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    Headhunters,isausefulindicatorofthehealthofcorporategovernance.Thisyear’sreview,publishedonNovember12th,showsthattheSarbanes-Oxleyact,passedin2002totrytopreventarepeatofcorporatecollapsessuchasEnron’sandWorldCom’s,hashadanimpactontheboardroom--albeitatanaverageimplementationcostthatKorn/Ferryestimatesat$5.1mperfirm.
Twoyearsago,only41%ofAmericanfirmssaidtheyregularlyheldmeetingsofdirectorswithouttheirchiefexecutivepresent;thisyearthefigurewas93%.Butsomethingshavebeensurprisinglyunaffectedbythebacklashagainstcorporatescandals.Forexample,despiteagrowingfeelingthatformerchiefexecutivesshouldnotsitontheircompany’sboard,thepercentageofAmericanfirmswheretheydohasactuallyedgedup,from23%in2003to25%in2004.
Also,disappointinglyfewfirmshavesplitthejobsofchairmanandchiefexecutive.AnothersurveyofAmericanboardspublishedthisweek,byA.T.Kearney,afirmofconsultants,foundthatin200214%oftheboardsofS&P500firmshadseparatedtheroles,andafurther16%saidtheyplannedtodoso.Butby2004only23%overallhadtakentheplunge.AsurveyearlierintheyearbyconsultantsatMcKinseyfoundthat70%ofAmericandirectorsandinvestorssupportedtheideaofsplittingthejobs,whichisstandardpracticeinEurope.www.examda.com
Anotherdisappointmentistheslowprogressinabolishing"staggered"boards--oneswhereonlyone-thirdofthedirectorsareupforre-electioneachyear,tothree-yearterms.Inventedasadefenceagainsttakeover,suchboards,accordingtoanewHarvardLawSchoolstudybyLucianBebchukandAlmaCohen,areunambiguously"associatedwithaneconomicallysignificantreductioninfirmvalue".
Despitethis,thepercentageofS&P500firmswithstaggeredboardshasfallenonlyslightly--from63%in2001to60%in2003,accordingtotheInvestorResponsibilityResearchCentre.Andmanyofthosefirmsthathavebeenforcedbyshareholderstoabolishthesystemaredoingsoonlyslowly.Merck,apharmaceuticalcompanyintroubleoverthepossibleside-effectsofitsarthritisdrugVioxx,isallowingitsdirectorstoruntheirfulltermbeforeintroducingasysteminwhichtheyareallre-elected(orotherwise)annually.Othercompanies’staggeredboardsareentrenchedintheircorporatecharters,whichcannotbeamendedbyashareholders’vote.Anyonewhoexpectedthescandalsof2001tobringaboutrapidchangeinthebalanceofpowerbetweenmanagersandownerswas,atbest,naive.
1.TheSarbanes-Oxleyactismostprobablyabout_________.
A.corporatescandal
B.corporatemanagement
C.corporatecost
D.corporategovernance
2.Theword"backlash"(Line3,Paragraph2)mostprobablymeans_________.
A.aviolentforce
B.astrongimpetus
C.afirmmeasure
D.astrongnegativereaction
3.Accordingtothetext,separatingtherolesbetweenchairmanandchiefexecutiveis________.
A.acommonpracticeinAmericancompanies
B.whatmanyEuropeancompaniesdo
C.amusttokeepthehealthofacompany
D.notapopularideaamongAmericanentrepreneurs
4.Welearnfromthetextthata"staggered"board________.
A.isadversetotheincrementoffirmvalue
B.givesitsboardmemberstoomuchpower
C.hasbeenabolishedbymostAmericancompanies
D.canbevoteddownbyshareholders
5.TowardtheboardpracticeofAmericancompanies,thewriter’sattitudecanbesaidtobe________.
A.biased
B.pessimistic
C.objective
D.critical