Workshop Report
Dr. R.A. Yadav set the tone for the workshop as he lit the ceremonial lamp and talked of the need for greater governance in all walks of life. The inaugural address was on the theme 'Corporate Governance in Management Education: The Road Ahead'. Lately, the business schools have been the subject of significant criticism for failing to sensitise the students to ethical obligations of stewardship and responsible use of power. In part, this is probably due to unethical business practices that started coming to light in the late 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century. Dr. Yadav stressed that governance of management institutes was the key to having good governed corporations. He suggested a model to the institutes wherein more emphasis should be laid on the need to expose students to ethical issues as an integral part of their learning experience.
Dr. Yadav also traced the history of governance and the role of various committees on corporate governance namely, the Treadway Committee, the Cadbury Committee, the King Committee, the Vineot Report, and the Hampell Committee etc. In India, the debate on corporate governance was stimulated by the work done in this area by the Government of India, the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII). The Kumar Mangalam Committee Report on Corporate Governance can justifiably be viewed as a well-thought out response to our need for better corporate governance which resulted in the SEBI coming out with Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement on corporate governance. He highlighted that although worldwide the system of corporate governance diverged but the three basic pillars i.e. transparency, integrity and accountability remained the same.
He concluded his address by emphasising the four important components that modern society needed to imbibe i.e. intellectual, social, emotional and spiritual development. The role of family, teachers and religion in promulgating a value proposition emphasizing ethics was also stressed.