Read the following passage and answer the questions : Jensen examines the dynamics of corporate takeovers and challenges prevailing misconceptions surrounding them. He argues that takeovers are not merely hostile disruptions but serve as a crucial mechanism of the market for corporate control. According to Jensen, inefficient management teams often fail to maximize shareholder value and takeovers act as disciplinary tool by transferring control to more competent managers. He emphasizes that while popular belief portrays takeovers as destructive to employees and communities, empirical evidence suggests that they frequently generate significant economic gains by reallocating resources to more productive uses. Jensen distinguishes between the folklore-emotional and political arguments against takeovers depicting as harmful to employees and society and the science, which demonstrates thier role in improving efficiency and shareholder wealth. He also addresses concerns about debt financing in leveraged buyouts, contending that high leverage can impose financial discipline on managers by reducing wasteful spending. Ultimately, Jensen frames takeovers as an essential corrective force within capitalism, countering managerial inefficiency and aligning corporate behavior with shareholder interests. His analysis laid the groundwork for modern corporate finance debates on governance, agency costs and the value-creating potential of mergers and acquisitions.
According to the paragraph, takeovers are not merely hostile disruptions but serve as :
A pivotal mechanism of the market for corporate control
A pivotal mechanism of the market for corporate control — option 3.
The sentence. “He argues that takeovers are not merely hostile disruptions but serve as a crucial mechanism of the market for corporate control.” The question quotes the first half and asks for the second, so the answer is a direct lift.
What the “market for corporate control” means. The idea, from Henry Manne and developed by Michael Jensen, is that the right to manage a company is itself traded. If a management team runs a company badly, its share price falls below what the assets would be worth in better hands. That gap is an invitation: an outsider can buy the company, replace the management, and capture the difference. The mere possibility of this disciplines incumbent managers even where no bid is ever made.
| Step in the argument |
|---|
| Inefficient management fails to maximise shareholder value |
| The share price falls below the company’s potential value |
| A bidder acquires control at that depressed price |
| Control passes to more competent managers; the value gap is closed |
Why the distractors fail. Options 1 and 2 both appear in the passage — but as the folklore: the emotional and political case against takeovers, which Jensen explicitly distinguishes from “the science”. A reader who does not notice the word “not” in the question, or who mistakes the view Jensen is attacking for the view he holds, will pick one of them. Option 4 is not in the passage at all — and inverts Jensen’s position, since he treats takeovers as serving shareholder interests.
Why this matters as governance. The market for corporate control is one of the external mechanisms of corporate governance, alongside the internal ones — the board, the audit committee, incentive contracts. Where boards are weak, the takeover threat may be the only effective check on management — which is exactly why entrenchment devices such as poison pills and staggered boards are so contested.
Hence, the answer is a pivotal mechanism of the market for corporate control.
Similar Questions
Which one of the following is not a principle of corporate Governance ?
Match the items given in the List - I and List - II and suggest the correct code :
List - I List - II (a) Ethics (i) Right code of behaviour for a group or profession (b) Morality (ii) Prescribes right conduct for everyone (c) Moral standard (iii) Needs some inclination to follow morality (d) Meta Moral Standard (iv) Practical and pragmatic Code :
Assertion (A) : When a corporation acts ethically and socially responsible in its business decisions and strategic planning, then the corporation will be more sustainable.
Reason (R) : Socially responsible corporate behaviour is increasingly seen as essential to long-term survival of companies.
Social responsibility of business while appropriating natural resources by a corporate entity has been recommended in which one of the following?
Disclosure of corporate governance practice and its compliance has been stipulated in which one of the following?
Kumar Mangalam Birla Committee Report, Ramesh Chandra Committee Report, Cadbury Committee Report primarily focus on which one of the following?
'The continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large.'
This may be attributed rightly to which one of the following?
Read the following passage and answer the questions :
Jensen examines the dynamics of corporate takeovers and challenges prevailing misconceptions surrounding them. He argues that takeovers are not merely hostile disruptions but serve as a crucial mechanism of the market for corporate control. According to Jensen, inefficient management teams often fail to maximize shareholder value and takeovers act as disciplinary tool by transferring control to more competent managers. He emphasizes that while popular belief portrays takeovers as destructive to employees and communities, empirical evidence suggests that they frequently generate significant economic gains by reallocating resources to more productive uses. Jensen distinguishes between the folklore-emotional and political arguments against takeovers depicting as harmful to employees and society and the science, which demonstrates thier role in improving efficiency and shareholder wealth. He also addresses concerns about debt financing in leveraged buyouts, contending that high leverage can impose financial discipline on managers by reducing wasteful spending. Ultimately, Jensen frames takeovers as an essential corrective force within capitalism, countering managerial inefficiency and aligning corporate behavior with shareholder interests. His analysis laid the groundwork for modern corporate finance debates on governance, agency costs and the value-creating potential of mergers and acquisitions.
Statement (I) : The science of ethics is a normative science.
Statement (II) : Normative sciences judge the value of the facts in terms of an idea; concerned with judgements of ‘what ought to be’ but not with factual judgements.
Code :
Assertion (A) : Decisions in small matters largely tend to set a pattern for the more important ones you may make as managers.
Reasoning (R) : A multi-industry survey conducted in the USA indicated that 40% of the managers said that their superiors had at some time told them to do certain things unethical.
Code :
Important Questions from Corporate governance and business ethics
As per the Anglo-Saxon Model of Corporate Governance, the authority lies with the following. Arrange these in decreasing order of authority.
A. Board of Directors
B. Managers
C. Shareholders
D. Employees (Company)
E. Trade unions
Choose the correct sequence from the options given below
Assertion (A) : Corporate governance is an important instrument of investor protection.
Reason (R) : Strong corporate governance is indispensable to resilient and vibrant capital markets.
Which one of the following options is correct?
Which one of the following is not a norm of corporate governance ?
Which one among the following is not a true statement?
Ethics are moral principles and values which:
