Renewed mindset for board membership critical – IoD President

To curb the adverse effects of activities that inhibit the practice of good corporate governance, there must be a renewed mindset for board membership from what seems to be the status quo, President of Institute of Directors (IoD) Ghana, Rockson Dogbegah has admonished.

He reckons that board membership has become a social status symbol and opportunity for creating wealth by the individual board members rather than the chance to provide service, adding that it has also become an avenue for political compensation.

The resulting effect according to him, is that it invariably affects the quality of leadership of organizations and its ability to achieve the intended objectives in the corporate environment and business ecosystem, further insisting that the absence of the four key elements in any corporate environment namely transparency, accountability, integrity and fairness turns to affect the credibility of the organisation.

Addressing participants at the 2019 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Institute of Human Resource Management Practitioners in Accra, Mr. Dogbegah noted that enhancing knowledge in corporate governance must be a key concern for all who aspire for positions on boards and committees.

“It cannot be assumed explicitly that managers possess the vision and managerial skills to lead the organization even as they discharge their duties with discipline and without external control, taking into consideration the concerns of the different stakeholders and this where corporate governance kicks in”, he reiterated.

Speaking on the theme – Corporate Governance: The Role of the Human Resource – Mr. Dogbegah said the current business ecosystem has drastically changed the way human resources field has evolved as some schools of thought assert that their role is not only limited to hiring, firing and payroll issues, but more importantly a diversified area including talent management responsibilities.

Instructively, the importance of Human Resource Management (HRM) in gaining competitive advantage has been long recognized. Such importance is enhanced to the extent that human resource practices are successful in developing organizational capabilities that enable an organization to adapt to a changing environment. These practices are expected to provide the infrastructure necessary for the organization to create value.

In effect, some authorities argue that the HR function must be involved not only in strategy implementation, but also more importantly, in strategy formulation, the IoD president asserts.

This measure seeks to ensure that HR professionals develop and maintain a corporate culture resulting in the success of the organization in the face of ever-intensifying competition. Meaning, they are required to have an in- depth knowledge about the organization’s core competencies and make the necessary inputs.