Role of Boards
Building Sustainable Competitive Edge
- Pritam Singh - former Director of IIM Lucknow, MDI Gurgaon and IMI Delhi
- Asha Bhandarker - Distinguished Professor of Organizational Behaviour, IMI Delhi
- Subir Verma - Professor of OB & HR, FORE School of Management, New Delhi
Business & Management (General) | Organizational Behaviour (General) | Strategic Management
The Role of Boards explores the issues and challenges that afflict Indian boards, unravels the array of key strategic weapons for winning the corporate war and proposes action steps for architecting a sustainable competitive edge. Packed with signposts, strategic checklist and principles to guide management and organizations towards sustainable corporate excellence and national development, the book is the new boardroom bible in the emerging post-pandemic and technologically disruptive world. It starts with an examination of the ground realities of Indian organizations and the way in which selfishness, scams and scandals are destroying value, hurting stock markets, increasing the gap between the rich and poor and reducing trust. It then conceptually studies the role of various pillars which can be leveraged for building sustainable competitive edge in organizations: continuous innovation, customer centricity, cost and quality leadership, speed to the market, agility, organizational ambidexterity, people power, ethical governance and strategic leadership. To enhance boardroom governance, the book advocates path breaking recommendations especially in terms of its composition, competence, agenda, decision-making and attention to strategic matters apart from the traditional focus on conformance and compliance. The book is unique in its study of Indian boards from the behavioural point of view. It is the first-of-kind to have used the actor approach to examine the nuances and facets of boardroom realities in India and makes recommendations from that vantage point. The book is contextual, rooted in Indian realities, futuristic and recommendatory for enabling corporate India to contribute to the ambitious national endeavour of Atmanirbharta—self-reliant and self-sufficient India.
The uniqueness of this outstanding book is that it looks at board effectiveness and value addition through the lens of individual behaviour and group dynamics, rather than through the usual legal or financial approach. It is an excellent blend of state-of-theart theory and practice which demystifies board governance through evidence-based research and practical recommendations. The book also highlights the critical role of purpose, values and mindsets in determining the focus and strategic decision-making processes of the board. It is a must-read treasure house for those connected with boards, especially in the Indian context.
This is a terrific book which will undoubtedly add to the authors’ reputation as talented analysts of the role of boards in steering corporations along sustainable paths. The book is cunningly well written, sassy even, besides being very perceptive and timely. It should prove most enlightening, particularly in regions of the world where we cannot afford to waste more time or people.