GRE Issue Essay HELP!

[Ricardo SM]

Hey guys!

I've been studying for the GRE the last couple of weeks and I'm scheduled to take it next week (?!!!). Ive been doing good on quant and verbal but haven't been able to get any feedback on my writing! It would be absolutely AWESOME if any of you could give it a quick read and throw me some tips on how I could improve my writing (it's only 4 paragraphs short). Thank you very much!! I'm happy to do the same if any of you need some help!

Some people believe that corporations have a responsibility to promote the wellbeing of the societies and environments in which they operate. Others believe that the only responsibility of corporations, provided they operate within the law, is to make as much money as possible.

 Write a response in which you discuss which view more closely aligns with your own position and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should address both of the views presented.

The sole responsibility of corporations, is to maximize utility for its shareholders. That being said, maximizing utility is not necessarily the same as maximizing profit. For most corporations, it is true that the primary purpose of the shareholders is to maximize monetary value; however, it is increasingly more common to find corporations with both social and monetary goals that seek to make profit while executing philanthropic activities. Shareholders of such corporations value both profit and doing social good. Therefore, whatever the primary goals of the shareholders are, it should be aligned with the primary goals of the corporation.

Some people argue, that all corporations should have the responsibility to promote the well-being of societies and environments, and it is hard to argue that this would not be an ideal situation. On paper, it certainly seems remarkable, but on practice, it is unfortunately impractical. Corporations will not promote the wellbeing of societies and environments without retribution, because they, like human beings, operate based on incentives, and their incentives are shaped by their shareholders’ aspirations.

While there are companies that do charitable activities, have foundations, and engage in other philanthropic endeavors, more often than not, they expect a return on their investment through a stronger brand and improved public perception. In these cases, it is expected for companies to promote social and environmental well-being, because doing so is aligned with the primary goal of their shareholders.

Governments, on the other hand, have as a primary purpose to maximize the well-being of society. In order to carry out this responsibility, they tax its citizens and corporations to create social programs, improve infrastructure, enforce laws, among many other activities which aim to improve social well-being. Therefore, it can be argued that a company whose aim is to maximize profits and keep growing, will ultimately improve society’s well-being through taxes and employment. However, this is not a responsibility that falls directly under the scope of corporations, since their sole purpose should be to increase shareholders “utility”, whatever this “utility” may be.