Аспирантура
Кафедра английского языка на факультете менеджмента
Вступительный экзамен по английскому языку
( Образцы экзаменационных заданий)
I. Using a dictionary prepare a written translation of the text (времявыполнения 45 минут)
The (Limited) Role of the Board
By Michael Goold
LongRange Planing, June 2003
The Practical Limits on the Board's Role
The limits on the tasks that boards can usefully take up are set by the time, attention and depth of knowledge that board members have available. In multibusiness companies, even full-time executives in the corporate headquarters know how difficult it is to intervene productively in the affairs of business units for which they are ultimately responsible: given the range of business that they oversee, they have to base their interventions on much less detailed knowledge of the businesses than the directly responsible business unit managers. As a result, well-intentioned and capable corporate managers frequently end up by destroying, not creating, value through their interventions. At Ashridge Strategic Management Centre, we refer to this phenomenon as the "10% versus 100% paradox." Why should the corporate managers in 10% or less of their time be able to improve on the decisions of competent business unit managers who are devoting 100% of their time and energy to the business in question? The 10% versus 100% paradox does not argue that value-added corporate interventions are never possible, but it does show that they will be comparatively rare, and will only occur if corporate managers concentrate on issues where they can genuinely expect to contribute something that business managers lack or overlook.
The 10% versus 100% paradox applies much more forcefully to the board than to the corporate-level executive management. Most non-executive board members spend little more than a day or so a month (perhaps less) on their board duties. In particular in large, complex, multibusiness companies, this allows only the most cursory familiarity with the range of important issues and decisions facing the company and its businesses. Even when non-executive board members areexperienced, wise and hard-working, executive managers should be far better placed to take most decisions than the board. Providing induction programmes for new non-executive directors, ensuring that board meetings take place at least eight times a year, and allowing time for periodic more extended discussions of selected strategic issues may all help to make non-executive board members less ill-informed. But such measures will not fundamentally alter the fact that executive managers will always have far more time for their duties and knowledge about the company than non-executive board members. In these circumstances, strong interventions by the board to modify or overturn executive management decisions are liable to be damaging, not helpful. As Pope observed nearly three hundred years ago, "a little learning is a dangerous thing."
II. Scan and translate the text (Времяподготовки – 2 минуты)
Possible Roles for the Board
Given these limitations, how should we assess the most commonly advocated strategic responsibilities and roles for the board?
a)Reviewing Business-Level Strategies
In multibusiness groups, it will very seldom make sense for the board to delve into the strategies and operations of individual businesses in the company. Primary responsibility for these decisions rests with business unit management, and most large companies have processes for reviewing and agreeing business unit plans, in which the corporate management challenges and contributes to the proposals of the businesses. With competent and committed management teams in the businesses and at the corporate centre, there should be little that the board can add. And there is a real risk that the board will slow decisions down and, worse, push for inappropriate changes in them. The board should, in general, not interfere with business unit decisions.
b)Reviewing the Corporate-Level Strategy
In multibusiness companies, a distinction needs to be made between business-level strategy and corporate-level strategy. Business-level strategy is about how eachbusiness unit will develop competitive advantage and attain lasting success in its chosen products, services and markets. Corporate-level strategy should be about how the corporate parent will add value to the businesses in the group and - given this - what choices to make about businesses to enter or exit. As such, it is a basically different concern from business-level strategy.