The Magazine of Corporate Responsibility

Tag Archive for ‘Governance’

After Paterno, Penn State’s Struggle to Rebuild Trust

With the death of long-time football coach Joe Paterno, Penn State enters a new stage of its crisis stemming from criminal sex abuse charges against a former assistant coach. Columnist Gael O’Brien thinks the university’s trustees have made numerous mistakes and says the institution now must learn “how to tolerate discomfort with unflattering headlines while the focus is on trust building, not brand building.”

Campus Crises Highlight Risk Management Weaknesses

Columnist Gael O’Brien says recent crises at University of California Davis, Syracuse University and Penn State University raise questions about the role of risk management on campuses. One problem, she writes, is that university leaders “often don’t have practice thinking through how their values, and those of the institution, will come into play in a variety of different potential situations.”

Two New Corporate Forms to Advance Social Benefits in California

California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law competing bills that create two new corporate forms — a “flexible purpose corporation” and a “benefit corporation” — intended to allow entrepreneurs and investors the choice of organizing companies that can pursue both economic and social objectives. Here’s a legal analysis of the implications for businesses with a social purpose.

Improve Public Trust: Transform the Nominating Committee

Corporate governance expert Paul Strebel says there’s need for a “fundamental change” in the way board directors are nominated, with members of the nominating committee drawn from a more diverse group of stakeholders than has been the case. “To improve public trust in business, the search for board directors has to extend beyond the world of top executives,” he says.

Women in the Boardroom: Should the U.S. Have Quotas?

Columnist Gael O’Brien says the U.S. has failed to show leadership in gender diversity on corporate boards, raising questions about what it can learn from other countries that have imposed quotas for women directors. While quotas can stir up discomfort, she writes, there’s a “complacency, even smugness” about boardroom diversity in the U.S. that argues in favor of requiring companies to take action.

Federal Appeals Court Vacates SEC Proxy Access Rules

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated Securities and Exchange Commission rules adopted in 2010 designed to give shareholders the ability to nominate directors through corporate proxy materials. The court ruled that the SEC “acted arbitrarily and capriciously for having failed once again…to adequately assess the economic effects of a new rule.”

Opinion: ESG Yields Profits

Factors pertaining to ESG (environmental, social and governance) issues are now included in mainstream corporate stock and bond analysis in numerous investment firms, funds and managers globally. Why? Because it provides analysts better insight into companies and a possibility of producing higher investment returns with less risk.

Social and Environmental Shareholder Proposals Gain Traction

Shareholder proposals on social and environmental issues constitute about half of all resolutions in the 2011 proxy season and have become a serious strategic consideration for corporate boards and their members, according to a new report from the consulting firm Ernst & Young. “The degree of support for these types of resolutions is growing among mutual funds and other important investors,” the report finds.

Women and Leadership: Roadmaps for the Journey

Acquiring the skills needed for leadership isn’t easy for members of either sex. But for women who pursue careers in companies, there is the daunting reality that unless you start your own business, a leadership role can be hard to come by. Columnist Gael O’Brien speaks with McKinsey consultant and author Joanna Barsh about her research into “centered leadership” and how it might help accelerate the leadership journey for women.

Novartis Pay Plan Encounters Strong Shareholder Opposition

Nearly 39 percent of Novartis shares were voted against the pharmaceutical giant’s executive compensation plan. Shareholder critics had expressed particular concern over the size and structure of payouts for Novartis Chairman Daniel Vasella, who has in recent years been awarded a package with an estimated market value of about $21 million annually.