well? Before starting discuss the activities can reasonably expect the managers of business firms perform, and perform well, let me make a few comments about the problem of reaching a widely shared conclusion on the responsibilities of management at the macro level. It is a basic tenet of commercial law that managers are accountable primarily the owners of the business. It is a basic principle of neoclassical economics that managers are accountable solely the stockholders of the firm. People who adopt the very logical thought s tructures-the ways of looking at the w o r l d ' o f either the legal system o r the market paradigm are not easily going give up one of their most crucial underlying assumptions. We may d isagree-and by we I mean the normative ethicists and social philosophers who are contributing articles this special edition of Business Horizons---but that does not mean that will be able convince attorneys o r economists. Most of us in this issue believe that the macro responsibilities of corporate managers have be extended the society of which the company is a part, rather than be limited a small segment of owners within that society. Most of us think that a substantial numbet of compelling arguments have been presented in support of that view (Stone 1975, Velasquez 1982, DeGeorge 1982, Hosmer 1984, McCoy 1985, Bowie 1991). Most of us recognize, however, that have not convinced advocates of the rule To get managers act ethically, must hold them accountable on an ethical level of management.