Keeping Good Company: A Study of Corporate Governance in Five Countries

by J.P.Charkham (Author), Lord Kingsdown (Introduction)

• Used

  Paperback
  1995

  $7.13

  It matters to all of us that companies should be governed effectively. The prosperity of many of those associated with the company - whether directly as managers and employers, or indirectly as shareholders, suppliers, and customers - depends on it. In a broader context, how companies are run is a significant factor in the competitiveness of national economies as studies of Japanese management, for example, show. In this fiercely competitive world, we cannot judge our own system of corporate governance in isolation; it must bear comparison with the best. This book aims to do just that. In turn, the author describes the system of corporate governance - both the business environment and the particular structures of company organization - in five major industrial countries: Germany, Japan, France, the USA, and the UK. The book establishes two basic principles of good corporate governance: first, that management must have the freedom to drive the enterprise forward; and secondly that it must exercise this freedom within a framework of effective accountability. Charkham shows how these principles are applied in each country - indicating where methods vary, and that most countries fall short of the ideal. In addition, the author highlights the UK's strengths and weaknesses and calls for a thorough overhaul of current theory and practice.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2005

  $5.81

  How should companies be organized? To whom should boards of directors be responsible - shareholders, or a wider group of stakeholders? In this fiercely competitive world we cannot judge our own system of corporate governance in isolation; it must bear comparison with the best. The second edition of this acclaimed and well-established book aims to do just that. Since publication of the first edition interest in corporate governance has greatly increased, codes have proliferated, and principles laid down nationally and internationally. In Keeping Better Company, the author describes developments in the system of corporate governance - both the business environment and the particular structures of company organization - in five major industrial countries: Germany, Japan, France, the USA, and the UK. This second edition is fully revised, updated and expanded, and includes a new conclusion looking at a number of ongoing issues in corporate governance, and an appendix discussing the role of international organizations.