Browsing by Author "Barratt, Ruth"

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    Chairman and chief executive officer (CEO): that sacred and secret relationship
    (Emerald, 2006) Kakabadse, Andrew P.; Kakabadse, Nada K.; Barratt, Ruth
    The attention given to corporate governance has engendered little inquiry into one critical aspect of boardroom dynamics – the Chairman/CEO relationship. The reasons for the lack of attention to the Chairman/CEO dyad are highlighted, as well as the board and organisational performance reasons for maintaining role separation or entering into duality. Due to the poverty of understanding the effect of the Chairman/CEO relationship, a qualitative study was undertaken from which four themes emerged – Chairman’s role and contribution, nature of the Chair/CEO relationship, impact of the Chair/CEO relationship on board effectiveness, and the attributes of an effective Chairman. It is concluded that formative context is a determining factor in the development of this fundamental relationship which, in turn, has a profound impact on boardroom effectiveness.
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    Corporate Social Responsibility in the Board Room: The Need for a Coherent Business Case.
    (2003) Barratt, Ruth; Korac-Kakabadse, Nada; Barratt, Mark
    Much has been made in recent years of the advantages to business of being a good corporate citizen; numerous studies now show a positive link between financial performance and ethical behavior. There is however little work which explores the role of the board and in particular how Non Executive or Outside Director (NEDs) affect corporate behavior. This study into the role and contribution of the Non Executive Director highlights an interesting dilemma; the majority of work in the boardroom is quantitative in nature. For many boardroom members especially those not working on a day to day basis within the organization, the very complexity of steering a large organization requires that data be presented in an easy to follow numerical format, and that a business case be established for individual projects. As a result of this NEDs are typically uncomfortable with the label CSR, which for them has connotations of simply “giving away profits”. Many NEDs in the study seemed to prefer the term “Corporate Responsibility” which for them implies a more reciprocal approach, whereby the organization establishes projects which then either directly or indirectly provide a straight forward return to the company for example; a company working in Africa establishes a number of HIV programs to ensure a healthy workforce, thereby lowering risk, and in doing so increases political support, raises worker moral and improves corporate reputation.
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    Role and contribution of the non-executive director : implications for corporate social responsibility in the boardroom
    (Cranfield University, 2005-06) Barratt, Ruth; Kakabadse, Andrew P.; Kakabadse, Nada K.
    This research examines the role and contribution of the Non Executive Director (NED) within the corporate board. The literature identifies the NED as a boundary spanner. Boundary spanners are believed to be essential to the fulfilment of the firm's corporate responsibility mandate. The research specifically examines the ability of the NED to influence corporate responsibility practices within the board, whilst balancing the divergent expectations of different constituents. Previous research examining the role of the NED has failed to take account of the context in which the role is performed. Therefore an interpretive framework is developed, to examine the individual subjective perceptions of the NED, from within the role. Through a qualitative interpretation of 25 in-depth interviews, with individual NEDs, the dynamic context of the boardroom emerged as a key moderator of the their ability to make a contribution. The boundary spanning role prescribed for the NED by some theorists emerged as problematic. The research suggests that despite NEDs' personal expectation that they should represent a range of constituents, within the boardroom their ability to fulfil this role is often limited by the presence of groupthink. NEDs appear to set aside their personal beliefs in order to maintain the status quo within the group. As a result of their unfulfilled role expectations many NEDs appear to experience role conflict. This research contributes to our understanding of the actual role of the NED within the corporate board, and specifically the NED's ability to perform a boundary spanning role. The research also informs business and society literature, by examining how boards currently deal with issues of corporate responsibility. Finally, the research contributes to both group and role theory, by developing current understanding of how the complex dynamics of the group affect the individual's ability to contribute.