Problem
Scenario
Who determines a corporation's performance? According to the popular press, it is the Chief Executive Officer who seems to be personally responsible for a company's success or failure. When a company is in trouble, one of the first alternatives usually presented is to fire the CEO. That was certainly the case at the Walt Disney Company under Michael Eisner, as well as Hewlett-Packard under Carly Fiorina. Both CEOs were first viewed as transformational leaders who made needed strategic changes to their companies. Later both were perceived to be the primary reason for their company's poor performance and were fired by their boards. The truth is rarely this simple.
Is there a close relationship between the composition of a board of directors and the organizational performance?