Ethics: Coursework

Before starting your coursework

The coursework is in two parts, but they are linked. This is done so that you can receive feedback on Part 1 to help you with Part 2.

Choose a country to analyse: it cannot be the UK as many of the lecture examples are from the UK.
It is recommended that you analyse your "own" country but you do not have to.
Be careful though, countries like Nigeria have so little information available that it is very hard to obtain regulatory information and Case Study examples.
Before "choosing" your country please make sure that you can find 5 sets of published accounts of major listed companies for your country. If you cannot do this - you will have to do an alternative version of Part 2 of the coursework.

Case
study data: 5 sets of published accounts - used in Part 2 but you need to know that you can get it as soon as possible
Students must get 5 sets of published accounts (with narrative disclosures about Board Composition and Corporate Social Responsibility) to use as case study material. These must be from your chosen country. Save them as pdf files on your laptop - and print out the key sections.

Examples of bad Corporate Governance
It might help students to get some examples of poor Corporate Governance to use as case study material.
Remember to use such examples sparingly though, you only want to make passing reference to such cases - the coursework is not asking you to describe these high profile "exciting" cases.

Weighting of the coursework
Part 1 50%
Part 2 50%
No in module retrieval is available - but students will receive full feedback on Part 1 to help them do Part 2.

Corporate Governance and Ethics: Coursework Part 1

Choose a country to analyse: it cannot be the UK as many of the lecture examples are from the UK.

Question 1: Locate the study of Corporate Governance within your chosen country. Critically discuss the importance of Corporate Governance to the development of your country in the globalized market place. (800 to 1,000 words) Your answer must follow the requirements detailed below. If a word is in bold you MUST interact with this specific sub requirement.
Briefly describe the key historical, political, economic and cultural factors that explain why your chosen country is "unique" in the globalised market place. Explain the importance of the stock market within your chosen country. Draw a sub conclusion that summarises your
findings.
Ensure that all material is appropriately referenced.
Use of Wikipedia, and other popular internet sources is allowable for this part of this question - due to its scope.
Describe how your country is located in the global market place and describe what the political impetus for development is. Ensure that your answer demonstrates how the development of publically listed companies is pivotal (or not) to the economic development of your country. Explain how this contextualises the study of Corporate Governance in your country.
In your own words critically discuss the importance of Corporate Governance to the development of your country in the globalized market place. This critical discussion must refer to, and flow from, the themes described above. This critical discussion must comprise of your own ideas expressed in your own words. You must show that you understand why Corporate Governance is important to your country. You will not pass if you simply describe a series of events and factors.You must use your own ideas to show the maker that you understand why Corporate Governance is important to study in the context of the development of your chosen country.You MUST comply with all the requirements outlined: the arrows show SOME but not all of the requirements.
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Question 2: Explain in technical terms how Corporate Governance should (and does) operate in your chosen country. Critically discuss the effectiveness of the prevailing Corporate Governance regime. (800 to 1,000 words) Your answer must follow the requirements detailed below. If a word is in bold you MUST interact with this specific sub requirement.
Explain how Corporate Governance is regulated in your chosen country. This can be done in the form of a diagram. Your answer should include reference to the organisations that are involved in the regulation, and the relevant laws, regulations and guidance.
Critically observe as to the "power" and "effectiveness" of this structure. It is likely that you will have to refer to research and other literature to be able to answer this part of the question.
State what you consider is the key Corporate Governance document for your country.
Choose a few key sections of the Key Corporate Governance document - quote them verbatim - ensuring that you reference these quotes precisely (including the section and page number of the report they come from).
Explain in your own words why these sections of the Key Corporate Governance document are important to maintain and develop Corporate Governance. You should use ideas and theories raised in the lecture series and within the corporate governance literature to help you.
Critically discuss how seriously Corporate Governance is taken in your chosen country. Is the document you have presented enforced rigorously, or is it merely a document that looks good - but is ineffectual in practice? It is likely that you will have to refer to research and other literature to be able to answer this part of the question. You may find it helpful to refer to brief Case Studies of Corporate Governance failures (and successes) that illustrate the point that weaknesses (and strengths) exist in the regulatory environment.
Draw a conclusion as to the "effectiveness" of the overall Corporate Governance regime in your chosen country. This needs to flow from your preceding analysis. You will not pass if you simply regurgitate other people's explanations.You must attempt to appraise the "effectiveness" of the system in a qualitative/discursive manner.You will not pass if you simply state some corporate governance theories.You must attempt to apply theories and ideas to analyse the Key Corporate governance code. |

No marks are given when students simply state theory. The markers know what the theory is: we want you to apply it. |

Question 3 (up to 500 words)
Briefly summarise the social position and power of Corporate Governance in your chosen country, and critically discuss why this might be the case. Your answer must follow the requirements detailed below. If a word is in bold you MUST interact with this specific sub requirement.
Base your answer on the work that you have carried out for Question 1 and Question 2.
Explain and critically discuss the social position and power of Corporate Governance by reference to the following ideas: * Political factors * Economic factors * Cultural and social factors (includes historical factors) * Legal factors * The power of shareholders: and how they relate to the companies they own * The power of other key stakeholders: and how they relate to major companies
These are "Socio Political" factors and are discussed in the Corporate Governance literature. (eg, Aguilera, R et al (2006) Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility: a comparative analysis of the UK and the US, Corporate Governance: an International Review, 14(3), pp. 147-158.

You will not pass if you simply regurgitate other people's ideas.You will not pass if you simply state the Socio Political factors at work.You must attempt to link the "context" of the study of Corporate Governance, with the present "effectiveness" of the Corporate Governance system in a qualitative/discursive manner that uses "Socio Political" factors in an explanatory manner. |

Use of other countries to compare against
Even if you do not make direct comparison with other countries in your report….many students will find it helpful to compare your country with other countries to be able to make sense of your country. Some countries will have fairly advanced corporate governance systems that are embedded in the social structure of the economy, whilst other countries will have developing corporate governance systems that are not fully embedded into the societal fabric. Try to show where your country fits in the global context, and why this is the case.

Corporate Governance and Ethics: Coursework Part 2
Question 3 (a): For your chosen country critically appraise Case Study material pertaining to the Board composition and remuneration of 5 Case Study companies. (1,000 words) Your answer must follow the requirements detailed below. If a word is in bold you MUST interact with this specific sub requirement.
Describe the Board composition and remuneration of 5 case study companies from your chosen country. It is likely that you will have to summarise some of the features. It is likely that the use of tables and diagrams and perhaps pictures might help. Critically compare and contrast these case study companies.
Please be careful to present the summary description in a way that makes comparison between companies easy. This will often mean that you have to reformat the way information is presented.
By applying theories presented in the module suggest what the implications might be for the Corporate Governance of these companies and also to their performance.
If the level of disclosure is weak (but enough for you to carry out some analysis) it would be very appropriate to discuss this paucity of material - for example some countries disclose total Directors' remuneration, but not by individual Director; other countries disclose Board composition, but add no remuneration information etc…
Critically reflect upon your analysis.
Question 3 (b) If your country does not disclose significant levels of detail about directors then you MUST answer this variant of the question.
Explain the level of disclosure about Directors in your chosen country. Describe the disclosures (if any) for 2 case study companies from your chosen country.
Describe the Board composition and remuneration for 3 UK listed companies.
Critically compare and contrast the disclosures from your country with the UK case study companies.
By applying theories presented in the module suggest what the implications might be for the Corporate Governance for the companies in your country and also to their performance, when compared to the UK.
Critically reflect upon your analysis. You will not pass by simply describing your case study companies.You must attempt analyse the implications of the Board composition. You will get no marks for simply quoting theory. You must attempt to apply the theory to analyse the case study companies. | Question 4(a): For your chosen country critically appraise case study material pertaining to CSR disclosure and issues (1,000 words) Your answer must follow the requirements detailed below. If a word is in bold you MUST interact with this specific sub requirement.

Describe the key CSR disclosures and issues of 5 case study companies. Critically compare and contrast these case study companies.
Utilising the theories presented in the module critically comment upon the key issues surrounding the CSR debate in your chosen country. You might find it helpful to compare with other countries to highlight significant features.

Question 4 (b) If your country does not disclose significant levels of detail about CSR then you MUST answer this variant of the question.
Explain the level of disclosure about CSR in your chosen country. Describe the disclosures (if any) for 2 case study companies from your chosen country.
Describe the key CSR disclosures for 3 UK listed companies.
Critically compare and contrast the disclosures from your country with the UK case study companies.
Utilising the theories presented in the module critically suggest what the implications might be for your chosen country: both in CSR terms in general and with regard to the level of disclosure.

You will not pass by simply describing your case study companies.You will get no marks for simply quoting theory. You must attempt to apply the theory to analyse the case study companies. |

Question 5 (500 words)
In your own words, summarise the findings from all the sections of your coursework - both parts 1 and 2. By synthesising the findings draw an overall conclusion about the importance and effectiveness of Corporate Governance in your chosen country. Ensure that your answer embeds your findings in the global economy and addresses the limitations of any conclusions that you have reached.
Hint: you have used case study data to analyse your country in a qualitative/discursive manner. This analysis has both strengths and weaknesses. Remember that case study is not a method - it is choice of data.

Optional standalone essay (1,000 words)
If the quality of this essay is below your mark for the rest of the coursework it will not be included in your mark. If the quality of this essay is better than the rest of your coursework it will be used to uplift your overall mark.
Using the ethical theories presented and other material from the module, critically reflect upon the statement: "Surely if we have good codes of ethics and strong corporate governance society has hope?"
Answers should consider "ethics" in the context of Corporate Governance, both at an individual level, a company level and a societal level. Reference to Corporate Social Responsibility is likely.
You may rely upon your own personal observation, analysis of newspaper reports and case study material to do this, along with academic and professional articles.
Students might find it helpful to look at the "ethics" imposed by regulators and governments, the "ethics" demanded by stakeholders and the "ethics" of individual directors. By highlighting conflicting ethical underpinnings will allow a discussion to made about potential ethical conflict.

Marking Categories for the coursework
A mark will be given for each question. The mark will be formed by reference to the following criteria.
1. Has the student answered the specific question posed in their own words using a critical academic approach?
2. What level of technical understanding has been shown?
3. How clear, powerful and effective is the prose?
Note: lack of volume will automatically put a student below 40% for most of the categories.
Note: lack of referencing, sub headings and clear layout will generally put a student below 40% for most of the categories.
To pass at 40%
1. A reasonable interaction with all the specific descriptive elements of the questions must be shown. There has to be evidence of an attempt at criticality.
2. There must be evidence of technical interaction with the module.
3. The prose must carry explicit meaning in sufficient volume to be able to substantiate the above criteria 1. and 2.
How to fail: but still do a lot of work
1. Give a text book answer about an issue connected with the question - but fail to interact with the specific requirements of the questions. Alternatively, only address a few of the specific sub requirements of each of the questions.
2. Give regurgitated text book definitions and explanations about issues connected with the question. Fail to communicate a clear understanding of the basic issues covered in the lectures.
3. Write in such an unclear manner that markers have to infer meaning.
How to score over 70%
To score over 70% student must combine: * fluent academic rigour and perspective, with a * robust professional and commercial sensitivity
Some mature students rely too heavily upon their professional knowledge and are disappointed when they receive marks in the 50s and 60s. This is because they fail to interact in an appropriately sophisticated academic manner with the material.
More detailed marking grids will be made available on Blackboard as the module progresses.
General mark bands

10% Some reference to the category might be inferred. This category can only be created by use of inference.
20% Some marginal interaction and substandard interaction with the category can be seen, or an alternative approach is used that does not follow the module ethos and guidelines set out. This category is generally signalled by "unique" styles of interaction.
30% Some attempt made, but not of the required pass standard. This category is generally signalled by lack: lack of clarity, volume, focus to the question, focus to the guidelines, or focus to generally accepted academic protocol.
40% Reasonable attempt made, sufficient to pass.
50% Evidence of interaction but lacking basic power, consistency, volume, precision, clarity, flow, cogency or other. This category is generally signalled by weakness: rather than a lack of strength.
60% Evidence of good interaction. Evidence of power, consistency, volume, precision, clarity, flow, cogency or other. This is generally signalled by a lack of strength: rather than pervasive weakness.
70% Consistently strong and appropriate interaction. With power, consistency, volume, precision, clarity, flow, cogency etc… This is generally signalled by consistency and cogency: rather than a patchwork of outcomes.
80% As 70% but with additional dynamic perception, creativity, exceptional rigour, or outstanding depth and volume. This is generally signalled by a consistently strong piece of work supporting something special.
90% Exemplary. Interaction with the academic literature is that of a high performing PhD student.

Some useful resources

European Corporate Governance Institute http://www.ecgi.org/ List of lots of corporate governance codes from around the world. http://www.ecgi.org/codes/all_codes.php Live blog by Robert Goddard
It's often a bit technical, but very up to date. http://www.corporatelawandgovernance.blogspot.com/ Where to find out about UK listed companies: for case study comparison http://www.londonstockexchange.com/prices-and-markets/stocks/stocks-and-prices.htm Transparency international http://www.transparency.org/ "A world in which government, politics, business, civil society and the daily lives of people are free of corruption"
PIRC
http://www.pirc.co.uk/
"PIRC is the UK's leading independent research and advisory consultancy providing services to institutional investors on corporate governance and corporate social responsibility."
FRC
http://www.frc.org.uk/Home.aspx
"The FRC is the UK's independent regulator responsible for promoting high quality corporate governance and reporting to foster investment."
Blackboard
I have put loads of information on Blackboard - please use it.

Good Corporate Governance text books
Corporate Governance: Monks and Minnow
Corporate Governance and Accountability: Solomon
Coporate Governance and Ethics: Rezaee

CSR Text Books
Business and Scoiety: Buchholtz and Carrill
Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility: Griseri and Seppala
Mainstreaming Corporate Responsibility: Smith Lenssen

Ethics Text Books
Business Ethics: Collins

Business Ethics: Crane and Matten
Corporate Governance journal
Corporate Governance: an International Review

Business Ethics
Journal of Business Ethics
Edward Freeman
Denis Collins

Where to find out about UK listed companies: for case study comparison http://www.londonstockexchange.com/prices-and-markets/stocks/stocks-and-prices.htm This will not link directly to the Annual Report and Accounts.
You will need to do your own search using terms such as:
"investor relations"
"annual report and accounts"
"corporate"
"investors"

Please note that not all of the companies in each grouping are directly comparable, and some might not contain segmental split information. Banks
Barclays
Lloyds Group - make sure you get the bank and not the Insurance Group
HSBC
Royal Bank of Scotland

Big giants

BP (oil)
Rio Tinto (mining)

Travel and Leisure (ie. Pubs and Restaurants)
Weatherspoon ( J D)
Greene and King
Whitbread
Mitchells & Butlers

Food and Drug Retailers (ie. Supermarkets)
Tesco
Morrisons
Sainsbury's
John Lewis - even though it is not FTSE 350

Beverages ( some of their brands will be familiar) - but these are hard to do
Barr (AG)
Britvic
Diageo
SAB Miller

Food producers (some of their brands will be familiar)
Associated British Foods
Unilever
Dairy Crest
General Retailers
Marks and Spencer
Debenhams is NOT recommended as it has sparse disclosures
Mothercare
W H Smith
J D Sports
Sports Direct
Halfords

Betting companies

William Hill
Ladbrokes

Media

B Sky B
ITV
Pearson

Travel and Leisure (Airlines)

Easy Jet
Avoid: International Airlines Group ( this is tricky as IAG group has just been created by combining British Airways plus Iberian Airlines)
Dart Group (run Jet2.com - but are not FTSE 350)

Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology (these will be hard - but should be worth the effort)

Astra Zeneca
GlaxcoSmithKline
Shire

Clarification of plagiarism and referencing issues
Facts and other people's theories and opinions must be referenced to an appropriate source. Each section of the report should be based on multiple sources, not just one source. If material is quoted directly from the source you must put the quote in inverted commas eg. 'The Companies Act 2006 is the key legal document pertaining to company formation and operation at law' (Fletcher, 2009). If material is paraphrased, and even expanded, it should still be referenced eg. Companies Act 2006 is an important UK legal document covering all the key legal aspects of how companies and their agents behave at law (Fletcher, 2009).
You cannot just quote facts in inverted commas repeatedly as this does not demonstrate a sufficient level of English. This means that you must paraphrase some of the facts that you incorporate into your report.
You cannot quote the lecture notes, instead you must quote the source material behind them. Remember that the lecture notes are not an example of academic writing, they are just notes.
Use of words like 'asserts', 'claims' and 'seems to indicate' can help in including potentially biased sources into your report.
If you think something is a common fact and are unsure as to how to reference it, for the purposes of this report reference it (Common Fact). Please do not over use this concession.
If you are quoting something cited in another work you need to use a reference like : (Smith (2008) cited in Fletcher (2009)).

General rule about finding your voice
Many students will be able to find their own voice and be able to express it based upon facts, analysis and other's opinions and theories. Such students will intuitively be thinking deeply and critically about the issues presented. They will not just believe facts, opinions and theories uncritically.
Other students, struggling to come to grips with a new subject that has a vast scope, sometimes struggle to find their own voice. This is predominantly because such students have not critically thought about the subject matter. Such students should ask questions like why something happened; how something happened; and what the implication of something happening might be. This will allow such students to generate ideas that will help them start to critically analyse an issue and start to voice opinions that show a deeper level of thinking. A person can only write after they have thought.
Conversely, a person can often only truly think after they have written. Students are encouraged to read their work and then consider what questions their writing then poses. Thinking about the answers about such questions and then including a discussion, analysis or review of such matters can lead to a much improved piece of work.

Plagiarism control
Referencing must follow SHU guidelines. You must reference every time you use someone else's work or idea (even if you paraphrase the idea). You do not have to reference common facts. If you don’t know if something is a common fact simply use a footnote to say this.
An MA is a wonderful opportunity to think deeply and work hard. An MA is a discrete level above a first degree.
Unfortunately a minority of students think that they can rush coursework and leave it till the last minute. Under such circumstances the risk of plagiarism increases.
If your written English is not perfect do not worry. Write in the best English you can. You will not lose significant marks for minor grammatical errors or occasional spelling mistakes. It is better to write in your own English than to copy someone else's work and be caught for cheating.
Please note we cannot infer meanings from your written work - we can only give credit for what is explicitly stated.

Plagiarism control: large chunks of factual or explanatory bullet points used in scripts that do not use consistently flowing and precise English will receive no marks. Bullet points can be used for summary and conclusion sections in any script, but must flow from previous discussion and analysis.

Plagiarism control: diagrams that are not critically introduced , explained or discussed will receive no marks.

Plagiarism control: TurnItIn will be used by the markers to spot plagiarism.

Some tips to help you are included below to help you write clearly.

Your voice
Your voice should be heard in the report. The requirement for each section will often suggest how you voice can be made clear in the report. However, your voice must be based on the facts that you have presented or the analysis you have presented. Some examples of how your voice can be heard are set out below. This is not an exhaustive list, merely illustrative. * Explaining how something came about * Explaining why something happened or is important * Explaining the implication of something * Writing a summary conclusion that flows from the facts, analysis and other comments. * Making links to other facts, disciplines, ideas etc * Demonstrating relationships * Invoking theory and demonstrating its relevance * Applying theory * Including notes that demonstrate you really understand the material by perhaps highlighting ambiguity * Comparing or contrasting facts, ideas or theories * Analysing data: the analysis required will be stated * Giving an opinion when a conclusion may not be readily obvious. This must flow form the previous analysis. * Being critical in a way that enhances the report. This could involve mentioning the limitations or veracity of some information presented. * Raising questions that flow from the analysis (this cannot be overused) * Discussing arguments for and against a position
Your voice might be heavily influenced by what other people have written or said. If this is the case write what you think in your own words and then add a comment like: 'this is supported by papers such as Turnbull (2006)'.
Use of phrases such as 'appears to be' 'would seem that' 'we can conjecture that' all can be used to exercise your voice, whilst not asserting that your opinion is completely robust.
Please note that report is based mainly on facts. Given the word count you will soon realise that you must think carefully about how you include your voice into the report.
Use your voice to prove that you have understood the material and the related issues; that you have thought about the issues for yourself and arrived at some opinions or conclusions; to demonstrate that you realise that issues some issues have an exact answer whilst some have issues of ambiguity; and most importantly to highlight the most important issues arising from the perspective of an academic reviewing the world to understand behaviour and influence positive change in society.
You might find that your voice is only used occasionally. The secret is to ensure that you use it effectively. If you have any concerns please bring draft sections of your report to the class.

The use of "inverted commas" and paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is a very high level linguistic skill. Paraphrasing means taking someone else's words and conveying their meaning using different words, metaphors, idioms and sentence structures.
Paraphrasing is very useful when you want to summarise a block of text or complete academic paper, the paraphrase is constructed to convey the overarching sense of the longer piece of writing. Students are encouraged to paraphrase when summarising a longer piece of work.

Paraphrasing is exceptionally hard to do when you simply want to use a single sentence or phrase from another person's work. Unless you have a super level of English students are NOT ENCOURAGED to paraphrase simple sentences or phrases.
You do not need to waste time attempting to change a simple phrase or sentence into your own words!
Instead:
* introduce the quote you want to use in your own words * 'quote the original text in inverted commas' * make sure you reference the text, eg.(Aguilera, 2006) * and then comment on the quote using your own coice.
For example you might say that:
It is important to note that "firms are situated within a society and political tradition" (Aguilera, 2006). As such a socio-political viewpoint will be used to analyse the following case studies.
Notice that the quote is introduced in my own words. The phrase 'It is important to note that' shows the reader that I understand the importance of the quote that I am going to use.
The actual quote is taken directly from Aguilera's paper "firms are situated within a society and political tradition".
The reference follows the Harvard referencing style (Aguilera, 2006), and a full reference is included in the references section of the coursework.
Then I do not rely on the quote to carry the argument, but build my argument using the quote. "As such a socio-political viewpoint will be used to analyse the following case studies." Aguilera has defined and explained the socio-political viewpoint - that is why I must reference Aguilera.
But I have chosen to use the viewpoint, and choosing to use the idea is my work. It is often important to explicitly state why you have chosen to use an idea from another writer. This shows the marker that you are thinking critically for yourself.
If you merely cite Aguilera, that is not plagiarism - but if you merely cite and do not comment you are relying on other people to carry the argument. At MA level you must find a way of voicing an argument yourself.
If your English is not super strong the best way to do this is to follow the method of * introducing a "quote in inverted commas" * "quoting the work of another verbatim but in inverted commas" * and commenting upon their work in your own words.
If you waste time attempting to disguise other people's ideas by paraphrasing them (even if you reference them) all you will do is obscure and confuse the original meaning. You will not convey the original idea in its intended form, and more importantly will not show the marker that you are able to voice your own critical analysis, opinion and conclusions.

Disguising another person's work: using synonyms
Say this was the original text:
"firms are positioned within a society and political tradition"
If I simply find a synonym for each word, I create the sentence:
"firms are positioned inside a civilization and affairs of the state ritual" the second sentence means little.
Do not use this technique: use the "quote in inverted commas" (and reference) method

Disguising another person's work that was not originally in English: using google translate
Say this was the original text:
"firms are positioned within a society and political tradition"
If I put this into Google translate I get:
公司定位在一個社會和政治傳統
If I then put the above phrase in Google translate, I get:
"Positioning the company in a social and political traditions."
This has now confused the meaning of the sentence to a point where the reader is having to infer the meaning - the meaning is not explicit.
Switching into Urdu we have:
"فرمیں ایک ایسے معاشرے اور سیاسی روایت کے اندر پوزیشن میں ہیں".

Which when "translated" back gives:
"firms in a position in society and political tradition"
Which again obscures the meaning.
If you are spending excessive mounts of time attempting to translate use the "quote in inverted commas" (and reference) method

Referencing
Any material or idea that use from another source, even if it is paraphrased must be acknowledged in the text by noting the author and the date of the publication. Please follow the conventions used in the SHU leaflet ' Referencing a quick guide', but subdivide the types of sources into the groups discussed below.
At the end of the report, in the references section, the references that you quote must be arranged in the following groups in alphabetical order.
References

* Academic journals - use Harvard referencing system * Academic text books - include page number of quote

Source documents

* Source documents eg. codes, regulations and guidance. Also Annual Reports and Accounts.

Notes

* Individual entity websites - eg. Institute of Internal Auditors * Newspaper and magazine articles

Other

* Sources quoted via a weak source - eg. newspaper articles cited in a Wikipedia report. If however you have checked through to the original source you can quote the original source. * Any other source not covered here * Popular internet sites - you must state who the author is, or if this information is unavailable explain why you think the inclusion of such a source is valid and why you have not been able to obtain the information from another stronger source.

You cannot base your report on popular internet sites. This is unacceptable at this level. The best way to use popular internet sites is to look at them to give you ideas and information and then find stronger sources to back the information up. This does not mean that you cannot use such sources sparingly; remembering to include the additional information stated above.

Example of writing: using case study data to build an argument
Made up example: In Country XXX: from as early as the seventeenth century joint stock companies were used to conduct some aspects of trade (a nuanced common fact). This gave rise to issues arising from the divorce of ownership and management - that were predominantly controlled at law by the government at this time (My voice used to create analysis). It can be argued that the history of corporate governance began with the formation of the first joint stock companies, when it must be noted the first stock exchange was also created (My voice). However, corporate governance only appears to have been recognised as a unique topic since around 1992, where high profile collapses such as Maxwell, Polly Peck and BCCI gave birth to the discipline, (Solomon,2007). This is not to say that developments did not occur between these two dates, but developments appeared to match the speed of the development of the market itself (My voice making a perceptive comment).
The development of the market appears to have been driven by relentless economic advancement - which has been facilitated by the prevailing political climate (Common fact). Country XXX was one of the leading countries in the world to evolve from a mercantile economy of the seventeenth century to a free market capitalist economy (Common fact). The limited company sits as a major actor in such economies, and so it is unsurprising that the governance of such entities is of significant concern (my voice making a perceptive comment).
The story of corporate governance appears to be closely linked to the development of effective stock markets, a feature of free market capitalism. Stock markets need confidence to operate effectively, and history seems to teach us that every time the stock markets created a bubble, or a significant company failed due to unethical behaviour, issues pertaining to corporate governance have been highlighted. Sometimes government have stepped in to bring control to the market via law and regulation (for example after the South Sea Bubble in 1720, and the Financial Crisis of 2007), but sometimes the market itself has taken action to manage its own behaviour (for example the Cadbury Report in 1992).
As country XXX attempts to maintain its position as one of the leading economies of the world the performance of its financial markets is crucial (common fact). Good corporate governance is required to build trust in markets and so this is why corporate governance is of such relevance today (my voice giving a conclusion). Free markets are considered vital for the to prosperity of whole countries and so it can be concluded that good corporate governance is vital for the prosperity of Country XXX.
It must be noted that many of the significant institutions within the economy of Country XXX are not publically listed companies that are traded on a stock exchange (common fact). There are more unlisted private companies than pubic companies, and public sector organisations such as hospitals and schools are a significant feature of the overall economic and political organisation of the country (common facts). The study of corporate governance in this report is concerned primarily with public listed companies.

Example of critical discussion: using my own perceptions (that are embedded in the ideas of CSR)
The style of writing shown below does not specifically quote any theory - but its discussion is centred around themes such as: * CSR * transparency, reporting and accountability * ethics and philanthropy

This is a made up partial example: In my country there is a ruling class of people and a sub class of under privileged labourers. The government only fund a person's education up to the age of 11. After the age of 11 children can only get an education if their parents are rich enough to fund it. It would appear that management jobs in the large companies are only given to people with a University education.
Whilst this makes sense from the employers' perspective it means that there is a class of people who will never be able to obtain well paid jobs. In the interests of helping people better themselves I think that all large companies should disclose the educational backgrounds of all their management staff and have to disclose a policy of how they are helping to facilitate the career advancement of people who have not been well educated.
However, I feel that it is unfair to make the large companies responsible for changing this. The government are responsible for funding education and so I think that such disclosures would be useful only in as far as raising the profile of the issue and starting to place pressure on the government.

Asking questions What kind of questions should I ask? You should ask questions that demonstrate that you have understood how to think in a deep, academic manner. They should not be superficial or naïve. They should be focussed, justified and demonstrate analytical thought. To give a idea of what I mean - you may want to ask specific questions about: * words that you have heard about - but are uncertain about their specific meaning * ideas that you have heard about - but require clarification * where you might get information from * how you might choose to analyse the information you have found * the role of Corporate Governance in your chosen country * the flow of an argument you are using * the feedback that you want me to give to you The questions should be justified. I will explain this by example below. Questions about words that you have heard about - but are uncertain about their specific meaning. A poor question would be: 'What does 'The Board' mean?' A justified, but weak question would be: ' I think that understanding the Board is very important in Corporate Governance. Are there different types of Board?' A better question would be: ' I notice that the group of the Directors of company is termed The Board in the UK - and this commonly includes both executive and non executive directors. However, on the continent I notice that the Board can refer to either the Supervisory Board, or the Management Board - and these are distinct 'Boards'. Am I right to assume that the Management Board on the continent is more like a 'Senior Management Team' rather than a UK Board? The better question shows that the student has thought about the definition - but is legitimately struggling to understand the nuanced differences between the types of Boards across the world.

Questions about ideas that you have heard of - but are uncertain about. A poor question would be 'What is the agency concept'? A justified, but weak question would be: 'I think that the Agency Concept might be a very helpful idea to use because it helps explains why people sometimes might not act as others might expect them to. Please could you explain this a bit more to me?' A better question would be. 'I note that the Agency concept is generally applied to Directors acting on behalf of shareholders. However, the more I have thought about this the more I have noticed that the employees often act as agents of the Directors. Thinking this through logically: does this mean that the employees are Agents of the Shareholders? Or are they simply employees of the company?' Questions about where you might get information from A poor question would be 'Where can I find out about the shareholdings of a particular company?' A justified, weak question would be 'I have looked in the Annual Report and Accounts of company X but have found no shareholding information. Where might I find out about this? A better question would be: 'I have performed a literature review about the shareholdings of listed companies in my chosen country. This suggests that many of the companies are insider controlled - but I haven't yet found any research that substantiates this. I have found five other references to insider control - in general - but nothing more specific. By rummaging around the internet I have found details of the main shareholder of several listed companies. For my coursework: what do you think if I explain my methodology, quote all my general sources but then mention a few examples that I have found - all the time maintaining that the examples cannot be generalisable? Would this be an effective method of research and explanation?' Note that the strong question demonstrates a thorough involvement with the desk top research process and suggests a possible solution. Questions about how you might analyse information that you have found A poor question would be: 'How do I show the Board remuneration'. A weak but justified question would be: 'Here is my numerical analysis of the Board remuneration - what do I do next?' A strong justified question would be: 'Here is my analysis of the Board remuneration - the issues that I think are key points are highlighted. I have listed these in order of relative importance. In summary I think that the remuneration package favours the Directors because there is only a small bonus element compared to basic salary. Do you think that this is a fair conclusion, and do you think that I have focussed upon the key issue?' 'Furthermore, I think that it would be helpful to look at a few other similar company accounts and see if this is typical. Even though this extra work is not prescribed - what do you think to this idea?' Questions about the role of Corporate Governance in your chosen country A poor question would be: 'Do you think Corporate Governance is important in my chosen country?' A weak but justified question would be: 'I have found a document issued by the government talking about Corporate Governance - here it is. What is the relevance of this information?' A strong and justified question would be: 'I have found a document issued by the government talking about Corporate Governance - here it is. I have read through it and highlighted what I think are the main points. In it they refer to a document prepared by the OECD - I found this and read through the executive summary. After reading these documents it seems to me that unless there is strong Corporate Governance then companies might start behaving in a way that is not beneficial to society? I understand the point - but how can you reconcile this with the need for shareholders to maximise their financial investment?' Questions about the flow of an argument that you are using A poor question would be: 'How do I set this section out?' A weak but justified question would be: ' I think I need to state some facts, establish a flow and draw a conclusion for this section. How can I do this?' A strong and justified question would be: ' I can explain the key regulatory bodies of my chosen country. I can also explain the key corporate governance documents. I have noticed from reading around the subject that the government wants to control the quality of governance - and has done this by creating lots of laws. But on the other hand the extra reading that I have done suggests that the government has not funded the regulators with enough money to discipline all companies for breaching the laws. I think that the government are contradicting themselves here. Would it be appropriate to note this and draw a suitable conclusion as to the relationship between the rhetoric of the government, the legal structure and the regulatory environment?'

Questions about the flow of the argument you are using A poor question would be: 'What should I write for the following section?' A weak but justified question would be: 'These are the issues that I would like to talk about….. How would you suggest that I structure my argument using the facts, ideas and opinions that I have found?' A strong justified question would be: 'These are the issues that I would like to talk about. I have thought about setting out the answer in the following manner……….The sub-conclusion that I am likely to reach using this flow is '………..'. Do you think that this is the best way of setting this argument out - or do you think there is a way of improving it? Another strong justified question would be: 'Here is my draft for a specific section of the report……Based upon assertions A, B and C my sub conclusion is '………….'. on reflection I think that a more appropriate sub conclusion might be '…………..' This is because the sub conclusion contains weaknesses X and Y. How persuasive do you think this argument is?' Questions about the feedback that you want me to give to you A poor question would be: 'What should I do to get a better mark?' A poor question would be: 'What do I need to improve?' A poor questions would be: 'I am stuck: please can you help me?' A justified question would be: 'I am concerned that my writing lacks clarity. Please can you give me suggestions to improve the clarity of my writing? A justified question would be: 'I am concerned that my writing does not highlight 'my voice'. Please can you give me suggestions to improve the way that I use 'my voice'?' A justified question would be: 'I am concerned that my referencing might not be completely correct. Please could you suggest how I might improve this?' A justified question would be: 'I am confident to write down and reference facts, but I am struggling to make perceptive or critical comments about them. Please can you suggest how I might do this effectively?' A justified question would be: 'I am confident to write down and reference facts, but I am struggling to establish links or connections. Please can you suggest how I might do this effectively?' A justified question would be: 'I am worried that I may have made some technical errors. Please can you point out to me where you think my major errors might be?' A justified question would be: 'I have lots of ideas and thoughts but I am struggling to establish a structure that will contain an embedded critical discussion that will flow into a conclusion. Here is my suggested framework - please could you specifically appraise the quality of the flow of this piece of writing?' Buzz words that you might want to use are: * flow * precision * relative importance * sub conclusions * conclusion * facts * opinions * critical comment * perceptive thought * links * connections * other opinions * discussion * synthesis * summary * explanation * context

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[ 1 ]. eg. This block of information is assumed to comprise of common facts and so is not referecned.
[ 2 ]. eg. Aguilera, R et al (2006) Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility: a comparative analysis of the UK and the US, Corporate Governance: an International Review, 14(3), pp. 147-158.