Module description:
Public companies play a critical role in the world’s economy. Such companies influence governments and have major impact on the lives of ordinary people because they undertake much of the commerce that takes place on a national and global scale. The aim of the module is to provide a comprehensive study of the role of corporate governance (essentially how companies are governed) in the world economy and to show how the legal rules operate with wider economic pressures and political goals.
The topics that this module will examine include:
- the definition and nature of corporate governance; the origins of the need for corporate governance; and the theories of corporate governance including contractarianism, managerialism and stakeholding
- the various systems of corporate governance that operate around the world with a focus on the Anglo-American outsider system on the one hand and insider systems such as in Germany, on the other, and the convergence of systems of corporate governance
- decision-making in the board, institutional shareholder activism, shareholder empowerment, employee representation, and issues around board diversity
- executive remuneration, CSR and human rights
- the shape and activity of multinational companies and the role of law and governance in regulating their activities
The course takes a contextual and critical approach to these topics.