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2014/2015  BA-BINBU1009U  Corporate Governance

English Title
Corporate Governance

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Bachelor
Duration One Quarter
Course period First Quarter, Autumn
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for BSc in International Business
Course coordinator
  • Georg Wernicke - Department of International Economics and Management (INT)
Main academic disciplines
  • International Political Economy
  • Management
Last updated on 05-05-2014
Learning objectives
By the end of the course, students should be able to critically evaluate selected theories within the fields of corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, and business ethics, as well as discuss how these frameworks can be applied to concrete business situations:
  • Explain, combine and analytically discuss the theories, frameworks, models and concepts presented in the course.
  • Critically discuss the role of business in society, in the context of globalised markets and internationally active firms.
  • Identify business challenges and opportunities arising from internal corporate governance challenges and external stakeholder pressures.
  • Using the concepts and frameworks discussed in the course, sketch responses to these challenges and opportunities, and reason why those responses would pass the “good business ethics” test of critical observers.
Examination
Corporate Governance:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Individual
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 48 hours to prepare
Grading scale 7-step scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period October and December/January, the regular exam takes place in October. The make-up and re-examination takes place in January.
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
The make-up and re-examination takes place according to the same rules as the regular exam.
Description of the exam procedure

48 hour take home case exam. The exam will test students' ability to use relevant theoretical concepts and analytical approaches from the course in corporate governance and finance to the analysis of a real case company. The contribution will not be evaluated on the students' ability to reproduce the theoretical contents of the course but rather the ability to use and apply them intelligently and creatively in a practical analysis.

Grading w ill be based upon demonstration of analytical skills, logical reasoning, and consistent argumentation, application of relevant theory and supportive evidence, as well as the structure, clarity, and proficiency of the report. Students are expected to demonstrate appropriate use of perspectives, theories, frameworks, approaches, and models developed during the course

Course content and structure

Corporate governance concerns the way firms are directed and controlled. The regulatory backlash caused by corporate scandals and the financial crisis, as well as growing public and media pressure on companies to act in a ‘socially responsible’ way, have put stakeholder engagement on top of the corporate agenda. Regardless of international business managers’ individual philosophical stance on what the role of business in society should be, these pressures cannot go unmanaged and need to be addressed in a strategic manner. A thorough understanding of the corporate governance demands companies face today is therefore a necessary prerequisite in any international business function.
 
This course gives an introduction to the theoretical foundations of corporate governance, develops awareness of associated practical problems, and provides an overlook of governance systems around the world. The intertwine of legal, economic, political, and psychological factors affecting how firms and markets are run and controlled creates complexity and challenges our ability to state and solve problems practically as well as intellectually. The course provides students with a toolbox and skills for evaluating firms from a governance point of view.
 
Teaching methods
The course is lecture based, using various texts, journal articles, cases, research results, and current events and news to illustrate the topic of the session.

In addition, participants will have to solve three case studies which are to be discussed during the exercises.
Expected literature

Steen Thomsen & Martin Conyon. Corporate Governance; Mechanisms and Systems. McGraw Hill 2012. Complementary excerpts from books and articles will be downloadable from LEARN.

Case studies will have to bought by the individual student.

 
Last updated on 05-05-2014