Enron, WorldCom, and similar corporate failings were economic disasters. To the general public, and to Congress, they evidenced ethical lapses or failures of board oversight. They appeared to arise, in significant part, through flawed group decisionmaking by boards of directors. In what way did these crises resemble other human disasters, also failures of group decisionmaking, and what can we learn from studies of group decisionmaking that could apply to the behavior of boards of directors? To what extent can this analysis help us understand whether Sarbanes-Oxley and other externally imposed cures can be effective to improve board decisionmaking?

The attached article from Insights discusses practical steps that board of directors can take to improve decision making.