Boards of directors and top managers are being scrutinized more than ever. Complete the following assignments having to do with these two groups of strategic decision makers.

a. Fortune publishes an annual ranking of the most admired companies, both globally and in the United States. Choose either ranking and get the most recent listing of the top 10. Look up financial information on the top three companies on the list.

Look up information on the boards of directors of these companies. Report what you find. What conclusions might you draw about the role of the board in the strategic management of these most admired companies?

b. Top executive compensation has been a controversial topic recently because of floundering company performance. Do some research on executive pay. What issues are being raised? How do you feel about these issues? What things are happening in response to these issues? LO1