Summary – This case looks a decision that George Hausman, the co-founder and CEO of Refresh Organics (RO), makes regarding creating a board of directors. RO is a midsize, steadily growing, privately owned company which is a distributor of organic produce. RO has never had a formal board of directors, but Hausman had several close business advisors who he consulted with regularly and referred to as “the kitchen cabinet.” Hausman considered putting together a true board of directors or if simply making an advisory council would be better suited for the needs of RO. Ultimately, Hausman decided to form a board of directors of ten members, including himself and three out of four members of “the kitchen cabinet,” replacing his wife, an …show more content…
Finally, Hausman needs to evaluate the cost. Since members of a board of directors have a great responsibility for the company, they are compensated accordingly, whereas members of an advisory board are not compensated or compensated to a lesser degree. Members Characteristics – Overall, Hausman did a good job on assembling his board of directors. When determining who will make a good board member there are several things to look for. First a good board has an expert in legal matters, accounting, marketing, human resources, and finance. The only expert missing from RO’s board is a human resources expert. Next it is important to ensure that all board members will be able to regularly attend meetings. While most board members were local, several were not, and it was an area RO could improve. Also for outside members of the board, it is important to have knowledge of the industry and/or target market. With the appointment of the EVP of a large health snack company, Hausman made a good appointment (although location is an issue), but the knowledge that the CEO of the tech company may bring to the table may not be valuable. Finally, it is important to have complimentary personality traits. Overall, the RO’s board of directors is a strong, valuable board. Why join a Board of Directors – There are many reasons to join a board of directors beyond the
Bob did a really good job in selecting the outside talent to represent on the advisory board. Bob knew that the family owned businesses had their own challenges so he chose Barry Ready, President of Readymade Office Systems, to join the Board because of the similarities between the two businesses. Bob also brought in functional experts Dick Crandall (finance) and Jim Carter (sales and marketing). Later, Bob added Peggy Thomas to bring diversity to the board and Mark Anderson, COO of Portland Timber, because of his real estate expertise.
Although each member has specific role, they all are strategically aligned. The CEO role is to manage the entire company. With this function, the CEO is much involved in succession planning for the company. The board of director’s role is assist with any decision making for the company. Mlot and Sorensen (2013) mentions that five board members provide practical advice to HR organizations regarding succession planning. Human resource role is recruiting and developing talent. With this function, human resource plays a critical role in selecting and developing talent for succession
The aggressive board challenges by Biglari have resulted in defensive moves by the current directors. Biglari has been vocal in his attempt to leverage his 10% stake in the company and desire to join the board of directors. In reaction to this move the board of directors has appointed additional like-minded directors to help move the company forward into an
This company in recent past was floundering under a leadership and management style that had become bloated and unproductive. The board of directors had swelled to more than 50 members with no clear lines of communication between the board, the CEO, and management. This created a void as directives and tasks became poorly understood and remained unfinished. The goals of
In summary, effective and well-functioning boards are designed consciously by employing High-Impact Governing strategies that counteract the issues associated with faulty governing models. Foundationally, a mission statement provides a basis for understanding the board’s purpose, function, and objectives. If left to its own devices, these boards tend to underperform, remain in a state of stagnation, and have a counter-productive partnership with the COE, hence Eadie’s methods strengthen governance which encourages a sense of purpose, functionality, and camaraderie.
The Board of Directors was proposed due to the lack of stability the faction was experiencing at the time. Vanille A
The Board of Directors consisted primarily of Gerry Wiegert, John Pope, and Barry Rosengrant. Gerry was the President, so it was typical for him to be a part of the board. John Pope was a financial consultant; therefore, he was adequate to be the financially literate person on the board. Barry was in real estate, but he was a consultant of Vector Car which gave him some knowledge of the company. Dan Harnett and George Fencl were also a part of the board for some point of time; they also had adequate knowledge to be capable additions to the board with their knowledge of law and
My goal for the first part of the interview was to find out how the board is structured and how it works together to accomplish goals. I learned that the board currently has 16 members, one less than usual because they have left an open space to be filled by one of the three prospects they have been hoping to recruit over the last year. Their bylaws allow them to make such strategic adjustments, if necessary. According to readings and lectures from class, a 16-member board is average sized; however, my interview with Roger suggests that other boards are significantly larger, at least the ones that he has served on in the health and welfare sector. Additionally, a board of 16 can feel very small when many of the members do not have
The results found in this study suggest that some of the relationships found during the literature review can be confirmed. For example, the literature states that smaller boards of directors reduce the coordination problems that lead to improved firm performance relative to larger boards of directors (Kini et al, 1995; Yermack, 1996; Eisenberg et al, 1998). This study found significant empirical evidence with the sample of FTSE 100 companies that this is the case which supports these findings. It should be noted, that Haleblian and Finkelstein (1993) suggested sensibly that boards of directors that are too small can also be hampered in their ability to monitor management particularly in complex firms such as those
All of this is very unhealthy for the Board, directors, and the company. Best practices require the Board to provide independent assessment and
Joshua Kennon (2007), stated that “The board of directors is the highest governing authority within the management structure at any publicly traded company and is usually made up of the directors who are elected for a specific number of years by the shareholders”. According to Wikipedia,” A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization”.
A director’s opinions are usually tied to the personality, background and values of the board of directors. These opinions are useful in creating a road map for change.
This was caused by the lack of economic expertise in the board and this is what I bring with me. The knowledge to be able to cope with the changes in prices of items in the economy and turn profits out of it.
Yermack, 1996). This article argues against the findings of Jensen (1993) and Lipton and Lorsch (1992), which stated that larger boards have a negative effect on firm value; in fact the study suggests that having a large diverse board enables the firm to have more experience and expertise to contribute to firm value and boost firm performance.
Therefore, the Board is neither directly accountable to any other body, nor is it under obligation to report to any other authority for its activities and performance. This existing hierarchy creates problem in delegating the duties for the Managing Director, CEO of Biman.