"an oil company executive whose primary motive is to increase the profits of his company "

... because the shareholders want profit, he answers to the share holders ... who all want the best value for their investment.

Don't think the oil company executive is so shallow he doesn't understand the 'big picture' ... you would be surprised, he probably has more of a grasp of the 'big picture' than you do. He just has different values.


BTW ... many of those shareholders are people who have money invested in their retirement funds ... and many of these people are demanding on getting results so they can retire comfortably. These are the people who probably don't get the 'big picture'

biLL