Beyond the codes
WHEN the search was on for someone to rewrite the boardroom codebooks and make sense of them, Sir Ronald Hampel neglected to duck. As a result, his office at Imperial Chemical Industries is ankle-deep in evidence and I hesitate to add another layer. I merely draw his attention to Arthur Andersen's survey showing who has come top of the league of pay rises. Thanks to Cadbury and Greenbury, employing top people is so much more complex that heads of personnel (sorry, human resources) have benefited most, with the legal department, naturally, close behind. It has been a good year, too, for heads of strategic planning. People who make and sell things finished down the course. The more time (and effort and money) that companies spend on com- plying with these codes and developing a lofty outlook to go with them, the less they will have to spare for minding the shop.
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