59-05-032 Proceeding

4 Proceedings of the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Congress GOOD GOVERNANCE REVISITED Seri Wongmontha Having a clear vision is a prerequisite of having good governance. At present, publics seem to pay attention to transparencymore than other aspects of good governance. In the future, we need to put emphasis on public discourses to reach the state of co-creation of national development. We have to share a vision, meaning we visualize the same picture of the future of the nation. Good governance is not just a matter of transparency, but it is essential that the government as well as private corporations have organizational ethics, social responsibility, and ethics of social purposes. If any corporation is to be built to last, good governance should be an integral part of its culture. Being transparent, having the right CSR programs, and adhering to ethical conducts in its practices, a corporation has a good chance to be a healthy and sustainable organization. In order to manage with good governance culture, a corporation needs to have right people, a right structure with clear and supportive policies, and a right process with reliable and enabling systems. All of these factors comprise a right unique context for each individual corporation. To achieve the status of a corporation with good governance culture, the management has to engage all stakeholders in its practices to make accountability real. Accountability is one aspect of good governance, and it is hard to conceive. Many people are confused between “responsibility” and “accountability”.While “responsibility”means onemust be obliged to carry on or performone’s duty as prescribed, “accountability” means one must be obliged to account for the consequence of one’s activities, and disclose the results of those activities in a transparent manner. By being accountable, one must be responsible for money and other entrusted properties as well. To be accountable, a corporation must focus on the organization purposes and outcomes that will have impacts on public who are its service users. Four essential practices that will lead to a corporationbeing accountable are: (1)management and all employees perform effectively in clearly defined functions and roles, (2) managers promote right values for the whole organization and demonstrate good governance through their rolemodel behaviors, (3) managers of all departments make informed transparent decisions and effectively manage risks to prevent crises, and (4) developing the capacity and capability of the governing body to be effective. Elements to be included in corporate governance are: board governance, shareholder governance, checks and balances, ombudsman process, and codes of conducts. The following activities and concepts are integral parts of good governance framework: board of directors’ commitment, compliancewith legal and regulatory prescription, ethical business practices, transparent disclosure, risk performance and management, monitoring, and communication. Management of good governance has three tiers from general workforce at the bottom to board of directors at the top. At the first tier, members of general workforce must be aware of corporate policy and culture, and must be willing to be accountable for their activities. At this