Assignment Details:

Case Study: CEO: power, accountability and transparency.

Source: White Paper on Corporate Governance and Leadership, 1st International Forum, Paris of The Council on Business and Society

The purpose of this assignment is to combine the theories of leadership presented in the first half of the course with concepts of power, politics, corporate social responsibility and governance presented during the second half of the course.

1: The case study details some bad behaviour from CEOs that leads them to being singled out as villains who steal from the company or shirk their responsibilities. Using ideas about ethics and good governance, explain how a board of governors might prevent such bad behaviour in the CEO?

2: The case study argues that the CEO is the focal point in a company’s governance – the ultimate decision maker responsible before all stakeholders. Explain, in detail and supported by theories from the module, how a high performing CEO should be leading by example.

3: The case study suggests that CEOs must leverage the loyalty of their employees and help them feel they belong. Examine how he might achieve that through some or all of the following concepts: organisational climate, organisational community, teamwork, diversity, flexibility, organisational culture and/or organisational change.