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who do so may have to pay for the debts incurred by the pany
while insolvent。
。 Not to deceive shareholders and to appoint auditors to oversee the
accounting records。
。 To have regard for the interests of employees in general。
。 To ply with the requirements of the panies Acts； such as providing
what is needed in accounting records or filing accounts。
position of the board
The board is made up of two types of directors； internal and external； and
typically the board would exercise major decisions through a number of
mi。。ees：
。 Internal directors： Usually headed up by a chairman who runs board
meetings； a CEO （chief executive officer） or managing director who
runs the operating business and a number of other directors。
。 External directors： Known as non…executive directors； they are usually
people of stature and experience who can act as both a source of wise
independent advice and a check on any wilder elements on a board。
Venture Investment Partners Ltd （ventureip。uk） and The
Independent Director Initiative （independentdirector。uk）；
a joint venture between Ernst & Young and the Institute of Directors；
have information on the role of non…executive director； as well as being
132 The Thirty…Day MBA
potential sources of appointments in smaller panies that might
appeal to an ambitious； risk…happy MBA。
。 mi。。ees： The main board mi。。ees are those that oversee remuneration
（particularly for directors）； auditing； social responsibility （and
‘green’ ma。。ers）； mergers and acquisitions； and regulatory affairs。
PEOPLE
If structures are the skeleton of an organization； people are its blood and
guts。 Douglas McGregor； a founding faculty member of MIT’s Sloan School
of Management； began his management classic The Human Side of Enterprise；
published in 1960； with the question： ‘What are your assumptions （implicit
as well as explicit） about the most effective way to manage people？’ This
seemingly simple question led to a fundamental revolution in management
thinking。 McGregor went on to claim： ‘The effectiveness of organizations
could be at least doubled if managers could discover how to tap into the
unrealized potential present in their workforces。’
Finding the right people； keeping them onside； motivating； managing and
rewarding them are the defining distinctions between the most successful
organizations and the mediocre。 Over the past 30 years or so； organizations
have acquired centralized HR （human resources） departments whose
purpose is to facilitate people issues； as they o。。en quaintly term their work。
McGregor anticipated their arrival with this pithy quote：
It is one of the favourite pastimes of management to decide； from within their
professional ivory tower； what help the field organization needs and then
to design and develop programs for meeting these needs。 Then it bees
necessary to get the field organization to accept the help provided。 This is
normally the role of the Change Manager； to implement the change that noone
asked for or wants。
None of this is to suggest that HR departments can’t contribute to helping
with ‘people issues’。 It’s just that people issues are too important to exclude
their immediate superiors from。 At the very least； MBA skills include
a sound grasp of the key tasks that the HR department is charged with
performing。
Recruitment and selection
Taking on new employees is o。。en a more expensive exercise than buying
a major item of machinery or a heavy goods vehicle。 If that sounds improbable；
just check out the figures； the advertising for a middle…ranking
executive on a salary of； say； ￡40；000 may well cost ￡6；000。 If they are taken
on using a recruitment consultant you can expect a bill of around a fi。。h of
Organizational Behaviour 133
the first year’s pay （￡8；000）。 Three days’ interviewing； psychometric testing；
preparing a contract of employment； perhaps paying a share of the
new employee’s removal expenses will bring the total bill up to around
￡20；000。 If you get the wrong candidate； and there is a good chance of that
happening if you fail with any element of the recruitment process； then you
may have to double that figure。 Then； of course； there is the cost of not getting
the job done that you were recruiting for in the first place。
These are the key stages in the recruitment process。
Writing the job description
O。。en employers draw up the job description a。。er they have found the
candidate。 This is a mistake； having it from the outset narrows down your
search for suitable candidates； focuses you on specific search methods
BEBO
Michael Birch had what might be seen as six dummy runs before cofounding
Bebo。 He was a pioneer in the social networking site world；
starting up Ringo back in 2003； selling it on quickly – with the benefit
of hindsight perhaps too quickly。 Operating out of a 120 sq ft office in
the suburbs of San Francisco； overwhelmed with the initial site traffic
and lacking finance； they sold Ringo within six months。
Birch and his wife Xochi met up while studying physics at Imperial
College； London。 After a six…year slog at Zurich Insurance in puter
programming he left； frustrated by the overly bureaucratic environment；
a lesson in organizational behaviour that he was to apply to advantage
in future ventures。 The Birches then started out on their path as serial
entrepreneurs。 Their first three dot start…ups were unsuccessful； but
then their luck changed。 BirthdayAlarm； initially a simple alert
service that evolved into an e…cards business； was followed by Ringo；
whose sale gave them some cash to roll on to a more substantial
venture。 Applying everything they had learnt from Ringo and what
wasn’t working on MySpace； the Birches aimed Bebo squarely at the
thirty…something age group； but rapidly refocused on teenagers； the
site’s early adopters。
Within two years of starting； Bebo became the most visited social
networking site from within the UK； attracting 10。6 million unique visitors；
an increase of 63 per cent over the start of the year； ahead of Myspace。
； with just 10。1 million unique visitors。 Selling up to AOL in March 2008
left the Birches some ￡295 million for their 70 per cent stake and some
pointers as to how their next venture will be run。 Being able to attract
veterans of the internet from panies such as Google； Yahoo！ and
MSN and fostering their loyalty； Birch claims； is the main ‘non…marketing’
key to their success。
134 The Thirty…Day MBA
and gives you a valid reason for declining unwele job requests from
colleagues and friends。 In any event you have to give employees a contract
of employment when you take them on and the job description makes this
task much easier。
Include the following in a job description：
。 the title； such as area sales manager； management accountant or product
manager；
。 the knowledge； skills and experience you expect them to have or
acquire；
。 the main duties； responsibilities and measurable outputs expected；
。 the work location and general conditions； such as hours to be worked；
lunch breaks and paid holiday arrangements；
。 the pay structure and rewards；
。 who the employee will report to。
Business Link （businesslink。gov。uk 》 Employing people 》 Recruitment
and ge。。ing started 》 Recruiting and interviewing） has detailed guidance
on writing a job description。
Where you find great employees
There are many ways to find employees； for finding great employees the
choices are more limited。 Research at Cranfield revealed some alarming
statistics。 First； nearly two…thirds of all first appointments failed and the
employee le。。 within a year； having been unsatisfactory。 Second； there were
marked differences in the success rate that appear to be dependent on the
way in which employees are looked for。
Employing an agency or consultant
This is the least popular； most expensive and most successful recruitment
method。 Only one in fi。。een private firms do so for their early appointments；
but when they do they are three times more likely to get the right person。
The larger the business the more likely they are to take external advice in
recruitment。 The reasons for success are； in part； the value added by the
agency or consultant in helping get the job description and pay package
right； and the fact that they have already pre…interviewed prospective
employees before they put them forward。 These organizations can help
here：
。 Job Centre Plus （jobcentreplus。gov。uk 》 Need to fill a job？） is a
free government…funded service to help UK firms fill full… or part…time
vacancies at home or overseas。 They can offer advice on recruitment
and selection methods； local and trade pay rates； training； contracts
of employment and； importantly； can offer interview facilities in some
Organizational Behaviour 135
of their national network of offices； which can be useful if you are
recruiting away from your home base。
。 The Recruitment & Employment Confederation （rec。uk/
employer 》 Choosing an Agency） is the professional association that
supports and represents over 8；000 recruitment agencies and