Balancing act

Management should be efficient; board should provide dignity

The 19th century British essayist and businessman, Walter Bagehot had said of Britain’s governance: The prime minister should symbolise efficiency and is answerable to the people. Monarchy should impart dignity to that efficiency and is answerable to God. Borrowing the idea into the realm of corporate governance, the CEO should symbolise efficiency and is answerable to the board, while the board should provide dignity to the efficiency and is answerable to shareholders.
 
In my first column of this series (May 11), I described the escalating ways for independent directors (IDs) to be assertive with regard to their legal and