Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility in the US and EU
Lecturers: Prof. Dr. Peter Ries (HWR), Dr. Debernee Privott (UAlbany)
Format: Fully Online - Synchronous and Asynchronous
Timeline: April 9th - April 30th, 2021
Objectives: This course compares different legal traditions in the US and in the EU and its member states. Students will discuss varying approaches to corporate social responsibility and corporate governance and the advantages and disadvantages of each system will be discussed. Participants will develop concepts for a new corporate legal system which serves both the interests of companies and the interests of stakeholders.This course will also consider the history of Black Wall Street and the impact of laws and policies on its development. Students will also be encouraged to consider how laws and policies may address these concerns, even today, including in other locations.
Tasks: Case Studies & presentations
Presentations are expected to entail a brief overview of the group’s collective thoughts regarding why criminal behavior may take place as described in the case study. COIL participants are expected to identify how legislation, policing, courts, punishment, and corrections have been and should be handled with the criminal justice process in mind, also highlighting the policy implications. Importantly, students are expected to differentiate between the US system of criminal justice and the related system that they have researched. Students should compare the systems and report similarities and differences in the systems. Students should make specific crime control and/or public policy recommendations based on their findings.
Case study topics include:
- You work as a manager or as a lawyer in the legal department of one of the biggest fashion retailers in Germany with a subsidiary in the Netherlands. The clothes your company sells are manufactured in Lahore, Pakistan. Some of the workers there are under the age of 18. Safety standards in the factory literally do not exist. From a legal point of view: What has to be observed when your company in Germany and the Dutch subsidiary purchases clothes from the Pakistan supplier?
- You work as a manager or as a lawyer in a US corporation. You are planning to expand your business to Europe. The CEO asks you where to incorporate your European subsidiary. In particular, he is interested in the different governance models of public corporations in European countries and the pros and cons of such models. In addition, the CEO asks you whether there are any compulsory gender quota rules for positions on the boards and whether the workforce has any influence on the boards. Tax aspects shall not be considered.
- Consider the following and consider how corporate governance may have affected Black Wall Street and similar economic structures; and offer suggestions for moving forward based on your research
