Characteristics of the Board of Directors of an effectual corporation
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A Successful corporation has a board of directors that possesses desired characteristics, which usually lead to effective corporate governance. These characteristics include the board composition, which refers to getting the correct mix of expertise and the role of the board in strategic planning.
Concerning the board’s composition, diversity in skills, expertise, and knowledge is a fundamental requirement because modern corporations experience a broad mix of challenges that diverge from the skillset that the pioneer directors have. The initial board members tend to have similar skillsets by virtual of being close to the corporation and working in the same company. For instance, an engineering company may have all the initial board members being engineers. However, since an engineering firm may face challenges like cybersecurity, which its board must address, some of its members must have skills in information technology to handle cybersecurity issues (García and Herrero, 2018).
Regarding the role of the board of directors in strategic planning, a successful corporation must be in control of strategic planning processes. While it is the responsibility of managers to run the corporation and propose strategies, it is the fundamental duty of the board of directors to blossom and rubber-stamp proposed strategic plans. The board of directors thus offers the leadership necessary in developing and executing strategic plans. This task involves overseeing strategic plans and providing capital to support the implementation of the strategy. The board must also monitor the growth of an idea and outcomes and make adjustments where necessary. That implies that in today's corporations, a fruitful board of directors must focus on the firm's strategies during each board meeting. That helps the board to monitor the progress and assess market competition as well as technological advancement in a fast dynamic world as opposed to the historical approach where boards reviewed strategies once a year at an off-site retreat (Bezemer, Frans, Huse, Pugliese, Volberda, and Zattoni, 2009).