BMGT45610

This module aims to provide insights into the theory and practice of good governance in an organisation. The two main viewpoints will be project and corporate governance. The module will probably generate more questions than answers for you but it should also help you manage you own reputational risk. You should be able to propose good governance principles and processes for a project or organisation. You should be able to spot some failings in governance structure and you should be able to advise clients and colleagues of your findings.

Governance is all about risk management in an organisation. It is about ensuring the people in the organisation do the right things and do them well (performance) and it is about making sure the people in the organisation do not do the wrong things (conformance).

The area of financial economics is in large part the science of risk identification and risk management. Banks and insurance companies have been undertaking this activity for centuries. Financial accounting was originally designed to help European merchants to determine if they made a profit on their trading ventures. Ships with European cloth went east and came back with spices and other rarities from the east. Typically, the returning vessel was sold and the investors divided the spoils. The accountant calculates the profit on the venture and effectively created a stewardship function validating where the assets on the venture went. Today, preparing the financial accounts (and associated audit) is a stewardship activity - in a PM context, the project's budget is the basis of financial control and stewardship.

Project governance is all about risk management. Depending on your perspective it can be as simple as ensuring resources are spent appropriately in a project. In an organisation with many projects and a PMO (project management office) project governance can cover what projects get approved.

Some organisations are effectively a portfolio of projects so what looks like project governance in one organisation could, in fact, be the way of working for organisations like management consultants, building contractors etc. Different organisations need different governance structures. Why, because different organisations have different risk characteristics. Governance in the public sector is different to governance in a charity, which is different to governance in a plc.

Finally, control and incentive (governance) mechanisms are all very well but how does the organisation relate to the outside world? Enter stakeholder management. To make things more interesting, consider that you need to manage potential risks and conflicts that might occur with your stakeholders (think of government relations).

Remember there is no “right way” but there are plenty of “wrong ways” of governance and stakeholder management .

You will participate in discussions in a group environment, work as a professional team, and write and present in a professional business style. Or as W.B. Yeats put it: “Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people”.