THE IMPACT OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN THE QUALITY OF MANAGEMENT: An approach to the evaluation of a Board of Directors

摘要

Corporate Governance is presently being recognized as a key factor in the long-term success of Companies around the world. Good Governance implies the need to establish and operate within a framework of accepted core values. In this sense, best practices have been established in various International projects (Ref: 2, 4 and 5). We have developed a system through which a Board of Directors can be evaluated and its performance measured against these best practices. We use a matrix where key attributes are evaluated and the results are expressed in a simple, numerical way. The evaluation process not only provides the status of Governance at a certain moment in time but also serves as the basis of information for the necessary improvement plans. The process we propose also constitutes an excellent feedback mechanism as the plans are implemented and measured. The matrix, being a graphical and clear representation of the board situation, also represents an excellent management communication tool. In this paper we describe the key elements used in the construction of the matrix, as well as of its numerical evaluation process.