Corporate Governance

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• how to think about governance through the identification and analysis of the firm’s business model.
• the role of corporate governance in firms where there is separation of ownership from control;
• the importance of corporate governance in sustaining competitive advantage;

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• use models to explore the structure of business decision making and its relationship to corporate governance.
• evaluate how executive compensation arrangements are used to align the interests of managers with those of owners;
• assess the role of capital markets in aligning the interests of managers with those of owners;
• compare Anglo-Saxon systems of corporate governance systems with those of Japan, Germany and Emerging Financial Markets;
• understand the relationship between strategy and the role of board structures in corporate governance;

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• apply analytical and critical thinking;
• build on interpersonal skills.
• develop presentation skills;

• Introduction.
• The market for corporate control and organisational solutions to problems of team production.
• Board structure; Institutional investors and Executive compensation.
• Corporate governance in the UK; The proprietary perspective of British business.
• Does foreign ownership matter?
• The family and the firm.
• Comparison of Anglo-Saxon systems of corporate governance systems with those of Japan, Germany and Emerging Financial Markets.
• The role of corporate governance in sustaining competitive advantage.
• The link between strategy and governance.
• Routines, capabilities and business models.
• Resource based view of the firm.

The module follows a double lecture plus one class per week structure. The lectures will introduce you to material. Classes will provide a forum in which some of the key issues can be explored in depth, and will use case studies as appropriate. The classes make extensive use of case studies of major corporate governance failures, reforms, and relevant current events. Students are expected to read the relevant case material and come to class prepared to discuss the material.

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

In-class activities

• Assessment Type: Formative
• Feedback: Feedback is provided to you based on your student contributions during seminar discussions and individually upon request.
• Final Assessment: No
• Group Work: No

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.