Corporate Governance

Essay from the year 2003 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: A bzw. 1, ESCP Europe (European Business Environment), language: English, abstract: This essay describes the problematic of corporate governance systems, which, if theyare weak, distort the efficient allocation of resources, undermine opportunities on a levelplaying field and, ultimately, hinder investment and economic development. Recent highprofile scandals, financial crises and institutional failures in Russia, Asia and the UnitedStates have brought corporate governance issues to the fore in modern western, as wellas developing countries, transitional economies, and emerging markets. Firstly, I will give a definition of corporate governance and introduce the OECDPrinciples, which are the foundation of all corporate governance systems. Secondly, Idiscuss the driving forces and the importance of corporate governance. I will thenconcentrate on national differences and recent developments, where I am particularlylooking at the UK and Germany. A special chapter about the Anglo-American influencefollows and leads to the last chapter, which covers the current situation and possiblefuture effects of applied corporate governance systems in developing and transitionalcountries. The purpose of this paper is not to go deep into legal details of corporate governance,but reveal its importance for society (stakeholder), economy (corporations and capitalmarkets) and future development of emerging market economies.