21874 Corporate Governance and Sustainability

This subject examines corporate governance systems by which business corporations are directed and controlled, and how these may contribute to sustainable enterprise. Issues considered include the implications of the separation of ownership and control, contrasting institutional systems of governance, competing theoretical explanations, the mechanisms of governance, the increasing significance of capital markets and the internationalisation of finance and regulation. The subject employs a stakeholder management perspective to analyse organisational strategies, values and operations that facilitate the development of sustainable, high-performing organisations, as well as enabling a balance between enterprise, society and the ecosphere. The subject focuses on how organisations develop a 'licence to operate and grow' through their relations with employees, wider society and the natural environment, developing skills in critical analysis, risk evaluation and management, scenario planning and stakeholder dialogue.