Governance

In order to achieve maximally effective governance, CEOs and Boards of Directors must work hand in hand. A governance committee can be helpful in fostering this partnership, but with or without governance committees, CEOs must take an active role in improving Board performance. Linda Henman offers 10 strategies to do just that.

It’s absolutely critical that the Chief Compliance Officer and the Board of Directors work together to achieve a culture of ethics and compliance. With the Board’s backing, a CCO’s influence is far greater. Establishing that relationship, however, may be a daunting proposition. Michael Volkov outlines five steps to build this key bond.

In many cases it's preferable for an employer to resolve a dispute via arbitration rather than in court. But that's not at all true across the board. Having an arbitration agreement in place doesn't entirely protect an organization from going to court when employment practices are called into question. And it's not always cheaper to go the arbitration route, either...

Recent court cases might be signaling a new trend for how non-compete agreements are interpreted – one that looks at the sufficiency of the contract’s consideration, rather than its existence. Courts are now looking at the adequacy of promises within the contract to determine if employers’ offers in exchange for a signed agreement might be inadequate.

What subject is your organization's sacred cow? If there's a process or institution or piece of wisdom deemed immune from question or criticism, consider why. It may be the very thing that needs retooling or the ticket to your next great opportunity. In growth-oriented organizations, nothing can be above refinement.

As regulatory oversight increases, so does the importance of managing compliance risk. Given its purpose and charge of protecting the company, the Board can't afford to sit idly and leave the task of managing compliance risk entirely to others. No, the Board ought to be taking an active role here. Today, three experts weigh in on where the Board of...

Despite their loyal followings, rock star CEOs aren't all they're cracked up to be. Personality can only take you so far when your worth is measured by the results you drive. Rock stars tend to be image obsessed, where truer leaders are more self-confident and know the value of collaboration. When we know the traits of real leaders, why do...

Overly complicated systems aren't necessarily superior to more simplistic ones. Take FIFA's matrix for determining team ranking, for example. It takes either a lifelong, die hard fan to understand it or an advanced degree in math. It could be argued, in fact, that unnecessarily complex systems simply serve to distract attention from what's really going on.

Board members of healthcare organizations are under more scrutiny than ever as a result of the unique compliance requirements in the healthcare industry, as well as increased regulatory enforcement and third-party lawsuits.

Corporate governance is a phrase that most people, even those involved in it, think they fully understand when they don’t. Misconceptions about what good corporate governance is and is not are bad for business, and bad for the people involved.

Do you - or does your company - tend to make things harder than they need to be? Compliance is one of those areas that must be effective, but not overly complicated. Sometimes simpler is better. Take reporting employee concerns, for example. Some firms use multiple avenues for reporting staff concerns, but for most, with enough buy-in, one channel would...

Culture, ethics and compliance are inextricably linked. Where employees have faith in leadership to do the right thing, and where they see it being done from day to day, compliance is likely not to be an issue. Where there's a clear lack of communication and poor decision making at the top, morale plummets and reputation will undoubtedly suffer. Where does...