Category: Management

[Report: Reform Priorities in Asia: Taking Corporate Governance to a Higher Level] – This report defines corporate governance reform priorities and makes recommendations that reflect the specific conditions and needs within Asia. Agreed by consensus, the report updates the Roundtable’s 2003 White Paper and includes an overview of corporate governance frameworks in 13 Asian economies.

The OECD-Asian Roundtable on Corporate Governance was held in Tokyo, Japan on 24-25 October 2012. The meetingwas generously hosted by the Financial Services Agency and the Tokyo Stock Exchange, in partnership with the Government of Japan. Senior policy-makers and market practitionersdiscussed progress and challenges in order to support national corporate governance reforms through an open exchange about country experiences.

We've been reading GE's Corporate Governance Principles, which have some excellent provisions. The Principlescan be downloaded below. Here are some excerpts:

10. Self-Evaluation

We had a very successful event on 10/3 on the subject of Gender Diversity on Boards – Why it Matters, and How to Increase It, and are very thankful for the support of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan (CCCJ), the ACCJ, the French Chamber, the EBC, and TMI Associates…. not to mention the participation of McKinsey.

Unfortunately, I have to say I agree with much of this excellent analysis by GMI Ratings. A 92 year-old man in charge of Strategy? Almost no one new to the board, most directors having joined in 2005-2010? Mr. Stringer hanging around as Chairman?

(Introduction) : Gender imbalance on corporate boards remains an important challenge for all EU Member States. It constitutes an untapped potential of skilled human resources, as evidenced by the discrepancy between the high number of female graduates and their underrepresentation in top-level positions. As women still face numerous barriers on the way to the top, this discrepancy can be seen as a waste of much highly-qualified and needed human resources.

An excellent treatment of the topic. Table of contents:

Introduction 1
Chapter 1. Policies and Issues Related to Working Women
in Japan and the United States 3
Chapter 2. Japanese Survey 16
Chapter 3. U.S. Survey and Comparison with Japanese Women Executives 24
Conclusion 29

About the author:

Corporate governance is undergoing significant change, which means directors across the country are spending more time on board work and prompting them to reconsider their oversight approach. But challenges remain. Directors expect to increase their focus on the critical areas of board composition, risk management, strategy and IT oversight. Explore our 2012 Annual Corporate Directors Survey for a deeper look into directors' views on these major issues.

Survey's key findings

Abstract: “How does gender-balance affect the working of boards of directors? I examine boards that have been required for two decades to be relatively gender-balanced: boards of business companies in which the Israeli government holds a substantial equity interest. I construct a novel database based on the detailed minutes of 402 board- and board-committee meetings of eleven such companies.

These are simply great. Highly recommended. —–> Lucy Marcus, an award-winning and internationally-recognized expert on boards, corporate governance, and leadership has a conversation with a variety of people who are making a real impact on moving the needle of how boards are operating now and in the future around the world, including influential board directors, […]