2017/2018
KAN-CAEFO1074U Firm Theory and Corporate Governance
English Title |
Firm Theory and Corporate
Governance |
|
Language |
English |
Course ECTS |
7.5 ECTS |
Type |
Mandatory |
Level |
Full Degree Master |
Duration |
One Semester |
Start time of the course |
Spring |
Timetable |
Course schedule will be posted at
calendar.cbs.dk |
Study board |
Study Board for MSc in Economics and Business
Administration
|
Course
coordinator |
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Contact information:
https://e-campus.dk/studium/kontakt |
Main academic
disciplines |
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Last updated on
31-05-2017
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Learning objectives |
To achieve the grade 12, students should meet the
following learning objectives with no or only minor mistakes or
errors: Corporate governance deals with how firms are organized
and, in particular, with the relationship between owners, managers
and other stakeholders in a corporation. The main objective of this
course is to equip students with a knowledge base in order for them
to be able to understand and participate in the general decision
making concerning governance activities in a corporation.
The final exam will be based on the following learning objectives,
where the students must:
- be able to discuss the concepts of incomplete contracts, moral
hazard, asymmetry of information etc. and critically analyse the
agency issues in public and private corporations
- be able to identify the opportunities and potential pitfalls in
the use of incentive based remuneration as a tool to motivate
managers and to critically asses the efficiency of various
incentive schemes
- be able to identify the relevance of corporate laws in
mitigating the agency problems in the corporations
- be able to identify the benefits and downsides associated with
various types of structures, such as corporations with concentrated
ownership, family firms, etc. and to be able to critically assess
the specifics of these governance structures in comparison to firms
with dispersed ownership and control
- be able to critically assess the structure of corporate boards
and discuss its implications for board behaviour and firm
performance
- be able to identify and elaborate on the main barriers to
efficient functioning of the board of directors and other corporate
governance mechanisms (i.e. incentives, large owners, legal rules,
cognitive biases and emotions, etc.)
- be able to critically assess selected elements of governance
codes, and to be able to apply these recommendations and the
acquired knowledge of corporate governance to real world
cases
|
Examination |
Firm Theory
and Corporate Governance:
|
Exam
ECTS |
7,5 |
Examination form |
Written sit-in exam on CBS'
computers |
Individual or group exam |
Individual exam |
Assignment type |
Case based assignment |
Duration |
4 hours |
Grading scale |
7-step scale |
Examiner(s) |
One internal examiner |
Exam period |
Summer |
Aids |
Limited aids, see the list below:
The student is allowed to bring - Non-programmable, financial calculators: HP10bll+ or Texas BA
II Plus
- Language dictionaries in paper format
At all written
sit-in exams the student has access to the basic IT application
package (Microsoft Office (minus Excel), digital pen and paper,
7-zip file manager, Adobe Acrobat, Texlive, VLC player, Windows
Media Player). PLEASE NOTE: Students are not allowed to communicate
with others during the exam :
Read more about exam aids and IT application
packages here |
Make-up exam/re-exam |
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
If the number of registered candidates for the make-up
examination/re-take examination warrants that it may most
appropriately be held as an oral examination, the programme office
will inform the students that the make-up examination/re-take
examination will be held as an oral examination
instead.
|
|
Course content and structure |
An applied case-based economics course. It complements the
courses Corporate Finance and Industrial Organization.
The course is a topic course, covering topical issues in corporate
governance. We begin with a general introduction to agency problems
in modern corporations and proceed to analyse governance solutions
to these problems. We start by discussing the incentives and
current issues in the executive compensation. We then continue with
the ownership structure and the role of owners in firm governance,
and give special attention to family firms. We also analyse how the
legal framework facilitates and supports the functioning of the
firms and the other governance mechanisms. We next look at the
board of directors and discuss how it changes with the life cycle
of the firm. We conclude by an introduction to the recent findings
in the field of behavioral economics with specific focus on their
relevance for organizations and governance.
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Teaching methods |
The format of the course is based on three
elements:
1. Case analysis
2. Lectures and discussion on the newest relevant research in
corporate governance.
3. Guest lectures by representatives of business
community. |
Feedback during the teaching period |
Feedback will be provided either as part of group
works or discussions in the class. |
Student workload |
Classes |
33 hours |
Exam |
4 hours |
Preparation |
169 hours |
|
Expected literature |
Collection of cases and articles on corporate
governance.
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Last updated on
31-05-2017