Boards of directors are at the apex of organisational decision-making and so are central in ensuring effective corporate governance. But boards are under increasing scrutiny due to the continuing prevalence of scandals and failures. Boards have been viewed as set up to fail because the demands placed upon them cannot effectively be delivered. In this Element, I examine this tension and look at the board as a working group, one which has an input, a process and an output. Through looking at the board as a group, the dynamics of how boards, and the potential for effective and ineffective operation, are highlighted. I conclude with outlining how the future of board dynamics may evolve.

This is an up-to-date survey of human resource strategies followed by major corporations. A team of researchers from the London Business School offer their assessment of current developments and policies. They cover such issues as different styles of HRM (`hard' and `soft'); performance management; career development; organizational culture; and the role of HR within the overall corporate strategy. The book features `leading edge' companies such as BP, Hewlett Packard, Glaxo, BT, Citibank, Kraft Jacob Suchard. Ideal for students and managers wanting to get to grips with current trends, and who want to separate the rhetoric from the reality.

This is an up to date survey of human resource strategies followed by major corporations. A team of researchers from the London Business School offer their assessment of current developments and policies. They cover such issues as different styles of HRM (`hard' and `soft'); performance management; career development; organizational culture; and the role of HR within the overall corporate strategy. The book features `leading edge' companies such as BP, Hewlett Packard, Glaxo, BT, Citibank, Kraft Jacob Suchard. Ideal for students and managers wanting to get to grips with current trends, and who want to separate the rhetoric from the reality.

The first detailed analysis of the internal working and the external relationships of the boards of Britain's leading companies. Responding to calls for greater scrutiny of boards of directors, this book presents an in-depth examination of directors of UK organizations, drawing on the accounts of directors themselves as to their roles, influence, and the potential and limits to their power, finding boards to be important mechanisms in maintaining the strategic framework of the organization.

The first detailed analysis of the internal working and the external relationships of the boards of Britain's leading companies. Responding to calls for greater scrutiny of boards of directors this book presents an in-depth examination of directors of UK organizations, drawing on the accounts of directors themselves as to their roles, influence, and the potential and limits to their power, finding boards to be important mechanisms in maintaining the strategic framework of the organization.