FN345 Corporate ethics and governance

Synopsis of Module

This module seeks to provide the students with the vocabulary and frameworks to undertake a critical exploration of corporate objectives and modern systems of corporate governance. This will be achieved through an examination of aspects of moral philosophy and conceptions of distributive justice in the context of the resource allocation decisions made by senior management. In particular students will be invited to reflect upon the obligation of senior management towards the owners of a company and those outside the corporate structure.

Teaching methods include lectures, seminars and student-led discussions. The assessment will involve a research-based assignment..

Aims of Module

This module aims to:

1.	Provide students with alternative theoretical 'moral' frameworks

2.	Examine the different conceptions of distributive justice:

3.	Provide a detailed consideration of the stakeholder/shareholder debate and the impact and these theories have on corporate objectives; and

4.	Explore how management mechanisms express aspects of shareholder/stakeholders theories through the study of the Anglo-Saxon and Continental models of Corporate Governance.

Learning Outcomes

1.	Critically appraise the corporate objective in the context of the stakeholder / shareholder debate.

2.	Analyse the normative basis of the stakeholder / shareholder debate through an examination of moral reasoning and conceptions of distributive justice.

3.	Evaluate the extent to which different management structures express the imperatives of stakeholder / shareholder theories.

Outline Syllabus

Introduction to Moral reasoning, Values, Ideologies and Belief

Framework for ethical and moral reasoning

Teleogical, Deontological, etc..

Theories of Distributive Justice and Alternatives

Shareholder and Stakeholder Theories

Corporate Objectives and Mission

Purpose of the Stakeholder Debate

Stakeholder Rights

Corporate Governance

the structure of Companies

Differing conceptions of corporate governance – insider/outsider systems

the role of directors and shareholders

Summative assessment

Assessment A: Assignment

The weighting of this assessment is 100%