Learning outcomes
The assignment covers all module learning outcomes.
Knowledge
1. Discuss and critically evaluate key corporate governance and ethics concepts.
2. Evaluate different theoretical perspectives on corporate governance, understand their assumptions about key actors, motives, and control mechanisms.
3. Explore an international comparative perspective of corporate governance, focusing upon the system found in the UK and contrasting this with a range of different corporate governance systems in countries around the world.
Skills
4. Construct critical thinking about a range of approaches and options for corporate accountability and ethics requiring the organisation of thoughts, analysis, synthesis, and critical appraisal.
Assessment guideline:
• Weighting – 100% of the marks for this module
• This is an individual assignment of 3,000 words. (+ 10%) excluding appendices, reference list, and bibliography.
• The Assignment hand-in date: To be confirmed this week.
• The assignment must be submitted ONLINE through TURNITIN© by the due date. Only assessments submitted through TURNITIN© will be marked. Any other submission including submission to the library in hard copy will be treated as a non-submission.
Students should approach this assignment as an academic essay, weighing the arguments for and against each issue, making comment on the literature and drawing logical conclusions. Academic referencing using the Harvard referencing approach is a key requirement of the assignment to demonstrate wider reading and to underpin the discussions, ensuring they have relevant depth. Students are encouraged to be inquisitive and innovative in their approach as to what should be included in this report.
The University policy on cheating collusion and plagiarism will be applied to this piece of work.
Assessment Brief:
Each student selects his/her own company to study.
The requirement is that you analyse in depth one company based in any country. It is not a requirement that the company is located in the UK. The scope of this analysis is to draw from the material discussed within the module.
Analysis contents:
• A short section setting out Basic Factual Information about the company, such as nature of the business (business sector), country of incorporation, size, segmental breakdown, brief history, stock market listings etc.
(approx. 250 words- 10 Marks)
• Corporate Governance: the examination of relationship within the organisation, those involved in the management of the organisation and external stakeholders: The section should include such things as:
1. Internal Corporate Governance Mechanisms: structure, substance, and purpose (e.g., board effectiveness, the role of non-executive directors, and remuneration structures)
2. External mechanisms, especially the role of institutional investors.
3. Shareholder and stakeholder perspectives in an ethical context
4. Employees and Ethics
(approx. 500 words- 15 Marks)
• Evaluate the corporate governance failures and weaknesses that have led to problems of the chosen company and the consequences of weak corporate governance experienced.
(approx. 750 words 25 Marks)
• Critically evaluate the different responses to corporate governance and the role of government regulations in responding to issues raised by an examination of the ethical issues impacting upon the business organisations that have encouraged corporate governance reform worldwide: The section should include such things as:
1. Comparative Corporate Governance systems – Europe, USA, Asia
2. Globalisation issues including International corporate governance and comparative analysis
3. Leadership, Values & Managing Ethical Behaviour
4. Ethics & CSR in a Global Context (approx. 1500 words – 50 Marks)
KEY POINTS
The assignment aims to understand the key areas of Corporate Governance and Ethics using extracts, examples, and approaches to Corporate Governance issues. This will include investigating topics from throughout the course linked to the ethics and accountability issues. Some of the principles, concepts and models will be more relevant to their chosen approach than others and so it is likely that different students will formulate different approaches to the problems.
Student assignment should aim to provide readers with comprehensive knowledge and critical reviews of these areas covering, for example:
• Knowledge of a variety of topic related to corporate governance within the concept of CSR, ethics, and accountability.
• Knowledge of comparing a range of definitions of corporate governance within the practitioner community and several theoretical frameworks that are applied to the corporate governance discipline.
• Individual understandings of, comments on, arguments and contributions to the topic, such as key qualitative characteristics, true and fair view/fair presentation, creative accounting.
Therefore, the assessment encourages students to explore how corporate governance and accountability may be enhanced and how a more ethical business environment may be nurtured. This engages the student in the academic literature that they then need to apply in their assessment.
THE FRONT COVER OF YOUR ASSIGNMENT MUST SHOW:
1. Your name;
2. Your student registration number;
3. Your Programme of Study (e.g., BA (Hons) Business and Financial Management, BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance)
4. The word count (excluding the reference list, bibliography and any appendices).
5. The name of your UGB364 module leader and tutor.
FORMAT GUIDE:
• All text should be in a clear font such as Arial or Times New Roman;
• All text should be 12-point except for headings.
• The text should be in a single column and left-aligned;
• One and a half spacing between lines, including appendices and bibliography, but excluding quotations, footnotes, or captions, which may be single-spaced.
• References: Harvard
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