Corporate governance in Kenya : regulatory compliance or strategic performance?

Abstract

There previously has been a drive to more tightly regulate the membership and functions of corporate boards thereby encouraging companies to view governance as a checklist mechanism rather than a way to improve performance. This reduction of the critically important issues of corporate governance to what amounts toa box-checking exercise, means that corporate directors and senior executives are addressing teh symptoms and not the root cause of governance concerns. Reforms to the behaviours, relationships and objectives of the directors and the executives are meaningless unless they are subjected to the critical mechanisms of performance criteria, processes and measurements. The current global economic crisis also requires that boards are prepared in large measure to be completely engaged in strategy, and not just serve as an independent advisory council. This dissertation is a qualitative research which seeks to understand whether a compliant approach to governance guidelines creates a high performance company. From the findings, the paper will subsequently present strategic measures that can be taken by board in an effort to k keep them ore engaged in the company’s business strategy.