Owners exchange their investments for a financial reward. Managers exchange their organizational and planning systems for monetary compensation. Customers exchange their money for the benefit they derive from the product or service. These value exchanges are based on the belief that other parties in the exchange are performing to the best of their abilities. Investors assume that management utilizes the assets entrusted to them in the most effective way they know.
Owners expect management to look for better ways to utilize the organization's assets.
Management assumes that employees will, to the best of their abilities, do the jobs they are paid to do and offer suggestions for how the job might be done better. Employees assume that they will be rewarded commensurately to the value they create. Customers assume that the products and services provided are the best the company can produce consistent with the rightful interests of the owners, managers and employees. Because everyone knows that these assumptions are held by the various parties, any departure from them is dishonest unless the departure is made explicit. In short, all stakeholders are entitled to receive maximum value from any exchange.