"Why the GC Should Be the Board's Best Friend"
Companies must shift from focusing on rules and consequences to emphasizing culture and values, according to Carolyn Frantz, Microsoft's deputy general counsel and corporate secretary.
During this interview from the Strategic Asset General Counsel forum, Ms. Frantz explains how Microsoft is revamping its compliance programs based on two pillars:
- A culture based on a growth mind-set that is guided by a streamlined code of conduct and policies that are easy to understand
- Innovative controls and analytics that serve as an early-warning system for a prioritized set of compliance risks
Ethics and compliance are vitally important to the success of a global organization. But how do you enable employees in different countries to make value-based decisions and encourage them to seek help when they face uncertain situations?
Microsoft applies this approach to both employee and partner compliance programs. This allows the board to oversee culture and compliance as a category of enterprise risk. In addition to discussing compliance programs, Ms. Frantz also answers these questions:
- Who presents compliance-related information to the board?
- Do you need an outsider CEO to change a company’s culture?
- What does tone-in-the middle training look like?
- What shapes culture at the bottom?
- How do you address differences in moral values as a global company?
The full article, published in NACD Directorship magazine, also covers the role of the GC in developing culture as a corporate asset and in investigating harassment, and discusses the areas of greatest concern for boards and GCs.
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