MQM2BRR: Board Reputation, Responsibility and Public Relations

Module code: MQM2BRR

Module provider: Marketing and Reputation; Henley Business School

Credits: 20

Level: 7

When you'll be taught: Full year

Module convenor: Professor Nada Kakabadse, email: n.kakabadse@henley.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: No placement specified

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students:

Talis reading list:

Last updated: 19 November 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

The aim of this module is to examine reputation, responsibility and public relations as elements of the board’s stewardship responsibilities towards the organisation.

This module introduces considerations of reputation and responsibility at the board level and their importance for governance execution and organisational sustainability. Included is an understanding of how to better handle public relations, how to build board reputation both externally and with internal stakeholders.

What is required to build board and organisation identity? It takes effort to build good reputation, which can be lost through one crisis/issue. Students will further consider board responsibilities and how to demonstrate the effective meeting of expectations as board members. This module will further include how to better engage with the press, media, online and other public communications at board level in order to build a stronger reputation, along with how to handle reputational risk and crisis issues. Students will consider how boards should prioritise broader social and environmental issues and communications concerning firm purpose. Attention will also concentrate on the nature and practice of lobbying and networking and how these impact the organisation’s policy adoption and charitable relations. Students will benefit from a broader and holistic understanding of reputation and responsibility as critical to boards delivering value.

Module learning outcomes

The aim of this module is to examine reputation, responsibility and public relationsaselements oftheboard’sstewardshipresponsibilities towardsthe organisation. 

Assessable Learning Outcomes:

By the end of themodule,it is expected that the studentswill be able to: 

• Analyse the reputation and responsibilities of board members;and how toaligntheseat thelevelof theboardand organisationin ordertopromotea cohesive identity. 

• diagnose board reputation influences internally (management) and externally (market) 

• effectively pursueengagement inorder to realiseimproved public relations from the boardtostakeholders. 

Additional Outcomes:

• Understandhowto prioritise and action broader reputational responsibilitiesthrough boardpractices. 

• Understand how to fully engage the boardacrossits range of relations with stakeholders.

Module content

This module provides a holistic overview of board level considerations of organisational reputation and responsibility. This includes an understanding of organisational identity, image and values and embedding these at board level. Students will benefit from appreciating reputation and responsibility in terms of risk and opportunity through the exercise of relational governance and its impact on strategic outcomes. Further benefit will be gained from considering internal and external perceptions in terms of handling public relations at board level. The module will benefit students through their adopting a holistic understanding of reputation, responsibility and public relations.  

This module is designed to accommodate multiple delivery points.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

 The module will be taught by academic staff, reflective of their specialism. The lectures will include: 

• Power-Pointpresentations 

• InteractiveQ&A 

• Individual and/or groupexercises 

• Work-based and active learningopportunities.

• Critical analysis and active learning opportunities

• The use of caselive studies, combiningtheory and practice to support facilitated learning.

• Use of learning technologies where appropriate.

The module will be taught byacademics withpractitionerexperience, reflective of their specialism. The lecture/workshop will include PowerPoint presentations; Interactive Q&A; Case studies and exercises that combine theory and practice to support facilitated learning. 

T&L approaches andactivities will cater to individual needs by including wide-rangingquestions as part ofascaffolding, moving progressively towards more active learning. Each student will also havetheopportunity to contribute to their own diary as part of the learning experience. 

Guided Independent Study encompasses various activities such as follow-up work, extensive reading, practice and/or practical application, understanding learning tools, and techniques. Additionally, it involves the completion of assessments. 

Participants will also gain learning applicable for directors across the private, public and third sector.

The contact hours, as illustrated in the table below, are provided for one semester for explanatory purposes only. The actual timing will be contingent on the cohort's start date.

Study hours

At least 20 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

 50% pass mark - “Students need to achieve a mark of 50% in each assessment and overall 50% mark to pass this module.”    

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

This module is subject to the Penalties for late submission for Postgraduate Flexible programmes policy, which can be found at:

https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmissionpgflexible.pdf

The Module Convenor will apply the following penalties to work submitted late:

• where the piece of work is submitted up to one calendar month after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark; 
• where the piece of work is submitted more than one calendar month after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Students are required to work in groups and progressively analyse and develop a case study, producing a flip-chart or power-point presentation. Students are required to present the findings to the cohort and receive feedback from their peers and from the module convenor, towards the writing up of their group case study analysis report

Reassessment

Additional costs