Value Agents

A Value Agent is a new kind of legal entity which in Factasia's Value Net largely supplants the Public Limited Corporation as the preferred vehicle for business activities.	The Value Agent sits between a PLC and a charity, being closer to charities in purpose, but closer in some ways to the PLC in methods.
Key features of a Value Agent an explicit value system a purpose or mission which is consistent with the value system a line of business which is exploited to realise the purpose
How does a Value Agent differ from a PLC? This purpose of a Value Agent is its ultimate purpose, whereas the corporate mission of a PLC is subservient to the possibly conflicting de-facto purpose of distribution of profits to shareholders. The line of business of a Value Agent, need not be closely connected with its purpose. The line of business reflects the resources which the Value Agent will be bringing to bear to contribute to the realisation of its purpose. For a PLC the line of business delivers profits for distribution, not for application to other purposes.	How does a Value Agent differ from a charity? The power of a Value Agent to secure its purposes derives primarily from its line of business rather than from charitable donations. The ways in which the Value Agent goes about securing its purposes are more diverse and not so obviously charitable. The value agent is less likely to make charitable donations, much more likely to make purchases which directly or indirectly support its purposes. A Value Agent conducts all aspects of its line of business with its purpose in mind, and will prefer to trade with other corporations which have sympathetic purposes.