Corporate Governance
Chapter Eleven
© 2006 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
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Strategic
Inputs
The Strategic Management
Process
Chapter 4
Internal
Environment
Strat. Intent
Strat. Mission
Strategy Formulation
Chapter 5
Bus. - Level
Strategy
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Competitive Corp. - Level
Dynamics
Strategy
Chapter 9
Chapter 8
Acquisitions & International
Strategy
Restructuring
Strategic
Outcomes
Strategic Actions
Chapter 3
External
Environment
Chapter 2
Above Average
Returns
Chapter 10
Cooperative
Strategies
Chapter 1
Strategic
Competitiveness
The Strategic
.
Management
Process
.
Strategy Implementation
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Corporate
Structure
Governance
& Control
Chapter 13 Chapter 14
Strategic Entrepreneurship
Leadership & Innovation
Feedback
© 2006 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
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Corporate Governance
Knowledge objectives:
1.
Define corporate governance & explain why it is used
to monitor & control managers’ strategic decisions.
2.
Explain how ownership came to be separated from
managerial control in the modern corporation.
3.
Define an agency relationship & managerial
opportunism & describe their strategic implications.
4.
Explain how three internal governance mechanisms –
ownership concentration, the board of directors and
executive compensation – are used to monitor &
control managerial decisions.
© 2006 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
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Corporate Governance
Knowledge objectives cont’d…
5.
Discuss trends among the three types of compensation
executives receive and their effects on strategic
decisions.
6.
Describe how the external corporate governance
mechanism – the market for corporate control - acts as
a restraint on top level managers strategic decisions.
7.
Discuss the use of corporate governance in
international settings, in particular in Germany &
Japan.
8.
Describe how corporate governance fosters ethical
strategic decisions & the importance of such
behaviours on the part of top-level executives.
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Corporate Governance
Corporate Governance is a relationship among stakeholders
that is used to determine and control the strategic direction &
performance of organizations.
Concerned with identifying ways to ensure that strategic
decisions are made effectively.
Used in corporations to establish order between the firm’s
owners and its top-level managers.
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Ten most admired & respected corporations in Canada
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Internal Governance Mechanisms
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Separation of Ownership & Managerial Control
Basis of the modern corporation
Shareholders purchase stock, becoming
Residual Claimants
Shareholders reduce risk efficiently
by holding diversified portfolios.
Professional managers contract to provide
decision-making.
Modern public corporation form leads to efficient
specialization of tasks.
Risk bearing by shareholders.
Strategy development and decision-making
by managers.
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Agency Theory
An agency relationship exists when:
Shareholder
s
(Principals)
Firm Owners
Agency
Relationship
Hire
Managers
(Agents)
Decision
Makers
Risk Bearing Specialist
(Principal)
Managerial DecisionMaking Specialist
(Agent)
which creates
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Agency Theory
The Agency problem occurs when:
The desires or goals of the principal & agent conflict
and it is difficult or expensive for the principal to verify
that the agent has behaved appropriately.
Example: Over - diversification: Greater product
diversification leads to lower management
employment risk & greater compensation.
Solution: Principals engage in incentive-based
performance contracts, monitoring mechanisms
like the board of directors & enforcement
mechanisms like managerial labour market to
mitigate agency problems.
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Product Diversification as an example of an
Agency Problem
• Diversification usually increases the size of the
firm – therefore complexity and an opportunity
for top executives to increase their
compensation.
• Diversification usually reduces top executives’
employment risk.
• Top executives have control over free cash flow
and may invest in in products not associated
with the firm’s current lines of business.
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Risk
Manager & Shareholder Risk & Diversification
Managerial
(Employment)
Risk Profile
M
Shareholder
(Business)
Risk Profile
S
Dominant
Business
A
Related
Constrained
Related B
Linked
Unrelated
Businesses
Level of Diversification
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Agency Costs & Governance Mechanisms
• Managerial interests may prevail when governance
mechanisms are weak.
• If the board of directors control managerial
autonomy, the firm’s strategies should better reflect
the interests of the shareholders.
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Governance Mechanisms
Ownership Concentration
-
Large block shareholders have a strong incentive to
monitor management closely.
In Canada such shareholders account for 65% to 70% of
publicly traded stocks (59% in the U.S.)
- Their large stakes make it worth their while to spend time,
effort & expense to monitor closely.
-
Institutional owners are financial institutions such as
stock mutual funds and pension funds that control largeblock shareholder positions.
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Governance Mechanisms
Boards of Directors
-
-
Formally monitor & control the firm’s toplevel executives.
Set compensation of CEO & decide when to
replace the CEO.
May lack contact with day to day operations.
Insiders
A firm’s CEO & other top-level managers
Related
Outsiders
Individuals not involved with a firm’s day-today operations, but who have a relationship
with the company
Outsiders
Individuals independent of a firm’s day-today operations and other relationships
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Accountability of Board Members
• Increased diversity amongst board members.
• The strengthening of internal management &
accounting control systems.
• The establishment & consistent use of formal
processes to evaluate board’s performance.
• Directors are being required to own significant
equity stakes as a prerequisite to holding a
board seat.
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Executive Compensation
Executive compensation: A governance
mechanism aligning the interests of managers
& owners through salaries, bonuses and long
term incentives such as stock options.
Stock options: A mechanism which links the
executive’s performance to the performance of
the company.
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Table 11.4
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Table 11.5
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Market for Corporate Control
An external governance mechanism that becomes
active when a firms internal controls fail which is
triggered by a firm’s poor performance, relative
to industry competition.
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A Basic List of Management Defence Tactics
Increase the costs of mounting a takeover and can
entrench current management.
Golden Parachute
Raises the cost of making changes at a take-over target due
to the need to pay fired executives large severance packages.
Greenmail
Where company money is used to repurchase stock from
a corporate raider to avoid takeover.
Poison Pill
When the takeover target does something to make itself
unpalatable to the suitor (e.g. assume a large amount of
debt and then issue dividends with the money).
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Governance Mechanism & Ethical Behaviour
• Shareholders are recognized as a company’s most
significant stakeholders.
• The minimum interests or needs of all stakeholders must
be recognized through the firms actions.
• A firm’s strategic competitiveness is enhanced when its
governance mechanisms take into consideration the
interests of all stakeholders.
• Only when the proper corporate governance is exercised
can strategies be formulated & implemented that will
help the firm achieve strategic competitiveness & earn
above average returns.
© 2006 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
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