Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module, students should be able to:

• Identify and analyse the agency problems that arise in the modern corporation;
• Evaluate the various solutions that have been proposed to these problems;
• Map the connection between the regulatory, legal and economic environment and corporate governance in different jurisdictions and at different points in history

• Discuss and debate issues of corporate social responsibility and the interests of stakeholders

Module Learning Aims

To understand the issues that arise in the modern corporation and to have a framework for analysing same.

Module Content

The objective of this module is to develop an understanding of the development of corporate governance and its importance to companies and their stakeholders.  The module will investigate the processes of supervision and control within companies (including board composition, board committees and board remuneration) and it will determine the primary aims of these processes. The theory and the reality of shareholder democracy and corporate social responsibility will be analysed. Students will be referred to multidisciplinary academic material particularly from the fields of law and economics, behavioural economics and management theory. The theory will be contextualized and there will be discussions of high profile governance scandals and the corporate governance failings in credit institutions revealed in the wake of financial crises.

Recommended Reading List

Various papers and texts will be assigned throughout the course.