Robert AG Monks's Books

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	Grumpy Old Bankers: Wisdom from crises past - CSFI Books Includes article by Robert Monks. Grumpy Old Bankers features a stellar cast of contributors, including Henry Kaufman, Sir Jeremy Morse, Sir Brian Pearse, John Reed, Shijuro Ogata and Mohammed Abalkhail. Most have had a variety of roles, of course, but all have the perspective of many years and all are now retired or semi-retired, so they feel free to speak their minds. And they do so with candour. Read review from Financial Times. Purchase from CSFI.
	Shareholder Activism: An Emerging Paradigm - Icfai Books edited by Madtha Cyril Marcel; article by Robert A.G. Monks Shareholder activism is the way in which shareholders exercise their ownership rights to influence a company’s behavior. Activist investors, dissatisfied with certain aspects of a company’s management, seek to cause a change within the company by resorting to various forms of activism, ranging from selling off shares to acquisition of controlling interest in the company. In between these extreme steps, other actions like issuing private or public communications to the management and the board of directors demanding change in the company decisions, submitting shareholder resolutions, filing legal cases etc., are also taken by activist shareholders. Shareholder activism is growing very fast after the spectacular business scandals like Enron and WorldCom revealed at the turn of this millennium. Shareholder activism is exhibited by individual investors as well as institutional investors like pension funds, mutual funds, hedge funds, and labor unions by exercising their shareholder rights to influence the decisions of companies either individually or in collaboration with other shareholder groups. Shareholder activism is also supported by many labor unions and environment groups as an approach to achieve social and environmental change. Shareholder activism may have both positive and negative effects on companies. This book is divided into two sections. The first section focuses on the issues and concepts of shareholder activism and the role of institutional investors. The second section deals with cases and experiences with regard to shareholder activism. The fourth article is “The Case for Powerful Shareholders” written by Robert A G Monks. In this article, the author supports an effective shareholder involvement in the corporate governance. The essence of any system of governance is that those to whom substantial powers are entrusted must be accountable to those whom they serve. When institutional shareholders get united efficiently, corporate managements will be held accountable for their decisions. The author recognizes stockholder surveillance as the principal internal factor on which American tradition relied to legitimate corporate power. The author observes that corporate pension funds controlled by their corporate managements do not play an activist role, though there is an explicit duty cast on these funds to be proactive investors on behalf of their beneficial shareholders. In the concluding part, the author suggests that there should be no power without responsibility and governments should aid shareholder involvement for better corporate governance. Purchase at Icfai
	Corpocracy - Wiley An inside look at how corporations subvert the public good for their own benefit. Instead of being ruled by laws, corporations today write their own regulations, reward CEOs with exorbitant pay, disdain their real owners, and despoil the political process and the environment, all in the name of "wealth creation" and "corporate welfare." This clear and careful analysis by one of the nation’s leading shareholder activists shows how corporations seized control, how they have abused their power, and what we can do to rein them in again. The excesses of Big Business are sure to be a key issue in the 2008 presidential campaign, and Corpocracy will lead the debate. Purchase from Amazon.com
	Corporate Governance - 4th Edition, Wiley co-authored by Robert A.G. Monks and Nell Minow The new edition of this successful text offers an indispensable guide to the key concepts of corporate governance every student and business professional should know. It includes more exercises and student questions, penetrating analysis of the latest examples of corporate failure and controversy, and the lively "cases in point" which have characterized previous editions. Features 16 case studies of corporations in crisis, including General Motors, American Express, Time Warner, IBM, and Premier Oil; contains an invaluable web link to The Corporate Library, the leading independent research firm dedicated to corporate governance; includes an Appendix with an overview of CG Guidelines and Codes of Best Practice in Emerging Markets. Purchase from Wiley
	Shareholder Activism: Corporate Governance and Reforms in Korea - Palgrave Macmillan authored by Han-Kyun Rho; foreward by Robert A.G. Monks Shareholder activism in Korea has been commended by Western economists. A prominent leader is the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), a civil society organization. How could the activism led by a civil society organization grow and thrive in the poor soil of Korea to become the success story of corporate governance reform in developing countries? This book examines shareholder activism and investigates three elements of social movement theory - political opportunity, framing process and resource mobilization - to explain this phenomenon. Purchase from Alibris
	Shareholder activism on environmental issues: A study of proposals at large US corporations (2000–2003) - The United Nations Natural Resources Forum co-authored by Robert A.G. Monks, Anthony Miller and Jacqueline Cook Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) has carved out a niche in the financial world, and each year a large number of shareholder proposals are filed at public companies in the US related to issues of corporate social responsibility (CSR). While the primary interests of CSR activists remain distinct from those of traditional corporate governance (CG) activists, the two groups do share an interest in minimizing the risk of negative environmental or social impacts from the operations of the corporation. They also share the objective of achieving transparency and accountability in corporate decision-making. In relation to this latter objective, they both face similar challenges concerning conflicts of interest among key institutional shareholders. This article examines the record of shareholder proposal filing and voting from 2000–2003 for 81 large US public corporations to determine the relative prominence of CSR shareholder activism and the prospects for effective CSR shareholder activism on key environmental issues. The analysis of these data finds that nearly half (45%) of all shareholder resolutions are related to CSR, and that those resolutions which combine issues of CSR with traditional CG activism appeal to slightly more shareholders than issues of CSR alone. The article also examines shareholder activism at the micro level with a case study of the voting record at ExxonMobil. The article finds that CSR-related shareholder activism represents the majority of shareholder activism within that firm and that resolutions targeted at climate change are particularly well supported. These resolutions draw a connection between environmental risk and risk to shareholder value. While numerous challenges remain for both CG and CSR activists, the article concludes that reforms that strengthen shareholder rights and corporate governance more generally will also benefit CSR activists and the environmental policies they promote in particular. The article ends with some proposed solutions for addressing the perceived conflicts of interest in corporate governance and the shareholder voting process. Purchase from Wiley Interscience
	The curse of the corporate state: Saving capitalism from itself - Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation Bob Monks is a Boston grandee, a former Department of Labor official, Wall Street lawyer and big-time fund manager, who has, over the last 15 years, developed a second (or fourth) career as one of America’s foremost corporate governance activists. Since the LENS fund, which he founded in 1992 to put a bit of oomph into institutional investment also operates a joint venture with Hermes in the UK, his influence has become transatlantic – and he has many supporters (and opponents) an the UK as well. This paper is written by an angry old man in a hurry. Monks believes that US democracy has been superceded by “corpocracy” – that the US is run like a giant corporation and that flesh-and-blood politics have been squeezed out by a philosophy epitomised by the Business Roundtable. As part of that, he argued, the press and television have been co-opted as well; in a faustian compact, they depend on political ad revenues and politicians depend on them for exposure. The result is that the little guy – the guy who actually believed in capitalism – gets stuffed. Purchase from CSFI
	Thin on Top: Why Corporate Governance Matters & How to Measure, Manage, and Improve Board Performance - Nicholas Brealey Publishing authored by Bob Garrett; foreward by Robert A.G. Monks Taking readers behind the Boardroom door, this book demystifies the role of the CEO, debunks the three most widely-held organizational myths about the limits of openess and personal power, and details a system of metrics to measure and manage a new set of competencies for the Board, its directors, and the company as a whole. Purchase from Alibris
	Reel and Rout: A Novel - Brook Street Press "A novel of corporate intrigue by the world's foremost shareholder advocate." "Reel and Rout is a timely novel that exposes the backroom and boardroom shenanigans that plague corporations and that have led to a daily dose of headlines and scandals. From Enron to Global Crossing to ImClone we are inundated with the suspicion that all is not right with the business world. Filled with colorful New York lawyers, inept trustees, avaricious bankers, and even a few devoted public servants who care about more than the latest sex scandal, Reel and Rout is a tale of greed gone wild but in a world where some try to accomplish good." Purchase from Barnes & Noble
	Capitalism without owners will fail: A policymaker's guide to reform - Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation The authors are both eminent shareholder activists whose concerns predate the current transatlantic brouhaha over corporate governance. Bob Monks (US) wrote much of the ERISA legislation and founded the LENS fund; Allen Sykes (UK) is a former MD of Consolidated Gold Fields. Their argument is that the plight of corporate governance on both sides of the Atlantic has become so acute that it is now a systemic problem that needs a radical solution. Not everyone will agree with what they propose, but they offer a comprehensive set of proposals to empower shareholders and to correct the “democratic deficit” at the heart of contemporary capitalism. This is the first paper that the CSFI published simultaneously on both sides of the Atlantic. It marked the launch of the New York CSFI. Purchase from CSFI
	The New Global Investors - Capstone Publishing Limited Released May 2001, The New Global Investors explains that pension funds have a fiduciary responsibility to provide retirement security for plan participants, and plan trustees are legally responsible to invest in their beneficiaries' best interest. Plan sponsors therefore have a duty to demand that managements of the companies in their portfolios are not only working effectively to maximize profits today, but also acting in a socially and environmentally responsible manner to ensure sustainable value for the future. More information about this book Purchase from Amazon.com
	Corporate Governance - 3rd Edition, Blackwell Publishing co-authored by Robert A.G. Monks and Nell Minow In the wake of the dramatic series of corporate meltdowns: Enron; Tyco; Adelphia; WorldCom; the timely new edition of this successful text provides students and business professionals with a welcome update of the key issues facing managers, boards of directors, investors, and shareholders. In addition to its authoritative overview of the history, the myth and the reality of corporate governance, this new edition has been updated to include: analysis of the latest cases of corporate disaster; An overview of corporate governance guidelines and codes of practice in developing and emerging markets new cases: Adelphia; Arthur Andersen; Tyco Laboratories; Worldcom; Gerstner's pay packet at IBM. Once again in the new edition of their textbook, Robert A. G. Monks and Nell Minow show clearly the role of corporate governance in making sure the right questions are asked and the necessary checks and balances in place to protect the long-term, sustainable value of the enterprise. Purchase from Amazon.com
	*A Traitor To His Class* - Published in December 1998, this is Hilary Rosenberg's (Institutional Investor magazine) biography of Bob. It portrays his business crusade as an active and eminent social figure and reveals the urgency of his mission to make corporate America responsible to both its shareholders and to society at large. George Soros wrote, "A Traitor To His Class is a compelling biography of a master negotiator and effective agent of change. Readers will be fascinated by Robert Monks and his unique journey." Purchase from Amazon.com
	*The Emperor's Nightingale* - Published in January 1998 by Capstone in the U.K, and by Addison-Wesley in the U.S. Included here are links to both publishers, the Forward, written by Dean LeBaron, and brief executive summaries of each chapter. The Emperor's Nightingale takes a much broader view of the relationship between the owners, managers and directors of the corporation and draws heavily on the insights of the latest thinking on economic and general complexity theory. The full-text of this book is now available online. Purchase from Amazon.com
	Published in May 1996 by Blackwell Publishers, *Watching The Watchers: Corporate Governance for the 21st Century*, is a comprehensive look at the implications of the corporate governance movement for the future of large public corporations - and the world in which they exist. Third in a series of crucial texts on corporate governance by acknowledged leaders in the field, Robert A.G. Monks and Nell Minow. Purchase from Amazon.com
	Corporate Governance, published by Blackwell Publishers 1995. This is the first comprehensive textbook to focus on corporate governance -- one of the most important development in business over the last decade. The abuses and excesses of the takeover era and the exponential growth of the institutional investor have transformed the roles of the shareholders, managers and directors of publicly held companies. Corporate Governance explains how it happened, where it is going, and what the impact will be. Including extensive case studies and selected outside materials, this is an indispensable resource for students of business, law and public policy. Co-authored by Bob Monks and Nell Minow. First Edition is available. Purchase from Amazon.com
	Published in 1991 by Harper Business, Bob co-authored Power and Accountability with Nell Minow, his long-time collaborator in the field of corporate governance and current business partner in the active investment firm LENS. Available here in full text form, Power and Accountability remains required reading for anyone interested in the development and basic tenets of modern corporate governance theory. Watch Bob's video introduction to this book. Purchase from Amazon.com