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

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

• Used

  Paperback
  1995

  $3.23

  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
  1994

  $5.76

  This study describes in turn the systems that operate in five leading industrial countries - Germany, Japan, France, the USA and the UK. It establishes two basic principles of good corporate governance and shows how they are applied in each country - indicating where methods vary and how most countries fall short of the ideal. The book concludes by highlighting the UK's strengths and weaknesses, and calls for a thorough overhaul of policy.