Corporate Governance in Context

BMAN30211 Corporate Governance in Context 10 Semester 1 Undergraduate Level 3 Anne Stafford Unit coordinator Alliance Manchester Business School 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Last part of a Bachelors ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 5.0 Why a course in corporate governance? If you have been following the business news in the last few years, you will have noticed increasing reference to the term corporate governance, often linked to stories about corporate and banking collapse or scandal, executive greed and efforts to make corporations more accountable. Recent events like the coronavirus pandemic, climate challenges and geopolitical instability have now brought about a new set of stories about the social contract – what is appropriate behaviour by corporations towards all their stakeholders when there are global geopolitical risks and potentially devastating economic slumps?Corporate governance is concerned with the way that corporations are controlled in the interests of usually (though not necessarily) their shareholders and includes the processes by which corporate entities are governed; that is, with the exercise of power over the direction of the enterprise, and the supervision and control of executive actions.When things go wrong, as in the past cases of Enron, the global financial crisis and the banking industry, and now climate change and geopolitics, there is much discussion initiated by government, business and investor organisations, the press and wider society via social media about how to reform governance. In the past we have seen legal and code reviews, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the US, and Corporate Governance Code review in the UK. What puzzles many commentators, however, is why, after several decades of attempts to improve the governance of corporations, many of the same kinds of issues seem to recur.This course unit introduces you to corporate governance as one of the most fascinating areas of modern business. Our approach is to explore issues of governance by understanding how the control of corporations is part of a broader context that includes politics as well as finance, and which deals with questions of ethics as much as of economics. To understand why the governance of firms has increasingly been seen as problematic and why change is considered desirable, but difficult, it is necessary to consider the corporation as part of a more complex set of relationships. Why a course in corporate governance? If you have been following the business news in the last few years, you will have noticed increasing reference to the term corporate governance, often linked to stories about corporate and banking collapse or scandal, executive greed and efforts to make corporations more accountable. Recent events like the coronavirus pandemic, climate challenges and geopolitical instability have now brought about a new set of stories about the social contract – what is appropriate behaviour by corporations towards all their stakeholders when there are global geopolitical risks and potentially devastating economic slumps?Corporate governance is concerned with the way that corporations are controlled in the interests of usually (though not necessarily) their shareholders and includes the processes by which corporate entities are governed; that is, with the exercise of power over the direction of the enterprise, and the supervision and control of executive actions.When things go wrong, as in the past cases of Enron, the global financial crisis and the banking industry, and now climate change and geopolitics, there is much discussion initiated by government, business and investor organisations, the press and wider society via social media about how to reform governance. In the past we have seen legal and code reviews, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the US, and Corporate Governance Code review in the UK. What puzzles many commentators, however, is why, after several decades of attempts to improve the governance of corporations, many of the same kinds of issues seem to recur.This course unit introduces you to corporate governance as one of the most fascinating areas of modern business. Our approach is to explore issues of governance by understanding how the control of corporations is part of a broader context that includes politics as well as finance, and which deals with questions of ethics as much as of economics. To understand why the governance of firms has increasingly been seen as problematic and why change is considered desirable, but difficult, it is necessary to consider the corporation as part of a more complex set of relationships. To study corporate governance in its economic, political and legal context, including recent governance scandalsTo analyse different intellectual positions about the ownership and control of corporationsTo consider comparative international models of corporate governanceTo introduce policy positions and debates about better governance. set the problematisation of governance in its legal, political, social and institutional contextunderstand policy developments, international convergences and differences in governancedistinguish different perspectives on corporate governance and understand their assumptions about key actors, motives and mechanisms comment on current policy issuesdiscuss the limits of governanceconsider how governance issues are broadening out into a wider social arena discriminate between relevant and irrelevant information for the purposes of decision makingunderstand how to use generative AI appropriatelyanalyse evidence and apply judgement communicate effectively both orally and in writingparticipate actively in class either by leading discussions or responding to issues raiseddevelop basic information accessing and research skills The course is concerned with various aspects of studying corporate governance in its legal, political and institutional context through:Considering corporate governance reforms;The role of the corporation and its responsibilities to shareholders and wider stakeholders;The exercise of power, and the supervision and control of executive actions; andThe role of corporations in wider international regulation Lecture content equating to two hours per week will be delivered through a mix of lectures, asynchronous videos, group activities and discussions (see provisional timetable below – for updated/latest details see Canvas). Lecture content has two purposes. First, this material is used to introduce context, concepts and debates in corporate governance. They are not intended to cover all the material required for the exam and you will need to complement the lecture material with your own self-study. Second, they include small group activities based on readings and current topics in CG. Your active participation is required, therefore you must prepare in advance and bring detailed notes with you as all students will be required to take part in informal feedback to the group.Private study of at least 80 hours is expected for this course. You need to spend time every week preparing in advance for lectures by reviewing any videos provided, reading and carrying out preparation on discussion topics. Each week you should review your notes and undertake follow-up reading. Do make an effort to keep up with the readings and other work set in the course, as this will reduce the amount of work you will need to do for the examination.Attendance at all lectures is compulsory and will be monitored.Teaching will be synchronous. 0 Other 100% Examination (100%)   BMAN21020A Financial Reporting and Accountability Pre-Requisite Compulsory BMAN21020B Financial Reporting and Accountability Pre-Requisite Compulsory BMAN 30211 has pre-requisites of: BMAN21020  <span class="TextRun SCXW85544947 BCX8 NormalTextRun" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color:transparent;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-user-drag:none;font-family:Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:none !important;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:19.425px;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;user-select:text;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;" data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">BMAN21020<span class="EOP SCXW85544947 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color:transparent;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-user-drag:none;font-family:Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:19.425px;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;user-select:text;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;" data-ccp-props="{}">  N Core Text: Tricker, R (2025) Corporate Governance: Principles, Policies and Practices, 5th edition, Oxford University Press.Additional reading is provided on the course reading list, available on Canvas. Lectures 20 0 80