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What Do Ethics And Integrity Have To Do With Governance?

What Do Ethics And Integrity Have To Do With Governance?

Published 05-04-04

Submitted by International Policy Governance Association (IPGA)

CHICAGO -- Boards concerned with social responsibility, integrity and ethical behavior often face a challenge in translating their values into results.

Legislative initiatives are one approach, but to truly assure ethical behavior boards are wise to employ a system of governance having an internal integrity of its own.

Policy Governance® - the world's only complete and conceptually coherent operating system for boards - provides a disciplined process that goes far in enabling boards to be assured that its values are articulated, delegated and executed. It is highly valued by boards wanting "to do the right thing." Directors sense that a high-integrity governance process will better enable them to assure implementation of their values -- inside and outside the organization.

Policy Governance is the focus of a major international conference -- The Future of Boards: Realizing the Promise of Owner-Accountability (www.ipgaconference.org) -- taking place in Chicago, June 10-12, 2004. Designed by Atlanta-based governance expert, Dr. John Carver, Policy Governance has been widely used by non-profit organizations around the world and is receiving attention within the business sector, where it is clearly needed now more than ever.

Presented by the International Policy Governance Association (IPGA), the conference features a plenary presentation by Dr. Richard M. Biery, titled "What do ethics have to do with governance?"

"Ethics, values, and the associated underlying virtues form an interdependent coherent system of principles just as Policy Governance does. Ethics or values are not, therefore, simply a list from which one chooses. They are fundamentally interdependent and founded in three core virtues, the absence or weakness of which result in personal, board, and corporate mediocrity, and sometimes disaster," says Dr. Biery, a preventive medicine physician trained in organizational management and governance.

Similarly, Policy Governance does not offer a smorgasbord of 'best practices' from which board members must choose, but rather one fully integrated, logical, holistic system based on fundamental governance principles. When learning about Policy Governance for the first time, directors and CEOs often experience a radical shift in their thinking about the function of a board, and are motivated by what is truly possible when this set of principles is applied in its entirety.

The Future of Boards conference also features a keynote banquet presentation by Dr. Carver, a special address by Miriam Carver at the conference's opening reception, and a luncheon address by Jeremy Booker, Vice-President, Corporate Governance, BP (British Petroleum) about the application of Policy Governance principles in the business world. In addition, the program includes a variety of interactive workshops that will appeal to a wide range of participants, from those having little or no prior knowledge of Policy Governance to those who have broad experience and expertise.

"Conference participants will experience increased interest, understanding, and motivation around the possibilities that emerge when boards choose owner-accountable, effective governance," says IPGA CEO, Howard Stier. "Anyone interested in leading-edge governance theory and practice must make a point of participating in The Future of Boards."

For more information, contact Susan Mogensen, IPGA Conference Coordinator, at 1-877-847-4552, or visit www.ipgaconference.org.

Policy Governance® is a registered service mark of John Carver. Used with permission.

International Policy Governance Association (IPGA)

International Policy Governance Association (IPGA)

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