What About “Big Names”? Many Board members believe that adding a very prominent person to the Board will bring great prestige and credibility to the Board. They believe that funders and other organizations will take those Boards much more seriously. Often, that’s a big mistake. Rarely do those famous people ever show up to the …
Starting a Business/
Business Laws & Ethics
Will Beneficial Ownership Registers Become Global?
Will beneficial ownership registers spread around the World? Governments have become more and more focused on the risks posed by opaque and confidential corporate structures. In particular the ability of a certain type of person to use such structures to hide the true ownership and origin of funds, thereby facilitating tax evasion and money laundering. …
As opposed to offering opinions without having all of the background and knowledge, I thought it might be more helpful to start a discussion about the questions: Many people have written that Toyota’s problem was that it sacrificed a core value of safety for profit. To frame the issue this generally is to miss the …
Do companies care about the intent of one’s actions, or just the results? While we think that our intentions should matter, if an unethical action takes place, do we really care why? Let me know what you would do in the following dilemma: Alternative #1 – You are taking care of a chatty 3-year old. …
Too often, when Board members struggle with attendance, participation, or decision-making, they simplistically resort to a Board training session or undertake team building and training to address their problems. Those techniques seldom work to address those problems. Why Board Training Alone Seldom Restores Boards It is not uncommon that Board members want a “quick fix” to …
In the post, Part 1, we reviewed the first 5 practices. This post is a continuation from that post, and reviews the remaining 5 practices. 6. Ensure strategic plan that includes action plans The action plan part of an overall strategic plan specifies who is going to do what and by when in order to …
What’s the difference between a code of conduct and a rulebook? A rulebook certainly sets outer parameters as what is unacceptable behavior. However, since most behavior is within those legal parameters, does (and should) a code of conduct dictate how employees should in fact conduct themselves at work? Imagine if a supervisor asks an employee …
This Part explains the first 5 practices. Part 2 describes the last 5 strategic partnership practices. Recent and very public “white collar,” stock-fraud crimes have brought much public attention to how governance is supposed to work, but too often doesn’t. The Sarbanes Oxley Act is one example of new regulations intended to strengthen the transparency …
