Cambridge Judge Business School Discussions on Corporate Governance & Ethics: Recent Episodes
Cambridge University
Cutting-edge expert commentary, analysis and business insights on the corporate governance, corporate social responsibility and corporate ethics issues of the day from Cambridge Judge Business School's global faculty, associates and guest speakers.
Dr Kamal Munir, who has carried out extensive fieldwork in the manufacturing sectors of developing countries, says current regulation makes it easy for Asian textile factory owners to get around routine inspections and audits of their manufacturing premises. His findings were recently brought into sharp focus by the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster, Bangladesh's worst ever industrial accident, in which over 1,200 people lost their lives.
The Cadbury Collection, consisting of papers relating to the activities, discussions, findings and recommendations of the 1990s enquiry into "Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance", has been completed with the handover of copies of speeches made by the committee's chairman, Sir Adrian Cadbury.
A fresh study into corporate social responsibility by Dr Stelios Zyglidopoulos and his fellow researchers outlines the risks companies face if accused of 'greenwashing' by using environmentalism or green credentials to claim that their policies and products are environmentally friendly.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can significantly increase national competitiveness and there is even greater benefit for those countries with a low innovation record, according to recent research by Dr Christos Pitelis and Dr Ioanna Boulouta.
Countries with low records of creativity, when compared with high innovators, stand to benefit more by implementing nationwide CSR-based positioning strategies.
Underperforming chief executives are protected if they are part of the same social networks as their directors and even when forced out, well-connected CEOs can rely on the 'old boy' network to find new and better employment, explains Dr Bang Dang Nguyen. His new research looks into the impact of social ties on the effectiveness of boards of directors and on corporate governance.
Dr Stelios Zyglidopoulos warns that, fuelled by the economic climate and constant pressure for performances that are not feasible given existing resources, corporate corruption is more widespread than ever. In countries where corruption is prevalent, he believes multinational corporations should lead the battle to stamp it out.
Dr Pedro Saffi explains the new Chinese approach which includes buying physical assets, companies with state-of-the-art technologies and global R&D facilities. This new strategy will, he says, impact many Western and European companies
Professor Duane Windsor argues there are weaknesses to several important theories of corporate social responsibility practice and scholarship.
The parliamentary and police investigations into phone-hacking and corrupt practices involving journalists and their police sources will also call into question the corporate governance of not just News International but its parent, News Corporation. Professor Simon Deakin discusses the ramifications of the eventual outcomes.
New research by Professor Raghavendra Rau, Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Professor of Finance, places fresh light onto bribery and flies in the face of previous survey-based studies. Focusing on the initial date of award of the contract for which the bribe was paid rather than the date on which the bribery was revealed, and calculating the impact on the company of getting the contract at that time, the research shows finds that firms bribing their way to contracts under-perform for up to three years before and after securing the work for which the bribe was paid.
Research by Dr Bang Dang Nguyen shows that good CEOs of companies which are performing well are actually underpaid
The mitigation of risk needs to be more professional than it was before the crisis explains Sir David Walker
The influential Cadbury Report which looked at the financial aspects of Corporate Governance in 1992 has been gifted to Cambridge Judge Business School and has been digitalised.
Michael Littlechild explains why companies need to merge their business ethics with their corporate social responsibility strategy and make them a central not peripheral business issue.
Change needs to happen sooner rather than later - Jack Keenan thinks that this process needs to begin in the boardrooms, where better corporate governance will recreate trust in businesses.
Even Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) budgets need to show a return. Professor Jaideep Prabhu of Cambridge Judge Business School and Ardi Kolah of 'Guru in a Bottle' have launched a ground breaking new study to measure the Return on Investment (ROI) from CSR outcomes from sports sponsorship with UK cricket, rugby and football and the 2012 Olympic partners. If advertisers can measure their impact on the bottom line so should CSR investors!