Final answer:
Investors 1 and 2, owning a combined 38,000 shares, do not have the majority to change top management. They would need to partner with at least investor 3 to exceed the 50% threshold required for a majority. As they are short of a majority on their own, they cannot guarantee always getting their way without additional support.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine the minimum number of investors needed to vote to change the company's top management, we look at the shareholder structure of the Darkroom Windowshade Company. A simple majority is required to change management in most cases, which means more than 50% of the voting power is needed. If each share represents one vote, then you need more than 50,000 shares to have a majority.
Investor 1 has 20,000 shares, and investor 2 has 18,000 shares. Combined, they have 38,000 shares. Even together, investors 1 and 2 do not have a simple majority. To achieve a majority, they would need support from at least investor 3, who has 15,000 shares, taking their combined total to 53,000 shares, thus exceeding the required 50,000 shares for majority control.
If investors 1 and 2 agree to vote together, they cannot be certain of always getting their way in how the company is run without the support of additional investors, since their combined ownership is less than 50%. They would need to form a coalition with other investors to ensure majority control.