Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE PPL5008

 
TITLE Good Governance and Leadership

 
UM LEVEL 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course

 
MQF LEVEL 7

 
ECTS CREDITS 5

 
DEPARTMENT Policy, Politics and Governance

 
DESCRIPTION This study-unit draws on theories of the policy process, governance and institutional design; it examines the intimately connected sub-fields of 'corporate governance' and 'ethical leadership' and is designed to show their unity of purpose and practical complementarity. Corporate governance deteriorates in the absence of ethical leadership, while ethical leadership is nearly impossible in the absence of well-designed corporate governance frameworks.

The study-unit covers the following principal themes and issues:
- The distinctive characteristics of public life and policy-making, the challenges these create for the governance of institutions, state agencies and public enterprises, and the challenges to the integrity of those engaged in public life;
- The conceptual and practical association of good governance, effective policy, public sector corporate governance and ethical leadership;
- Securing corporate governance in institutional design - role delineation, decision-making protocols, supervision and scrutiny, reporting requirements, criteria for and transparency in appointments;
- Parliamentary oversight; state and internal audit institutions; the Ombudsman; judicial review; press and international scrutiny;
- Standards of conduct in public life; constitutional principles; legal regimes - public administration, whistle-blowing, data protection; freedom of information; corruption and maladministration;
- Promoting ethical leadership.

Study-Unit Aims:

The study-unit is intended:
- To impart to students a thorough understanding of the principles of corporate governance in the public sector, as well as the characteristics of ethical leadership in public life;
- To explore, through the medium of case studies, scandals, crises, weaknesses and failures of corporate governance and ethical leadership, and to draw lessons that are useful to policy leaders;
- To document and analyse the legal and institutional frameworks which regulate corporate governance and standards of conduct in Maltese public life.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Investigate, analyse and report on scandals, crises, weaknesses and failures of corporate governance and leadership in Maltese public life;
- Correctly identify systemic weaknesses in institutional design, decision-making and service delivery systems, from the standpoint of risks of conflict of interest, corruption and maladministration;
- Prescribe appropriate safeguards against risk and systemic weaknesses;
- Offer well-informed advice on public sector corporate governance to ministers, Boards of Directors and supervisory authorities, citing both the legal framework as well as principles of sound corporate governance or ethical leadership.

2. Skills:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Plan and carry out small-scale investigations on corporate governance or the conduct of public officials;
- Draft reports and memoranda on public sector corporate governance and standards of conduct.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Main Texts:

- Said, M. 2013. Corporate Governance in the Public Sector: The Ethics within a European Union Framework. Dissertation: University of Malta.
- van Wart, M. 2012. Leadership in Public Organisations: An Introduction. London: M E Sharpe.

Supplementary Readings:

- Fleming, S & M Macnamee. 2005. 'The Ethics of Corporate Governance in Public Sector Organisations: Theory and Audit', Public Management Review, Vol 7(1), 135-144.
- Hopkins, M. 2007. 'Emotional Intelligence and Board Governance: Leadership Lessons from the Public Sector', Journal of Management Psychology, Sept, 2007, Vol.22(7), p.683-700.
- Shaoul, J et al. 2012. 'Accountability and Corporate Governance of Private-Public Partnerships', Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Vol.23(3), p.213(17).
- Konzelmann, S et al., 2006. Corporate Governance and Human Resource Management, British Journal of Industrial Relations, (44:3) pp. 541–567.

Journals:

- Advances in Global Leadership: Emerald Group Publishing.
- Corporate Governance: International Journal of Business in Society. Emerald Group Publishing.
- Journal of Business Ethics. Springer Science and Business Media BV.
- The International Journal of Leadership in Public Services. Emerald Group Publishing.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture and Seminar

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Reflective Diary SEM1 No 40%
Take Home Examination (48 Hours) SEM1 Yes 60%

 
LECTURER/S George Vital Zammit

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit