1/10/2006

Free Complete Toolkit for Boards

This virtual library designed by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD provides a bonanza of resources for board members, those contemplating serving on a board, or companies organizing or working with an existing board of directors, stating:

"Corporations, whether for-profit or nonprofit, require a governing Board of Directors. Governing Boards have certain legally required duties, including duties of care, loyalty and obedience... Some people believe in life stages of Boards, including that they 1) start out as "working" Boards where members focus on day-to-day matters in addition to strategic matters, 2) evolve to "policy" Boards where members focus mostly on strategic matters, and 3) eventually become large, institutionalized Boards that often have small executive committees and maybe many members some of which are "big names" to gain credibility with funders or investors.

Boards can have a broad range of "personalities." For example, Boards of large for-profit and nonprofit corporations might be very formal in nature with strong attention to Parliamentary procedures, highly proceduralized operations, etc. In contrast, Boards of small for-profit, family-owned corporations might be very informal in nature and comprised mostly of members of the family, rather than of independent members (members from outside of the family and/or corporation)...

Recent illegal activities, particularly in large, for-profit corporations, have brought much attention to the roles and responsibilities of Boards, especially to their degree of effective oversight ("oversight" as in ensuring strong, effective organizations), ethical operations and approach to compensating senior executives..."

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