The Hindu Business Line : Whither corporate governance?

Corporate governance is never out of the news too long. In some context or forum, it finds mention every now and then. For all that, it has still to cover a lot of distance to meet in full the criteria of transparency, responsiveness and accountability.

There is still a large measure of frustration over the failure of many companies which are household names to furnish information asked for or even to send replies to letters. Unlike in the case of official bodies such as Ministries and Departments, and public sector enterprises, most companies do not give a full list in their write-ups or Web sites of their executives and operatives, their workplace or home telephone numbers, e-mail IDs and the like. They prefer to hide behind their call-centres which are manned by young, inexperienced novices who are in no position to answer queries or complaints.

I had once put across to the Chairman, SEBI, Mr M. Damodaran, that he should do something to bring about the same transparency in the corporate sector as the Government has done by the Right to Information Act, or at least ensure that the directories and brochures of corporates specifically contain particulars of all their important functionaries, but till now there has been little improvement in regard to such a simple matter. Leave alone the much bandied about buzzword ‘customer delight’, prompt and minimal attention to customers remains a far cry.

Hardly is there a person who is able to recall the mechanic putting in an appearance within a reasonable time to attend to repairs or maintenance. It often takes days to prod the call-centres into action, and if you want to take up the matter at a higher level, you bump into the same blank wall: No information as to the higher-up to be approached! Or, if by happenstance, one does stumble upon a contact number, one finds it to be an impossible task to get his message across, as the high-and-mighty will not deign to take the call.

Pains-in-the-neck

Unfortunately, none of the associations of chambers of commerce and industry, nor any think-tank, has thought of undertaking a credible survey of customer feedback on goods and services, and action on complaints. Unlike in advanced industrial nations, there is no authentic publication periodically giving its independent evaluation of the quality and performance of products, gadgets, machinery and equipment sold in the market. Without showing the needed empathy and sensitivity in taking care of these pains-in-the-neck suffered by the average citizen coming into contact with corporates, glittering jamborees on corporate governance held from time to time under the auspices of one federation or other are proving to be of no avail.

Such gatherings mostly discuss esoteric topics such as composition of boards, formation of various committees and the like, and hardly issues of the greatest concern to the average customer. Nor can the existence of elegantly written codes serve any purpose unless, as Mr Damodaran rightly emphasised while inaugurating the Third CII Summit on Corporate Governance on December 12 at Mumbai, corporate culture itself is attuned to the essential need to show respect and consideration to human beings as human beings.

Instead of each of the federations engaging itself in one-upmanship in convening such meets, all of them should join in holding a down-to-earth discussion on ways of relieving the customer from the suffocating feeling that is his lot today.

B. S. RAGHAVAN

More Stories on : Corporate Governance | Offhand

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Problems of success

Infrastructure’s burden

How India has steered clear so far

Whither corporate governance?

Impact of Yuvraj case on sports talent market

‘In the long term, what else can there be but growth?’

Bank credit for sugarcane dues