It matters to all of us that companies should be governed effectively. The prosperity of many of those associated with the company - whether directly as managers and employers, or indirectly as shareholders, suppliers, and customers - depends on it. In a broader context how companies run is a significant factor in the competitiveness of national economies as studies of Japanese management, for example, show
The debate over corporate governance, or how companies are controlled, has flourished vigorously for several years in the U.S. and has now spread to the U.K. This book collects papers by leading academics, bankers, and consultants which discuss major issues in corporate governance in the U.K., Germany, and Japan. It examines the role of shareholders, company boards, and managers under a market-based system as exists in the U.K. and the U.S. in comparison with the insider system found in Japan and, to a lesser extent, Germany. The issue of the effectiveness of the British system and how it might be made more efficient through increasing the accountability of company boards to shareholders, both directly and via the capital market, is extensively discussed.