Worst thing I've ever heard at a all hands meeting at work- "Shareholder value".
That is the dumbest thing of all time. You are making profits, but the shareholders demand more? And with "shareholder value"- the best way to get that is always cutting. Costs, jobs, etc- which is a great way to totally deflate profits, since that forces you to lose what the consumer really wants.
Wall St adds nothing to a company, not at all (other than the ones who have the original stock offering). Why do we fall to their crappy demands? Customers are always the ones who make a company prosper- they are the ones giving your money for your product, they are the ones who if you have increased demand- drive job increases as a company needs more people to make more stuff. When you really focus on your consumer, and give them a real vision of what you are offering, your stock price will take care of itself. See Apple, Google, and Facebook. Especially FB- since they only really sell advertising. They appeal so much to a consumer that they continue to grow in size.
It's a good example of UNO's about how capitalism can be bad. Focus on the wrong thing, and real people suffer. Badly. All for a group of people who really don't add to the overall economy, since their money is tied up in a guessing game.
BTW, one really crappy thing about the 401k- it drives a total lack of appreciation. Both for the employee and the company. Employees can move around at will (no golden handcuffs), and companies are happy cycling people through. I can't wait until I can retire with my pension. It's pretty soon.