LWMTGL: International Corporate Governance and the Law

Module code: LWMTGL

Module provider: School of Law

Credits: 20

Level: Postgraduate Masters

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Jorge Guira, email: j.m.guira@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

Effective corporate governance structures are fundamental to the corporate and financial systems of any market economy. The failure of many companies, as well as the recent global systemic crisis have been attributed to poor governance practices, amongst other factors. Across the globe, countries structure their governance systems to suit their ownership and control models on one hand, and their chosen policy directions, on the other. This module invites a contextual analysis of corporate governance systems with particular reference to that of the United Kingdom, the internationally renowned governance system which introduced the Comply or Explain model. It examines the structure and components of the UK governance system; explores its rich history and underlying debates; analyses the empirical studies which seek to measure the effects of the extant model on corporate practices. Using the UK system as a point of reference, it examines the key theoretical and policy debates underlying the structure and direction of contemporary corporate governance practices.It engages in the comparative analysis of the approach in the UK and those of other market economies. Finally, it invites international scholars to examine the corporate structures in their economies in light of the principle-based insight gleaned from the discussions.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. An understanding of the basic core issues in international corporate governance.
2. The ability to draw upon a body of detailed substantive knowledge gained through course readings, class participation and self-study and apply this to theoretical, critical and practical approaches to the legal and policy issues relevant to the core law applicable to international issues of corporate control.
3. The ability to research a specific question related to the module content and produce analytical written work incorporating substantive, theoretical and practical understanding of the issues that arise.
4. An ability to describe and analyse comparative materials from legal and non-legal sources.

Module content

The module may include topics such as:

• The concept of corporate governance.
• Overview of the UK corporate governance system.
• Corporate social responsibility.
• Corporate risk management.
• Corporate decision-making organ: Board of directors
• Corporate and social reporting.
• Comparative review of corporate governance systems.
• Corporate governance and financial institutions.
• Contemporary issues in corporate governance.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

This module is designed to provide students with a range of resources on which they can draw in their learning. The main elements are:

• A list of required and recommended readings, with notes and questions that will be used to guide class discussion and reflection.
• Eleven 2-hour seminars. Seminars are discussion-based classes
• Assessed work that will be used to develop students’ skills and knowledge.
• Discussions on case law will be in some instances supplemented with artefacts that have been involved in litigation.

A workshop on essay writing and group presentation that aim to enable the development of practical skills alongside the theoretical understanding of core issues and help students achieve in the summative assessments.

Study hours

At least 22 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 50% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

A 5 page essay

Reassessment

Additional costs