COMMGMT 7011 - Corporate Governance and Globalisation (M)

North Terrace Campus - Winter - 2014

This course will provide an understanding of the systems and practice of governance in corporations. Taking an international focus, the course will compare the current Australian practice with international systems of corporate governance. The issues of monitoring mechanisms, and the effects of government regulations are explored and current reforms of corporate governance are analysed. Further issues addressed will include board profiles, roles and performance, CEO-board relationships, reasons for and governance lessons from corporate failures, and approaches to assessing governance effectiveness

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Course Details

Course Code	COMMGMT 7011
Course	Corporate Governance and Globalisation (M)
Coordinating Unit	Adelaide Business School
Term	Winter
Level	Postgraduate Coursework
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 3 hours per week
Assessment	Exam/assignments/tests/tutorial work as prescribed at first lecture

Course Staff

Dr. Cristina Neesham
Location: Level 10, 10 Pulteney St
Telephone: 0405 554 616
Email: cristina.neesham@adelaide.edu.au
Course Website: www.myuni.adelaide.edu.au

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

This subject is taught over six days at six hours per day. The Seminars are held on the following dates: Thursday 10 July, Friday 11 July, Saturday 12 July, Thursday 17 July, Friday 18 July and Saturday 19 July. The scheduled times for each day are 9am – 4pm. The seminar venue (for all six days) is in Nexus 10, UB35 (Basement), Seminar Room 2B.

The schedule of seminar topics is provided in this course outline.

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from the Course Planner at https://access.adelaide.edu.au/courses/search.asp

I will be available for consultation by appointment, please contact me to organise a time. Please check your student email and MyUni, as announcements may be communicated electronically.

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Provide an understanding of the systems and practice of governance in corporations
Compare the current Australian practice with global systems of corporate governance and analyse the issues of globalisation and regionalisation
Explore monitoring mechanisms, and analyse the effects of government regulations and current reforms of corporate governance
Provide an understanding of the impact of corporate, professional and national cultures on corporate leadership and governance
Discuss the roles and performance of boards and CEO-board relationships
Examine reasons for and governance lessons from corporate failures, and approaches to assessing governance effectiveness

Communication Skills
Provide students with the opportunity for continuing development of good inter-personal and communication skills, which is widely recognised as important for all graduates
Develop students’ abilities to work in groups, make a group presentation and write a management report

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Knowledge and understanding of the content and techniques of a chosen discipline at advanced levels that are internationally recognised.	Knowledge and Understanding objectives listed above
The ability to locate, analyse, evaluate and synthesise information from a wide variety of sources in a planned and timely manner.	Students are required to research a corporate failure and report on the reasons for failure and provide recommendations
An ability to apply effective, creative and innovative solutions, both independently and cooperatively, to current and future problems.	Individual Assignment requires practical recommendations to ensure corporate failure would not happen again given the same circumstances.
Skills of a high order in interpersonal understanding, teamwork and communication.	Seminar Leadership and Report is a group assignment that would require these skills.
A proficiency in the appropriate use of contemporary technologies.	Active use of online sources is encouraged.
A commitment to the highest standards of professional endeavour and the ability to take a leadership role in the community.	Leadership qualities are developed in group assignments and professional endeavour is emphasised in all course tasks.
An awareness of ethical, social and cultural issues within a global context and their importance in the exercise of professional skills and responsibilities.	There will be a focus on corporate responsibility for global business issues and theory throughout the course.

Learning Resources

Required Resources

Text Books

Corporate Governance (Paperback), 2006 (or 2003)
Authors: Colley, Doyle, Logan and Stettinius
Publisher - McGraw-Hill. ISBN-13: 978-0071464000

International Business: The Challenges of Globalisation, 2007
Authors: Wild, Wild, Han and Rammal
Publisher – Pearson Australia. ISBN: 9780733974724.

Recommended Resources

Bainbridge, S. (2008) The New Corporate Governance in Theory and Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hill, C.W.L., Cronk, T. & Wickramasekera, R. (2008) Global Business Today: An Asia-Pacific Perspective.

Homann, K., Koslovski, P. & Luetge, C. (2007) Globalisation and Business Ethics. Hampshire, UK: Ashgate Publishing Company.

Monks, R. A. G. & Minow, N. (2008) Corporate Governance. (4th edn.) Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons.

Stiglitz, J. (2007) Making Globalization Work. New York: WW Norton & Co.

Tricker, R. I. (2009) Corporate Governance: Principles, Policies and Practices. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Learning & Teaching Modes

This subject will be taught in Seminars of 6 hours (with an hour of lunch break in between) each day for six days. Typically, half of the seminar will involve the presentation of a new topic by the lecturer and the remainder of this time will take the form of a participative discussion, class exercises and/or student presentations. The seminar program schedule is contained in this Course Outline. Students are expected to participate and engage in all seminar activities.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

The University expects full-time students (i.e. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. Students in this course are expected to attend all six seminars (36 hours in total), and sufficient individual study time to complete the required assignments and prepare for the final examination.

Learning Activities Summary

The schedule of lecture topics for the course is as follows:

Session	Topic	Readings
1	AM: Introducing Concepts of Corporate Governance and Globalisation PM: Regional Trade Agreements Capitalism, Free Enterprise, and the Corporation	Wild, Chpt 1 Wild, Chpt 8 Colley, Chpt 1
2	AM: The Legal Obligations of Directors PM: The Mystique of Board Meetings Impact of National Culture	Colley, Chpt 2 Colley, Chpt 5 Wild, Chpt 2
3	AM: The Board-Management Relationship PM: Dealing with External Pressures	Colley, Chpt 8 Colley, Chpt 10
4	AM: How Directors Get Into Trouble Not-for-Profit Organisations PM: MNC Strategy, Structure and Sarbanes-Oxley Act	Colley, Chpt 11 Colley, Chpt 12 Wild, Chpts 11 & 12
5	AM: Seminar Leadership and Presentations PM: Seminar Leadership and Presentations
6	AM: CSR and International Corporate Governance (Open Discussion) PM: Course Overview and Exam Information
EXAM (Date to be advised)

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment	Weighting
Seminar Leadership & Report Students (as part of a group) are expected to analyse a corporate governance issue related to an organisation of their choice and lead a 20-minute seminar session.	20%
Individual Assignment Students are required to research an organisation that has experienced corporate collapse and submit a brief report which provides an overview of the company’s history and its reason for the collapse.	20%
Final Exam 3 hours; closed book; no dictionary or calculator	60%
Total	100%

Assessment Related Requirements

To gain a pass for this course, a mark of at least 50% must be obtained on the examination as well as a total of at least 50% overall. Students not achieving the minimum exam mark will be awarded no more than 49.
Extensions to the due date of individual assessment may be granted under special circumstances. An extension request based on illness or on exceptional personal circumstances must include the "Supporting Statement / Certification Form" that is page 4 of the Supplementary Assessment application available at: www.adelaide.edu.au/student/exams/pdfs/supp_applic.pdf
Students applying for an extension based on medical reasons must visit their medical practitioner, with that approved University form, and have the medical practitioner complete it. A normal doctor's certificate will not be accepted. For supplementary examination on compassionate grounds refer to: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/student/exams/pdfs/supp_applic.pdf
Assessment marks prior to the final exam will be displayed on the course website. Students are encouraged to check their marks and notify the Lecturer-in-Charge of any discrepancies.
Legible hand-writing and the quality of English expression are considered to be integral parts of the assessment process. Marks may be deducted because of poor hand-writing.

Assessment Detail

The assessment components are as follows:

Seminar Leadership & Report     20%
Students (as part of a group) are expected to lead a seminar session (15-20 mins). For the session, students will be required to present their analysis of a corporate governance issue experienced by a company. Further details will be discussed in class.

A suggested list of companies will be provided on Thursday, 10 July. Groups that wish to choose a company outside this list are welcome to do so, but should advise the lecturer by 4pm on Friday, 11 July.

Due Date: In class on Friday 18 July 2014, 9am-12pm or 1-4pm (according to presentations schedule).

Individual Assignment     20%
The individual assignment requires each student to identify and research an organisation that has been subject to a corporate collapse (for example, Enron, WorldCom, Daewoo Motors, HIH, One.Tel). The report should provide a brief overview of the company’s history, and should detail the reasons for the corporate collapse. The report should make realistic recommendations as to how such future collapses could be avoided. The report should be between 2000-2500 words.

Further details will be discussed in class.

Due Date: Friday 25 July 2014

Final Exam     60%
There will be a 3 hour closed book exam consisting of a case study and discussion type questions. Further details will be provided in class.

Students in this course are NOT permitted to take a dictionary into the exam. In this course, the use of calculators in the examination is NOT permitted.

In addition to the course specific information in this document, it is your responsibility to read and familiarise yourself with the contents of the “Essential Examination and Other Study Information” posted on the MyUni site for your course and also on the Business School website: http://www.business.adelaide.edu.au/current/pg/

Submission

For this course, students are required to hand in assignments as a hard copy and via ‘Turn it in’ which is a computer programme that detects plagiarised work. Further information can be found at: www.adelaide.edu.au/clpd/plagiarism/students/turnitin

Please must retain a copy of all assignments submitted.
Please attach an ‘Assignment Cover Sheet’, which is signed and dated by you before submission.
All group assignments must be attached to a ‘Group Assignment Cover Sheet’, which must be signed and dated by all group members before submission. All team members are expected to contribute approximately equally to a group assignment.

Lecturers can refuse to accept assignments, which do not have a signed acknowledgement of the University’s policy on plagiarism.

Assignment Guidelines including Referencing Details
A copy of the Postgraduate Programs: Communication Skills Guide will have been given to you at the beginning of your program. This guide will assist you structure your assignments. A copy of the guide can also be downloaded from http://www.business.adelaide.edu.au/current/mba/download/2009MBACommSkillsGuide.pdf

This publication also provides guidelines on a range of other important communication skills including writing essays and management reports, making oral presentations etc.
In preparing any written piece of assessment for your postgraduate studies it is important to draw on the relevant ‘literature’ to support critical analysis. Also essential is to reference the literature used. Correct referencing is important because it identifies the source of the ideas and arguments that you present, and sometimes the source of the actual words you use, and helps to avoid the problem of plagiarism. (Further information on plagiarism is provided later in this course outline.)
The Harvard system is widely used in the Business School. Guidelines for the use of this style of referencing can be found in the Communication Skills Guide.

Further assistance with referencing is available from the Faculty’s Learning Support Advisors. The contact details are provided on page 6 of the Communication Skills Guide.

Late Assignment Submission
Students are expected to submit their work by the due date to maintain a fair and equitable system. Extensions will generally only be given for medical or other serious reasons. All requests for extensions must be emailed to the lecturer in charge of the course before the due date. Each request will be assessed on its merits. A late assignment (without prior arrangement) will be penalised by a 5% mark reduction for each day that it is late.

Return of Assignments
Lecturer’s aim to mark and return assignments to students within two (2) weeks of the due date with written feedback. Students are responsible for collecting their marked assignments from either their tutorials or lectures. If assignments aren’t collected after two (2) weeks, the assignments will be available at the Student Hub for two (2) weeks. The remaining assignments will only be posted out to the students, if the correct mailing addresses are on the assignments.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator