| CODE | BEM2103 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Corporate Governance, Society and Ethics | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Business and Enterprise Management | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This unit deals with business ethics, the consideration of questions of moral right versus wrong in the context of business practice. Individual business leaders are increasingly being held responsible and accountable for their ethical behavior. In terms of corporate governance, organisations have learned that the costs of unethical actions can be high, both legally, and from the perspective of brand image and reputation. This unit also reviews how organisations can establish and encourage an ethical culture while monitoring compliance. Environmental criteria is taken into consideration in the way a company safeguards the environment, including corporate policies addressing climate change, for example. Social criteria is important in managing relationships with employees, suppliers, customers, and the communities where it operates. Study-unit Aims: The aims are to: - Discuss the increasing importance of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) - as a set of standards and norms for a company's behavior and actions; - Enable understanding on the purpose of corporate governance in endeavouring to build an environment of trust, transparency and accountability necessary for fostering long-term investment, financial stability and business integrity, thereby supporting stronger growth and more inclusive societies; - Generate more awareness on how governance deals with a company's leadership, executive pay, audits, internal controls, and shareholder rights. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Describe the major ethical frameworks used in developing business ethics; - Explain the three components of the Ethical Triangle: Individual Ethics, Leadership Ethics, and Governance and Control; - Discuss key ethical challenges in the workplace; - Describe the use of organisational ethics codes; - Outline the ethical issues involved in the employer-employee relationship including due process and fairness; - Discuss the use of ethics training; - Explain how organisations monitor ethical performance; - Describe the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and ethics; - Explain how sustainability is an ethical concern. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Apply the 4 basic objectives of corporate governance:. Accountability, transparency, fairness and responsibility; - Demonstrate ethical standards related to leadership; - Classify concerns involving corporate governance; - Propose responsible business practices; - Design rewards that reflect an ethical culture. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Text: - Monks, R. A., & Minow, N. (2011). Corporate governance. John Wiley & Sons. Supplementary Reading: - Weiss, J. W. (2021). Business ethics: A stakeholder and issues management approach. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. - Polman, P., & Winston, A. (2021). Net positive: How courageous companies thrive by giving more than they take. Harvard Business Press. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Paul Gauci |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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