List the four items that the company has identified as crucial to improving financial performance.
James Kilts, Chairman, President and CEO of the Gillette Company, stated that the four crucial items were bringing under control runaway costs, get a better return on invested capital, provide greater investment in Gillette's existing brands, and also work on better returns throughout the entire life cycle of Gillette products. He cited that over the past two years the company has controlled runaway costs by reducing overhead expenses by about 2 percentage points of sales. He also pointed out that invested capital has provided a greater return from 14 percent in 2001 to 28 percent in 2003. Kilts also cited the increased investment in advertisement for Gillette's products from 6.5 percent of sales in 2000 to 8.9 percent of sales in 2003 (23).
Comment of the "corporate governance" practices employed by the company.
According to the annual report, the Gillette Company prides itself on the effective corporate governance in place. The company has an Audit Committee, which has established a confidential, anonymous hotline for employees with integrity concerns in the company. The Board of Directors has non-employee board members that are proven independent of the company. The Board of Directors has also implemented a process for shareholders communicate to the non-employee directors if necessary (23).
(a) Shareholder Rights
According to the Bylaws of the Gillette Company each shareholder of record at every
shareholders meeting will be entitled to one vote per share of Gillette capital stock owned. Shareholders also have the right to express in writing con ...