Internal Board Research Articles

The role of the board in shaping foundations’ strategy: an empirical study

This paper investigates the relationships of the choice of philanthropic strategy with board capital (diversity and networks), board activities (board processes, internal board committees, and board effectiveness), and CEO leadership. Using a sample of 110 Italian foundations, the research shows that board processes have the strongest positive association with an evolved strategic approach to philanthropic institutional grant-giving, while board diversity and strong CEO leadership are associated with the strategic approach only under certain conditions. In particular, good governance processes (e.g., training the board, self-evaluation of trustees, setting the stage for effective board and committee meetings, implementing control software, and steering meetings to improve the board’s analysis) are positively associated with evolved strategic approaches to philanthropy (e.g., signaling other funders for the best grantees, improving the performance of grant recipients, and advancing selected social fields’ state of knowledge and practice).

Systemic Risk, Corporate Governance and Regulation of Banks Across Emerging Countries

This paper investigates the impact of governance and regulation on systemic risk across a sample of banks from 10 Emerging CEE countries during 2005-2012. Overall, our results show that tight internal risk management mechanisms and shareholder-friendly supervisory boards are associated with higher contribution of banks to systemic risk. Additionally, external governance - regulatory and supervisory environment in banks’ host and home countries - significantly affects the impact of corporate governance on systemic risk.

The sound of silence: evolution of the object in the relationship of parents of two twins

This paper derives from a longer dissertation submitted for an MA in Psychoanalytic Observational Studies. Aspects of thinking about silence and significant contributions to the psychoanalytic and psychological research history are discussed in depth as a prologue to the discussion of a case in which the parents of twins were seen by the author in an attempt to encourage more listening as well as talking between the father and mother and with their children. Silence is seen as a significant internal sounding board through which the individual may listen to what others say, to himself, and to enable the birth to new thoughts. The review in depth of the literature on silence is applied to therapeutic work undertaken by the author with a couple one of whose twins was in psychotherapy. The author connects the significance of the absence of silence and the absence of toleration of silence in the couple with absence of the experience of being taken in, contained, and of the experience of being heard and listened to by internal parents.

Ineffective corporate governance: busyness of internal board monitoring committees

We examine whether the voluntary formation of a Risk Committee (RC) compromises the effectiveness of other monitoring duties carried out by the board members. We argue that adding more monitoring committees increases the board’s internal busyness, which reduces the effectiveness of monitoring by the Audit Committee (AC). Using a sample of financial firms over the period 2007 to 2011 from the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC), we find that voluntarily adopting a risk committee impairs the effectiveness of the audit committee, which in turn reduces financial reporting quality. Our findings suggest that multiple layers of monitoring capacity viz-a-viz the existence of both an audit and risk committee may weaken the quality of monitoring provided by the audit committee

Corporate governance in the energy sector

India adopted the policy of liberalization and privatization in early 1990s. The policy added stimulus to the Indian business environment. In order to achieve sustainable growth, dynamic functioning of the energy sector is necessary. A sound corporate governance mechanism is a proficient indicator for measuring efficient functioning of the sector. This paper attempts to assess the intricacies of the corporate governance mechanism within the sector in terms of its internal board structure, strategies of corporate functioning along with its financial performance.

Mechanical Performance of Cementitious Composites Reinforced with Pultruded Jute/Polymeric Matrix Fabric

Substantial progress on developing fiber reinforced cement-based composites has been made recently. Fiber Cement Sheets (FCS) are particularly suitable for the use behind tiling in wet areas, considerable use as backer boards for counter tops, wet area internal lining boards. The present work investigates the pultrusion of a jute fabrics reinforced by Polymeric matrix material (Concresive 1315 M) which has excellent resistance to most aqueous substances and liquids, including sea water, brackish water, effluent and raw sewage, acids of low concentration, alkalis, oils (mineral and organic), thus protects the jute fabrics improving durability of fiber cement sheets (FCS). Enhance the adhesion between the natural fibers and cementation composite results in the improving of composite’s strength and toughness as well as the flexure strength and bending stiffness. In this study, the influence of a fabric treatment of the textiles to reinforce cement materials as well as fabric structure and the resin properties has been investigated. For the hybrid jute fabric reinforced cementitious composites, the integrated performance, mechanical properties, particularly bending stiffness and cracking response, were evidently influenced by the fabric structure and the resin properties. The mechanical properties were evaluated by performing 4-points bending as well as tensile tests. Pultrusion jute reinforced Polymeric matrix material increases the tensile strength, Modulus of elasticity, and the Modulus of rigidity and reduces the breaking elongation. Flexural strength of fiber cement sheets (FCS) has been significantly improved using pultrusion of the Jute/Polymeric Matrix Fabric. It is observed that bonding between cement and jute fabric after pultrusion is excellent and no sign of delamination is noted. These changes in the fabric properties made it more suitable to be used in the production of the cementitious thin sheets.

Consideration of Internal Board Camera Optics for Triaxial Testing Applications

Abstract The application of small board cameras, located within a triaxial cell to determine radial and axial strain, was investigated. Specifically, charge-coupled device (CCD) sensors were utilized in conjunction with precision pinhole apertures to capture images from within the triaxial cell. The cameras were fully immersed in electronics-grade silicone oil and were able to withstand cell pressures that are common to triaxial testing (up to 1034 kPa (150 psi)). The small size of the cameras allowed for implementation within the triaxial cell, thereby avoiding: (1) the cumbersome corrections that are required to account for refraction at the confining fluid–cell wall–air interfaces and magnification due to cell wall curvature, and (2) the amount of space required for outside-of-the-cell monitoring systems that utilize cameras. The final design of the cameras was based on an iterative testing process in which various types of small board cameras, lenses, and finally pinhole apertures were investigated. The advantages of the lensless pinhole aperture camera design included: (1) lack of optical aberrations, such as those encountered in traditional lensed camera systems, (2) practically infinite depth of field, allowing for sharp, close-up images, and (3) wide-angle field of view without the distortions that are associated with the use of wide-angle lenses. As discussed herein, the pinhole cameras were optimized for optical resolution and light entry to minimize the effect of diffraction patterns that are commonly associated with pinhole apertures. The resolution of the cameras was determined to be sufficient for the potential application of the cameras (volume measurements). The instrumentation presented herein provides a novel alternative to the state-of-the-art outside-of-the-cell photogrammetric instrumentation that is currently employed to monitor soil specimens during triaxial tests.

Endobronchial Treatment of Bronchopleural Fistulas by Using Intrabronchial Valve System: A Case Series

Air leaks, alveolopleural or bronchopleural fistulas, either spontaneous, iatrogenic, or postsurgical, can be difficult to treat, and if prolonged in spite of proper chest tube thoracostomy they may require surgical or chemical pleurodesis with variable success. Intrabronchial valve (IBV) treatment is minimally invasive and has a potential to shorten the duration of air leaks in well-selected patients with ongoing air leaks. The study included 19 patients with prolonged air leaks treated with IBVs spiration, with a total of 71 valves placed at a tertiary university hospital. Internal Board Review approval was obtained to use IBVs for off-label indication. IBVs were placed in desired airways with 100% accuracy in patients with air leaks without complications, including self-migration. All 19 patients with air leaks were initially treated with chest tube thoracostomy and in addition chemical pleurodesis in 2 and blood patch in a patient without success. After IBV placement, all patients but one with air leak had successful resolution of the air leak and removal of chest tube in a median of 3 days (range: 2-45 days). In conclusion, the use of IBVs for prolonged air leaks in various etiologies is effective and safe.

ABR Core Examination Preparation: Results of a Survey of Fourth-Year Radiology Residents Who Took the 2013 Examination

A survey was administered to fourth-year radiology residents after receiving their results from the first American Board of Radiology (ABR) Core examination in 2013. The purpose was to gather information regarding resources and study strategies to share with program directors and future resident classes. An online survey was distributed to examinees nationwide. The survey included free-response and multiple choice questions that covered examination results, perceived value of enumerated study resources, case-based and didactic teaching conferences, board reviews, study materials for noninterpretive skills, multidisciplinary conference attendance, and free-form comments. Two hundred sixty-six of 1186 residents who took the Core examination responded to the survey. Some resources demonstrated a significant difference in perceived value between residents who passed the examination and residents who failed, including internal board reviews (1.10, P<.01), daily didactic conferences (1.51, P<.01), and daily case conferences (1.43, P<.01). Residents who passed reported that conferences and review sessions at their institutions were modified with multiple choice questions, audience response, and integration of clinical physics and patient safety topics compared to residents who failed. Radiology residents and residency programs have adapted their preparations for the ABR Core examination in a variety of ways. Certain practices and study tools, including daily conferences and internal board reviews, had greater perceived value by residents who passed the examination than by residents who failed. This survey provides insights that can be used to assess and modify current preparation strategies for the ABR Core examination.

Internal Control and Maturity of Debt

The managerial agency issue between manager and investors can be controlled by debtholders via short term debt as it provides an external control on managers via frequent renegotiation of the debt contract. Alternatively, increased board independence can mitigate the managerial agency problem by establishing a stronger and effective internal monitoring mechanism of managers. So, strong corporate governance can substitute the maturity structure of debt, or vice versa, in terms of managerial control. In this paper, we investigate the effect of internal board monitoring on firms’ debt maturity structure. We exogenously identify internal monitoring via board independence and estimate its real impact on maturity using Sarbanes – Oxley Act of 2002 and the Securities and Exchange Commission regulations as exogenous shocks to board structure in a natural experiment setting. Supporting the managerial agency theory, our findings indicate that firms have debt with longer maturity as board independence increases and internal monitoring becomes stronger. Our original results stay unchanged after implementing placebo tests and controlling for the CEO ownership, bond ratings and CEO duality. We also provide more insight into this relation by considering different aspects of debt issuance, organizational structure and as well as the times with financial crises. Our findings stay robust focusing only on the new debt issuance while the results are even stronger for conglomerate firms. We find the relation between internal monitoring and debt maturity becomes less clear during times of financial instability.

Contractual mutual fund governance: the case of China

Unlike the corporate funds in the US, mutual funds in many countries such as China and Germany operate under a different governance arrangement and are thus called “contractual funds.” The governance structure of contractual funds allows shareholders of fund management companies, rather than the fund investors, to be responsible for asset management decisions. Therefore, a fund’s governance attributes may be especially important in driving its performance. Using a comprehensive governance data covering Chinese mutual funds, this paper finds that the governance and organizational structures of Chinese fund management companies significantly influence the performance of their affiliated funds. In particular, while a larger stake from the top1 shareholder significantly improves the performance of affiliated funds, the presence of multiple largest shareholders reduces their performance. Moreover, fund management companies that offer fewer fund products and charge higher management fees tend to perform better. Finally, more institutional holding in a fund appears to function as an external supervisory surrogate for internal board governance to help improve fund performance.

Impact of Corporate Governance on the Performance of Commercial Banks in Zimbabwe

The background of corporate governance dates back to the 19th Century when state corporation laws enhanced the rights of corporate boards without unanimous consent of shareholders. The concept propounds that corporation should have a good board structure in order to enhance performance. It is firmly rooted on the assumption that good corporate governance practices enhance corporate performance. However, there is no consensus on the impact of corporate governance on performance. The increasing role of the financial sector, on both economic development and poverty alleviation, has seen the concept being applied more on the financial sector than before; this has been further aggravated by world financial crisis, and its consequences. In this regard, Zimbabwe is no exception, during the period 2003-2009 the Zimbabwe witnessed unprecedented failure in the financial sector rooted from a number of issues; but chief among them has been cited as poor corporate governance practices. However, there have been mixed feelings on the extent to which bank performance can be attributed to corporate governance. The paper presents the findings of the study that was conducted to investigate the impact of corporate governance on the performance of commercial banks in Zimbabwe. Using data gathered from 2009-2012, for a sample of five commercial banks, it applies multi-regression model, to assess the causal relationship between corporate governance measures (board size, board composition, internal board committees and board diversity) and bank performance. The results indicate unidirectional causal relationship from corporate governance to bank performance. In addition, there a positive relationship between board composition, board diversity and commercial bank performance, although a negative relationship appears between board size, board committees and bank performance. Therefore, in order to improve performance in commercial banks good corporate governance practices must implemented, this includes improving board structures, disclosure, and fiduciary duties of directors. On the hand the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe should ensure or put in place robust supervisory and regulatory policies; the development and implementation of a national corporate governance code is long overdue. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n15p93

Corporate governance and IPO underpricing in a cross‐national sample: A multilevel knowledge‐based view

Prior studies of IPO underpricing, mostly using agency theory and single‐country samples, have generally fallen short. In this study, we employ the knowledge‐based view (KBV) to explore underpricing across 17 countries. We find that agency indicators are insignificant predictors, board of director knowledge limits underpricing, and external knowledge both substitutes for and complements internal board knowledge. This third finding suggests that future KBV studies should consider how internal and external knowledge states interact with each other. Our study offers new insights into the antecedents of underpricing and extends our understanding of comparative governance and the KBV of the firm. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Expanding a Canadian community health centre.

The current study's purpose is to examine, through a case study, a community health centre board's governance during an expansion period with particular attention to the organizational and internal board relations that contribute to or inhibit expansion. All board members on the slate during the expansion were invited to participate in one semi-structured interview. Administrative data (board documentation and correspondence) were also used to inform the study. Discourse analysis was used to analyze the data. While board members agreed with the expansion they acknowledge that the expansion process should be examined. Board members identified missing board skill sets, comfort with governance and low organizational understanding as personal barriers to an enhanced process. External barriers included: absent decision support tools; documentation and information availability and historical decision making processes. Half the board members agreed to participate in the interviews. Of those declining, 30 percent cited difficulties during the expansion period as their rationale for withdrawing. Findings add to: the limited publications regarding primary healthcare service expansion; and understanding expansion and volunteer board members' roles and their governance process during this time.

Optimal Corporate Governance in the Presence of an Activist Investor

We provide a model of governance in which a board arbitrates between an activist investor and a manager facing reputational concerns. The optimal level of internal board governance depends on both the severity of the agency conflict and the strength of external governance. Internal governance creates a certification effect, so greater intervention by the board can lead to worse managerial behavior. Internal and external governance are substitutes when external governance is weak (the board commits to an interventionist policy to induce participation from the activist) and complements when external governance is strong (the board relies to a greater extent on the activist's information). The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Society for Financial Studies. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com., Oxford University Press.

Design Research of Car Engine Hood of Robot Rimming Fixture

Connection of internal and external board of automobile body‘s door cover is usually stamped by traditional mold and pressing machine, Because outer edge outline should be changed according to the change of car body outline and edge angles along the outline are also different, it’s very difficult to edge the area with sharp edge transition and too big edge angle. Robot edge fixture, the new design technology of internal and external board connection, is composed of seven parts, including edge mold, platform, lifting mechanism, testing institution, clamping unit, logic gas and electric control system, which overcomes shortcomings of traditional stamping edge mold, such as covering much area, costing high and having poor flexibility, shortens development cycle and of automobile and enhances the competitiveness of products.

Board Social Capital and Excess CEO Compensation

How do boards rein in excess CEO pay, i.e., compensation above that of industry peers? By introducing a social capital view of CEO compensation, we suggest that the board’s external and internal social capital are important yet often ignored concepts that may affect the board’s ability to keep excess CEO pay under control. Further, we bridge the board social capital research with sociopolitical factors in order to provide a more holistic theoretical rationale for excess CEO compensation. Specifically, we argue that external and internal board social capital can have distinctive impacts on excess CEO compensation. In addition, the social capital effects on excess CEO pay are moderated by: (1) CEO power, which can regulate access to the corporate elite as well as shape internal governance norms, and (2) organizational complexity, which can increase board discretion but may also lead to information problems. We find support for the majority of our arguments in a longitudinal study of 1,983 publicly-held United States corporations listed on the Standard and Poor’s 1,500 index from 1999 to 2010.

External or Internal Board Evaluation: The Case of UK Companies

Corporate governance continues to be a subject of both interest and importance. For example, with recent corporate failures and the financial crisis, the issue of CEO performance evaluation has rec...

Corporate Governance Disclosure in the Annual Report: An Exploratory Study on Indonesian Islamic Banks

Due to their different characteristics, banks are expected to report the features of their corporate governance in the corporate report. This paper is aimed to explore disclosure on corporate governance mechanisms in annual reports of Islamic commercial banks in Indonesia. Corporate governance mechanisms addressed in this study include the Shariah Supervisory Board, the Board of Commissioners, the Board of Directors, board committees, internal control and external audit, and risk management. Employing a sample comprising seven Islamic commercial banks in Indonesia, the present study constructs the so-called Corporate Governance Disclosure Index (CGDI) to score the banks’ disclosure level. It is revealed that Bank Muamalat and Bank Syariah Mandiri, the county’s two largest and oldest Islamic commercial banks, score higher than their peers. Disclosure of the sample banks on some dimensions, such as board members and risk management, is found to be strong. On the other hand, disclosure on internal control and board committees tends to be weak. The result of this study may have some important implications for the enhancement of corporate governance disclosure of Islamic banks, thereby wider acceptance and enhanced reputation could be gained.

From the Billboard to the School Board

This case covers the period 1993 to 2003. It tells the story of the challenges the Fort Worth Independent School District board faced when the state accountability system revealed extremely poor student achievement and a stark achievement gap. To address the problem, the board hired a dynamic superintendent, Dr. Tom Tocco, who initiated aggressive instructional changes, particularly around reading instruction. Throughout this time, Tocco worked closely with Gary Manny, longtime president of the school board, to maintain district and community support. Manny’s death in March 2002 led to internal board turmoil and questions about the role of the board president and how board leadership should be selected.