Maximizing shareholder wealth

The article explores the inherent conflict that corporations face today between 'serving stakeholders' and 'serving shareholders.' According to the author, CEOs say overwhelmingly that serving stakeholders is a more appropriate mission for corporations today, but he notes that some experts are skeptical about the seriousness of their commitment to the stakeholder perspective.

  1. What do you think? Do corporations exist solely to maximize shareholder wealth (as Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman argued), or do they have a legitimate obligation to do more for all of their stakeholders and even for society at large?