From the web site for Management Quality : www.inutsikt.se

Corporate Governance: Hard facts about soft behaviors.

By Paul F. Kocourek, Christian Burger, Bill Birchard (strategy+business)

The subtitle of this article is "Seven steps to fixing what Sarbanes-Oxley can't"
The authors are warning for rigorously following a set of rules, rather than dealing with the fundamental problems. They show that legislation concerning the board and its participants would not have prevented recent scandals, and that there is no basis for belief that new rules under discussion would lead to better business performance. Their conclusions are based on a number of studies within the area.

These are their own recommendations:
1. Select the right directors
2. Train them continuously
3. Give them the right information
4. Balance the power of the CEO and directors
5. Nurture a culture of collegial questioning
6. Gain from directors an adequate commitment of time
7. Measure and improve

This set of recommendations is further elaborated in this well-written article. It is simple advice, but most boards can learn from them.

We hope that the present focus on governance (quality of boards) will lead to an increased interest in Management Quality at all levels of an organization.
(October, 2003)