Abstract:
The research sought to understand whether board selection yields diversity on the board of
directors and whether diversity improves performance of boards. The collapse of companies in
Zimbabwe and globally is alarming, yet the companies are directed and controlled by non executive directors who monitor and oversee the performance of management. The research
was qualitative and rooted in the interpretive paradigm. Semi-structured interviews and social
media were used to gather data. Purposive and snowball sampling were used to select
respondents. Data was analysed using NVivo 10. Findings of the research were that diversity of
the board comes in the form of skills, education, experience, gender mix and backgrounds. Two
three year terms would bring enough diversity beyond which a board member would not
contribute meaningfully. Interlocking directorships breed diversity up to a maximum of three
boards. Board size was observed to bring knowledge, skills, resources, velocity of processing
board issues and a fair representation of sectors of the economy. Recommendations of the
study are that: boards should have a gender balance so that companies tap from capabilities of both genders. Appointments to boards should be based on skills and experience. Board
members should not sit on more than two committees. Boards should have a reasonable
balance of male and female non-executives.
