Corporate governance Flashcards
(34 cards)
what is corporate governance
The system of rules, practices and processes by which a company is directed and controlled. Corporate governance essentially involves balancing the interests of the many stakeholders in a company - these include its shareholders, management, customers, suppliers, financiers, government and the community.
what is total responsibility management (TRM)
it begins with the premise that the strict vision of the firm enforces and drives the development of the from through its code of ethics.
what san example of a company that follows TRM?
sainsburys opted for the ethical root and had a very good ethical reputation. however after the financial crash, people could afford to be ethical and needed cheap products. People could afford ethics.
what is ethical leadership?
involves both acting and leading ethically over time, and all of the time
what are the three areas that covers ethical leadership?
Moral, Values and ethics
What does Morals means for ethical leadership
core beliefs or desires that guide and motivate attitudes and actions. everyone has thousands of values - both ethical and unethical.
What does Values mean for ethical leadership?
custom and personal beliefs of individuals about what is right and wrong. morals are a personal evaluation
what does ethics mean for ethical leadership ?
standards of conduct that indicate how one should behave based on principles of right and wrong.
what are the three elements of the fraud triangle?
FOR -
Financial pressure - financial pressure if often the motive for committing financial fraud, more often than not this is down to greed
Opportunity - Opportunities that allow for fraud to take place, depending on his or her position in the company depends on how accessible these opportunities are.
Rationalisation - Fraudsters try to justify there action once they have been caught.
what are the three different types of management
Moral
Immoral
Amoral
what is moral management
conforms to a high ethical standard. moral managements want to succeed, but only within the confines of sound ethical practices.
example Merck and co pushed a drug for a cure, but could not find a sponsor for the drug! rather than giving the drug away for free they decided to give it to poor countries who were in more need for it. Good for their reputation
what is immoral management
A manager that has no regards for ethics in business practice.
Infamous Inside trader Ivan Boesky in the 1980s. he was an insider trader who mad his money through arbitrage and junk bonds. He made $200million and was fined 100m and served a 3 year prison sentence.
what are the two types of Amoral management?
Intentional - intentional ammoral managers consciously decide for themselves that ethics and business should not mix.. ethical matters are not considered within there decision making process because they believe business activities do not require moral judgement.
unintentional - do not think about business activities in ethical terms either, but for a different reason .these managers are casual and careless about the fact that there activities may have effects on others. these managers lack ethical perception, sensitivity or ethical awareness these managements show absolutely no sign of ethical concern. these managers comply with the law but do not go above and beyond. Example Nestle with baby powder formula.
what is amoral management?
amoral manager does not know the difference between right or wrong.
what is code of ethics
A code of ethics, also called a code of conduct or ethical code, sets out the company’s values, ethics, objective and responsibilities. A well-written code of ethics should also give guidance to employees on how to deal with certain ethical situations. Every code of ethics is different and should reflect the company’s ethos, values and business style.
what is agency problem?
Conflict of interest, information asymmetry, incomplete contracts, moral hazard (not rising to opportunities)
who are the owners of a business?
Its shareholders
what is possible solution to Agency problem?
Incentive based contracts, monitoring mechanisms
what are a shareholders rights?
right to sell stock, vote, right to certain information, the right to sure management,
what are managements duties
act in the best interest of the shareholder, duty of care and skill, duty of diligence.
what does corporate governance mean?
“a good corporate governance regime helps to assure that corporateions use their capital efficiently and ensure that corporations take into account the interests of a wide range of constituanceis, as well as the communities in which they operate, and that there boards are accountable to the company and their shareholders”
Corporate governance
As the shareholders are owners of the business they hire in agents who act as managers, the idea of corporate governance is a structure that is to ensure that the managers spend the shareholders money wisely and not on bonuses and also that the managers are held responsible in making sure that however the business functions it take care of how it act and also to consider the wider community.
when were auditing committees established?
1976
Who famously failed at corporate governance?
Robert Maxwell he used dubious accounting techniques which hide liabilities, over exaggerated profits.