The following is my top 10 governance stories of 2019. All of these companies or issues were discussed during my classes this year, and some also formed the basis of assessments and exam questions. This list highlights that Good Governance is never a given and is an issue for for-profit, non-profits and all industries. Governance … Continue reading
Latest Entries
Why employees object when their company gives to charity
The recent story where employees are protesting at their employer giving €15 million to a local church raises the issue of the role and purpose of corporate philanthropy (RTE 2019). Giving to charity is perceived as a moral good, required by many religions, and encouraged by tax policy in many countries. However, there is an … Continue reading
How many Directorships is too many?
Should an investor be impressed or concerned where a Director serves on multiple boards? Should an experienced executive accept an external board position? On how many boards is an experienced director able to competently serve? These questions all ask: does it matter how “busy” a director is? Although most governance guidance and corporate reports do … Continue reading
The Role and Importance of the Board Chairperson
The successful application by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement(ODCE) to the High Court for the appointment of inspectors to Independent News and Media Group (INM) included evidence on the actions of the then Chairperson of INM, Lesley Buckley (Cantillon, 2018), highlighting the important role of the board Chairperson. So what is the … Continue reading
A more effective Volunteer Board in Non-Profits – recommendations with illustrations from the Scouting Ireland Report June 2018
This month’s report reviewing the governance of Scouting Ireland (Turnhout, 2018) highlights several issues that non-profits and their volunteer boards frequently encounter. The following sections will highlight some of common challenges faced by non-profit boards which were also encountered by Scouting Ireland. This article is not a comprehensive review of Scouring Ireland or its governance, … Continue reading
What motivates a whistleblower?
There are many reasons why an employee chooses to expose wrongdoing in their organisation and culture change is required to make whistleblowing less of a taboo. This issue was addressed in my recent article on RTEs Brainstorm The article was informed by a range of research in this area including the following: European Data Protection … Continue reading
The Elf on the Shelf, Santa’s Whistleblowers
The Elf on the Shelf is a modern and increasingly popular Christmas tradition which began with a children’s book in the United States followed by a successful animated programme, features on NBC, the Tonight Show and even a float in Macy’s parade (Pinto & Nemorin 2015). According to the tradition, elves are assigned to homes … Continue reading
Directors accountability for failures in employment conditions and practices
Recent controversies about the alleged abuse of the positions of power by individuals in the arts and political world have received extensive media attention with associated demands for change (Clarke 2017; Mackin & Gallagher 2017; Staunton 2017). It is thus appropriate to consider, in general, the Directors and Boards responsibility to employees who experience harassment … Continue reading
Managerial Hegemony – an under-researched phenomena
Agency Theory is the dominant theory underpinning corporate governance. The theory arises from economic theory and states that the separation of management from control in firms creates agency issues due to the conflicts of interest between owners(principals) and managers(agents) who are assumed to pursue self-interest (Fama & Jensen 1983; Eisenhardt 1989). This relationship enables information … Continue reading
New EU Rules on disclosure of Board Diversity
New EU rules are requiring additional non-financial disclosures to be included in the annual reports of larger listed companies (European Union Regulations 2017). A Diversity Report is to be included in the corporate governance statements which will include information on the age, gender or educational and professional backgrounds of the board’s directors. In addition, the … Continue reading
