A new idea
Sir: If the corporate barons are pillaging their fiefdoms and at the same time the Church is in dire financial straits, isn't it time for the Crown to curb these over- mighty subjects and at the same time restore their economic underpinning of the Church? One simple piece of legislation would do both — at no cost to the taxpayer.
The Business Ethics (Holy Orders) Act would make it incumbent on all public companies and subsidiaries of foreign firms to have a corporate chaplain on the board. The chaplain would be appointed and paid by the Church, which in return would receive a tithe on the total enrolments of all the directors (including non-executives). The chaplain director would have no responsibility for commercial decisions (God forbid!), but would have unlimited access to all meetings and all records. His duties would be twofold. Firstly he would prepare an ethics report, to be presented to the AGM at the same time as the chair- man's report. (Perhaps a favourable ethics report could qualify the company for an archbishop's award to industry.) But his most important task would be as chairman of the remuneration committee. Aided by a few individual shareholders (no corporate nominees) chosen by ballot from those actually attending the AGM, he would decide on the salaries and benefit packages for the directors and senior exec- utives. No rolling contracts, no appeal from the decision. The shareholder committee members would each receive an average non-executive director's salary — which should encourage higher attendance at the AGM.
Companies could opt for Roman Catholic or Nonconformist chaplains or Jewish rabbis (bringing the market place to religion as well as religion to the market place). This could lead to some interesting new dimensions in takeover tactics. The idea might even be extended to Europe where, for once, we could 'spearhead inno- vation reform of community institutions'.
This Act would not only clarify the responsibility for ethical counsel and curb executive greed; it would bring the church- es into the commercial mainstream: make them 'relevant' once again. Priests in the boardroom might be far more use than bishops in the House of Lords.
Craftsbury Common, Vermont 05827, USA
Previous page
