The Executive Team
52 Pages Posted: 10 Mar 2023
Date Written: 2020
Abstract
While there are examples of organizations that are led by a single individual exercising what appears to be dictatorial control over day-to-day activities and long-term strategy the realities of an increasingly complex business environment, even for smaller companies, generally dictate the creation of teams of top managers to coordinate the activities of the business units that are part of the organizational structure of the company. These teams are commonly referred to as “executive teams” since they are composed of the chief executive officer of the entire company (i.e., the “CEO”) and the CEOs of key functional departments—research and development, manufacturing, sales and marketing, finance and human resources—and any major business units with a non-functional focus such as divisions formed to concentration on specific products or markets.
While the formal role of the members of the executive team, as officers of the company, is to act as agents for the directors and shareholders of the company, as a practical matter the executive team exerts substantial authority over the acquisition and use of the company’s resources and the decisions made by the members of the executive team are the determining factors in the success or failure of the strategies pursued to increase shareholder value.
Keywords: management, leadership, executive team, CEO
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