What is right in the corporation is not what is right in a man’s home or in his church. What is right in the corporation is what the guy above you wants from you. Robert Jackall, Moral Mazes

Changing the corporate mindset

Last year, German participation in management celebrated its thirtieth jubilee and it seems this will not be its last anniversary. This was taken care of by Kurt Biedenkopf, one of the fathers of participation in management who, expectedly as the head of the commission named after him, ensured the further life of this unique system of company supervision in the world. Parity participation in management thus remains an issue where all discussions on the improvement of company supervision in Germany end up sooner or later.

And yet it moves, Galileo Galilei quietly murmured when leaving the hearing in front of the inquisition which had found him guilty of heresy. The latter was connected with the treatise about the phenomenon of the tide with which Galilei had proved that the Earth moved and supported Copernicus' teachings.

SOCIUS, in cooperation with the IFC, has the pleasure to invite you to an exclusive international event to be held from 11th to 13th October, 2007 in Belgrade.

Socius Consulting Inc., in co-operation with PRO EDUCA, a centre for business education and entrepreneurship from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is organising two seminars on Corporate Governance to be held on 10 September 2007 in Sarajevo and 11 September 2007 in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The World Council for Corporate Governance is organising the 8th International Conference on Corporate Governance to be held on 20 to 21 September 2007 in London. The theme of this year's conference is "Creating a Better World Through Corporate Governance".

The annual Croatian Public Relations Association (CPRA) conference will be held on 27-29 September 2007 in Rovinj, Croatia and it has a substantial impact on the education of CPRA members. The annual PR Conference brings together approximately 250 PR professionals from the private sector, the NGO sector and the public administration from the whole of Croatia and some neighbouring countries.

Published in January 2003, the Higgs Report on Corporate Governance provoked strong and controversial reactions. Business leaders feared it would create unnecessary and overly rigid divisions within boards. They also thought that the authority of chairmen was being challenged in favour of the senior independent non-executive director and that its
implementation would result in many vacant boardroom positions. On the other hand, the proposal has been supported by leading UK investment institutions and 90% of it has been adopted by the Financial Reporting Council and later included in a Combined Code on Corporate Governance.

First and most importantly, you will have to define your new role yourself. Nobody else can do this for you. Of course, you will conform to the Corporation Law and the bylaws of your company. However, acting extra legem is not contra legem. There will be many actions you will
have to take which are not specifically called for. But sometimes you
will find it better to refrain from interfering in a situation which is not yet ripe for a decision.

You will lead the Board in choosing, controlling and advising management. You will do so in the shortand long-term interests of the company, its shareholders and its stakeholders. You
will be willing to act decisively in a crisis, but you will abstain from day-to-day interference in the work of management.