MBA CORE
Corporate Governance Memo
“Corporate governance has become an important issue in all industrial economies. It relates to
the internal organization and power structure of the firm, the functioning of the board of
directors…, the ownership of the firm, and the interrelationships among management, board,
shareholders and possibly stakeholders, in particular the workforce of the enterprise and the
creditors. These interrelationships include monitoring of the management by the board and
external supervisors, and shareholders’ activism.” (Comparative Corporate Governance: Essays
and Materials. Hope and Wymeersch. Walter de Gruyter, Inc. 1997).
The Loewen Group, Inc. case is set at a time when the company is facing imminent bankruptcy.
In October 1998, John Lacey was appointed to replace Ray Loewen, as CEO, and in 1999 he was
also appointed the Chairman of the Board. There are many business issues that are outlined in
the case that led to the downfall of the Loewen Group.
Your task is to identify and discuss the corporate governance policies and procedures that a
properly functioning board of directors would have had in place in order to address the issues
raised in the case. In addition, please identify and analyze 3 other practices of Corporate
Governance that well-functioning boards employ.
Mr. Bill Reidl, a member of the Board of Directors of the Loewen Group and an expert on
corporate governance, will be attending this session, and will be presenting how the new board
of directors dealt with the Loewen Group’s situation described in the case.
Suggestions for completing this assignment:
You might find it helpful to investigate the critical success factors and strategies for companies
operating in the death care industry including, but not limited to, management structure and
practices, strategy and competitive advantages, marketing and branding issues, and financing and
choice of accounting principles. Please note that not all of these topics are necessarily relevant
to your analysis, nor is this an inclusive list.
To complete this assignment, you need to research literature on Corporate Governance. Some
suggested sources are posted on the David Lam Library website. Go to www.library.ubc.ca/lam.
From there, click on “Research Guides”. On that page there is a link to “Corporate Governance”
resources. This is not an all-inclusive list, so please do not feel constrained by it.
Guidelines for your Write-Up and Submission
Your write-up should not exceed 1000 words and 1 page of appendices and is due in the Core
box by 8:30 am on October 23. You must also submit an electronic copy to turnitin.com by 8:30
a.m. on the same day. For formatting requirements, please refer to the Student Information
Handbook.