OL326 all weeks discussions latest 2018 august

OL-326-Q6668 Social Environment of Business

Week 1 discussion

Social Issues and the Role of Business

Briefly introduce yourself. Share your background and your thoughts about this course. Then, after completing this week’s reading, respond to the following questions in your initial post:

What do you think are the two most important issues that we face as a society and why?

What are some ways that the business community might be able to help solve those two critical social issues?

Do you believe businesses only care about profit or do you believe they care about stakeholders? Justify your arguments with examples.

In responding to your peers, think about how their arguments compare and contrast with your arguments and identify any new information learned from reading their posts.

Note that this is the only instance in this course in which a camera phone will be allowed. This discussion addresses some of the fundamental limitations of a camera phone in engaging in the type of work you will do in this course.

OL-326-Q6668 Social Environment of Business

Week 2 discussion

Social Responsibility

Read the following two articles:

The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, Friedman

A Stakeholder Approach to Strategic Management, Freeman and McVea

Friedman argued, “Few trends could so thoroughly undermine the very foundations of our free society as the acceptance by corporate officials of a social responsibility other than to make as much money for their stockholders as possible.” In contrast, Freeman and McVea argued that the role of a corporation is to balance the needs of all stakeholders.

How do you feel about Friedman’s and Freeman and McVea’s statements? Explore both sides of the argument in your initial post by providing one argument that supports Friedman’s assertion and one argument that refutes it. Then provide one argument that supports Freeman and McVea’s assertion and one argument that refutes it. Once you have explored both sides of each argument, explain which author(s) you think is correct and why.

In responding to your peers, think about how their arguments compare and contrast with your arguments and identify any new information learned from reading their posts.

OL-326-Q6668 Social Environment of Business

Week 3 discussion

Board of Directors

Read the following articles:

Board/Executive Director Tensions

What Led to Enron, WorldCom and the Like?

A Push to Fix the Fix on Wall Street

8 ways SOX changed corporate governance

U.S. Corporate Governance: What Went Wrong and Can It Be Fixed?

In your initial post, respond to the following questions:

Do you agree or disagree that members of the board of directors and the executive director should be held more accountable, even legally charged, for any unlawful organizational wrongdoings, such as the incidents that occurred with WorldCom and Enron? Explain why or why not.

If you were a CEO, how would you determine whom to nominate for a position on the board of directors?

In responding to your peers, think about how their arguments compare and contrast with your arguments and identify any new information learned from reading their posts.

OL-326-Q6668 Social Environment of Business

Week 4 discussion

Moral Development

Choose a company that you are familiar with, such as a company that you work for or have worked for in the past or some other company with which you have basic familiarity. In your initial post, provide a brief description of the company and what it does. In addition, classify the company as pre-conventional, conventional, or post-conventional and identify the main factors that you considered in your classification.

In responding to your peers, do you agree with their classification? What other factors might you consider in determining the company’s ethical stage?

OL-326-Q6668 Social Environment of Business

Week 5 discussion

Oil Spills

On April 20, 2010, there was an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Review a history of those events from the following sources:

Deepwater Horizon Accident and Response

Gulf Oil Spill (the captioned version of this video can be found here)

100 Days of the BP Spill: A Timeline

In your initial post, respond to the following questions:

Did BP respond in a manner that was appropriate to stockholders or did they take a stakeholder view? In making your determination, what were the primary factors that you considered? Provide specific examples, where applicable.

If you were the CEO of BP at that time, what would you have done in the hours, days, and weeks after the explosion?

In responding to your peers, think about how their arguments compare and contrast with your arguments and identify any new information learned from reading their posts.

OL-326-Q6668 Social Environment of Business

Week 6 discussion

Advertising

McDonald’s has been widely criticized for its advertising practices, which have heavily influenced children. It has also been accused of contributing to childhood obesity. Read the following case study: Case 2-7 McDonalds and Obesity.

Discuss the role of McDonald’s (and other fast food restaurant chains), parents, and the government in trying to prevent childhood obesity. Specifically, address the following in your initial post:

Does McDonald’s have a right to advertise as much as it wants?

What role do parents play? What role should government play?

Do you think the government should ban advertisements directed toward children? Why or why not?

Use examples, where possible, to support your response.

In responding to your peers, think about how their arguments compare and contrast with your arguments and identify any new information learned from reading their posts.

OL-326-Q6668 Social Environment of Business

Week 7 discussion

In this discussion, you will read and respond to an article from The New York Times on sweatshops: Two Cheers for Sweatshops. Also, the following two resources will provide more background information to assist with the discussion. Read the article In Many Chinese Factories, Loss of Fingers and Low Pay and watch the video Apple Chinese Factory Foxconn Nightline (the captioned version of this video can be found here).

In your initial post, address the following:

After reading the articles, did your impression of sweatshops change? Explain.

Do you agree or disagree that sweatshops are a vital part of the global economy? Explain and consider the impact of globalization in your response.

If you were the CEO of a corporation, would you consider using sweatshops as part of your strategy? Explain why or why not. Consider the concept of a CSR filter as you respond to this question.

In responding to your peers, think about how their arguments compare and contrast with your arguments and identify any new information learned from reading their posts.

OL-326-Q6668 Social Environment of Business

Week 8 discussion

What are the three most important things you learned in this course? For each item, why did you consider it to be most important? What do you think you will do differently in the future as a result of this learning, either as an employee or as an individual?

In responding to your peers, think about how their arguments compare and contrast with your arguments and identify any new information learned from reading their posts.