BUS558: ECA (End-of-Course Assessment) SUSS- Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility, Singapore

Question 1

The objective of this ECA is to provide an opportunity for students to apply the knowledge learnt in the course and to develop the necessary technical skills and knowledge of corporate governance and corporate social responsibility as well as improve their critical and analytical thinking.

The report should be no more than 8 (eight) type-written pages (excluding the cover page, the table of contents, the reference list and/or appendices, max. 6 (six) pages) with font Times New Roman or Arial, size 12, single spacing and 2.54 cm margin for each side. All pages should be numbered.

You are required to do research from reliable sources and apply relevant theories learnt from this course to address all questions. Your answers should be well-organised and structured with correct grammar and poise. Marks will be awarded for overall quality of the answers, including coherence, clarity, and organisation of the answers, and referencing.

Select a public listed company operating in Singapore which you are familiar with.

Assume that the selected company engages you as a corporate governance expert. You are required to provide advice to its management and board of directors. You need to prepare a report addressing the following questions.

(a) Examine and discuss any TWO (2) strengths and TWO (2) weaknesses of the selected company’s corporate governance with regard to the board membership. You need to refer to the Singapore Code of Corporate Governance (last amended 11 January 2023) (“Singapore Code”) and relevant guidelines. Explain with relevant examples. How can the identified weaknesses be improved? To answer this question, you need to recommend TWO (2) solutions to address the identified weaknesses.

(b) Assess the responsibilities between the leadership of the board and management of the selected company referring to the Singapore Code of Corporate Governance (last amended 11 January 2023) (“Singapore Code”). To what extent does ethical leadership influence corporate governance practices? Provide relevant examples.

(c) Analyse whether the selected company complies with the UK’s Corporate Governance Code (2024) in terms of the roles and responsibilities of the audit committee if it wants to expand to the UK. Make recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the company’s audit committed referring to the respective UK’s Corporate Governance Code.

Question 2

(a) KoTech is a biotechnology company headquartered in Singapore. Evaluate how corporate social responsibility (CSR) can help KoTech improve its environmental sustainability. Support your arguments with relevant examples. Discuss any TWO (2) corporate digital responsibility (CDR) initiatives which can positively impact KoTech’s customers.

(b) Identify and evaluate, with relevant examples, TWO (2) main risks, regarding environmental regulations, which KoTech may encounter if it wants to operate in Southeast Asian countries. In your answer, you are expected to identify the types of risks arising from such overseas operations and advise Kotech’s CEO on how best to mitigate such risks.