UWBS038g Assessment Briefing for Students

Assessment brief number (and title where applicable): odule leader: William Scarff Academic !ear: "0#3 $#% Semester 2 Assessment detail appro&ed at &alidation (as amended b' module modification) odule code ( title )BU00% *orporate Social +esponsibilit' and ethics
-ic. if tested here

odule ,earning outcomes: LO1

Analyse concepts and theories of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and business ethics. Discuss the rele ance of ethical and CSR concepts in or!anisational conte"ts. Differentiate CSR issues from the perspecti e of different sta$eholders. & aluate the outcomes of CSR strate!ies and pro ide reasoned predictions on the future use of CSR' and ethical perspecti es' (ithin or!anisational policy ma$in!.
)ei!htin!s (*)

LO2

LO#

LO%

Assessment t'pes

&ssay

1++*

Assessment type' (ei!htin! and LOs tested by this assessment indicated in far Ri!ht hand column abo e /mportant re0uirements ,ode of )or$in!Re.uirement to passindi idual electronic submission %+*

/and in date Date you (ill recei e feedbac$ Resit0retrie al date Assessment limits (in accordance (ith 1)2S assessment tariff)

#"th a' "0#% b' "3123 3th 4une "0#% 4ul' "0#% 2et(een 3000 and 2000 (ords.

Alwa's $eep a copy of your (or$. Alwa's $eep a file of (or$in! papers (containin! for instance copied 3ournal article and early drafts of your (or$' etc.) that sho( the de elopment of your (or$ and the sources you ha e used.

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56planation of submission re0uirements and further guidance 4he assessment for this module is sub3ect to a (ord limit to ensure consistency of approach across all modules. 5our (or$ should not e"ceed the limit indicated (e"cludin! appendices). Do not feel that you ha e to 6achie e7 this (ord count in your (or$. )hat is important is that the (or$ satisfies the stated learnin! outcomes (hich are articulated throu!h the assessment criteria (see follo(in!). -he re0uirement to .eep a file of wor.ing papers is important . 4here may be circumstances (here it is difficult to arri e at a mar$ for your (or$. 8f this is so you may be as$ed to submit your file (ithin # (or$in! days and possibly meet (ith your tutor to ans(er .uestions on your submission. 8n the case of paper copy submissions you may also be re.uired to submit an electronic copy of your (or$. Once your (or$ has been mar$ed it (ill be moderated by another lecturer and then (ill be sub3ect to further moderation by an independent e"pert from outside the 1ni ersity. 5our (or$ (ill not be returned to you but you (ill recei e detailed feedbac$ e"plainin! ho( your !rade has been arri ed at and ho( your (or$ could ha e been impro ed upon. Al(ays use of the /ar ard style referencin! system. 4he 1ni ersity9s Learnin! 8nformation Ser ices ha e produced a series of !uides co erin! a ran!e of topics to support your studies and de elop your academic s$ills includin! a !uide to /ar ard referencin! http-00(((.(l .ac.u$0lib0s$ills:for:learnin!0study:!uides.asp" &"pensi e or elaborate bindin!s and co ers of (ritten submissions are not re.uired in most instances. (Refer to !uidelines ho(e er in the case of dissertations).

A&oid academic misconduct Warning: Collusion' pla!iarism and cheatin! are ery serious offences that can result in a student bein! e"pelled from the 1ni ersity. 4he business school has a policy of acti ely identifyin! students (ho en!a!e in academic misconduct of this nature and routinely applyin! detection techni.ues includin! the use of sophisticated soft(are pac$a!es. A&oid *ollusion: 4he business school encoura!es !roup (or$in!' ho(e er to a oid collusion al(ays (or$ on your o(n in order to complete your indi idual assessments. Do not let fello( students ha e access to your (or$ before it is submitted and do not be tempted to access the (or$ of others. Refer to your module tutor if you do not understand or you need further !uidance. A&oid 7lagiarism: 5ou must use a ailable and rele ant literature to demonstrate your $no(led!e of a sub3ect' ho(e er to a oid pla!iarism you must ta$e !reat care to ac$no(led!e it properly. 5ou should therefore al(ays use of the /ar ard style referencin! system in all cases. ;la!iarism is the act of stealin! someone else<s (or$ and passin! it off as your o(n. 4his includes incorporatin! either unattributed direct .uotation(s) or substantial paraphrasin! from the (or$ of another0others. =or this reason it is important that you cite all the sources (hose (or$ you ha e dra(n on and reference them fully in accordance (ith the /ar ard referencin! standard. (4his includes citin! any (or$ that you may ha e submitted yourself pre iously). &"tensi e direct .uotations in assessed (or$ is ill ad ised because 8 t represents a poor (ritin! style that is unli$ely to meet the pass !rade mar$in! criteria' and it could lead to omission errors and a pla!iarism offence could be committed accidentally. A&oid the temptation to cheat: 4here are temptations on the internet for you to ta$e short cuts. Do

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not be tempted to either commission (or$ to be completed on your behalf or search for completed past academic (or$. When 'ou submit 'our wor. 'ou will be re0uired to sign an important declaration that: t he submission is your o(n (or$' any material you ha e used has been ac$no(led!ed and referenced' you ha e not allo(ed another student to ha e access to your (or$' the (or$ has not been submitted pre iously' etc. Assessment Brief$ -as.

-he detailed re0uirements for this tas. are as follows: 8i.e and the realit' of corporate social responsibilit'1 -he 8i.e case stud' 4his case study is based on an article by Simon >ade$ in the /ar ard 2usiness Re ie( for 2++%. 4he case study has ho(e er been adapted and supported by academic commentary from other noted authors. 4here are t(o appendices. 4he first !i es more detail to the acti ities ta$en by ?i$e. 4he second consists of some ideas and debates from noted authors. 2usiness ethics and corporate social responsibility are ne( aspects of international business. =rom these .uotations' from academic literature and from co era!e of international e ents throu!h ne(s media' it is clear that sub3ects co ered by the terms @business ethics9 and @corporate social responsibility9 are e"ercisin! e er !reater influence on the policy and strate!ies of lar!e companies. &mployees and customers li e in many different countries. 4hese lar!e companies need the support of' or at least the tolerance of' national !o ernments to be able to operate in different locations across the (orld. -he multinational conte6t ?i$e has not been the only company to be attac$ed for its hi!hly cost efficient' but ethically .uestionable' labour practices !lobally. 8t has been stru!!lin! (ith its public ima!e to sho( it ta$es seriously its attitude to corporate social responsibility (csr). Auditin! and reportin! practices ha e come under scrutiny. 4he processes of or!anisational learnin! ha e happened on the (ay to constructin! strate!ies of social responsibility. ?i$e has seen csr as an essential part of the realities of !lobaliAation. 8n the 1BB+s protesters attac$ed ?i$e for the s(eatshop conditions of its o erseas suppliers. ?i$e9s e ery mo e (as e"amined so as to stren!then the ie( that ?i$e mana!ement (as dri en by irresponsibility and !reed. 2ut ?i$e had a practical problem. Accordin! to Crane and ,atten (2+1+-C1) @?i$e had lon! claimed that the identity and location of their suppliers could not be re ealed because it (as commercially sensiti e information that their competitors could e"ploit9. 4hat same defence could plausibly be used by other companies as (ell. 8t can be said that companies need to identify and respond to society9s a(areness of particular issues' e en if the a(areness is partly (ron! or misinformed. ;harmaceutical companies' for e"ample' are as$ed to sell lifeDsa in! dru!s cheaply' e en if full prices are needed to sustain research and de elopment. 8ssues (hich (ere once radical' or
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unimportant' in the business en ironment' can become central to a company9s strate!y. ?i$e seems to ha e e"perienced rapid chan!es. ?i$e has a similar business model to other companies- namely to mar$et hi!hly e"pensi e consumer products throu!h cost efficient supply chains. 4he protests ha e forced the company to loo$ at csr in tou!h ne( (ays. 4he public ha e e ol in! ideas about csr. ,any companies pass throu!h fi e distincti e sta!es of or!anisational learnin! in the process of de elopin! csr. ;lease see the Appendi" for a fuller e"planation of the sta!es.. Learnin! is therefore both or!anisational and societal. Sta!e 1 Defensi e @8ts not our 3ob to fi" that @' the defensi e sta!e' denial of e ent or @8t (as not our fault9 Sta!e 2 Compliance @)e9ll do 3ust as much as (e ha e to9 the compliance sta!e often isible to critics. ?estles for e"ample offered compliance to the la( but the public (anted ?estle to sho( commitment to ta$e more than le!al action Sta!e # ,ana!erial @8t9s the business stupid9. 4his is the sta!e for mana!ers to ta$e responsibility for the core problem' to ma$e chan!es and to see$ solutions. Sta!e % Strate!ic @8t !i es us a competiti e ed!e99 Responsible business practice can help contribute to the company9s lon! term success. Sta!e E Ci il @)e need to ma$e sure e erybody does it9. Companies promote collecti e action to meet the concerns of a society. Dia!eo and other drin$s companies promote responsible drin$in!.

8i.e9s stor'1 8n 1BB+s the company (as surprised (hen acti ists launched a hostile campai!n because of (or$er conditions in its supply chain. ?i$e did ma$e some mista$es. 4he company no( participates in' and finances initiati es to impro e (or$er conditions in !lobal supply chains' and is $een to promote corporate responsibility more !enerally.

Stages # and " :rom denial to compliance ?i$e has (or$ed e"clusi ely throu!h !lobal outsourcin!. 8t has not made anythin! itself' e"cept the first e"ample' the prototype' in its desi!n studio. ,ost competitors operated (ith similar or!anisational structures' (ith appallin! (or$in! conditions in some suppliers9 factories. ?i$e (as tar!eted by acti ists not because the company (as any (orse than other companies' but because of its hi!h profile brand. 8ndeed its business practices mi!ht be seen as bein! better than the acti ities of its competitors. Crane and ,atten report that
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@?i$e9s @ReuseDADShoe9 pro!rammes ha e turned 2# million used sports shoes into material used by sports surfacin! companies for !ym floorin! and soccer fields9. (Crane and ,atten 2+1+-%#+). 4he company9s first response (as defensi e' a response (hich .uic$ly turned out to be un(or$able. &arly attempts to build credibility failed. Labour acti ist demands affected the hi!hly profitable youth mar$ets in ?orth America and &urope. 8n 1BBF ?i$e created a Corporate Responsibility department- a reco!nition that the aspect had to be mana!ed by the company. Stage 3 anaging responsibilit'

2y the year 2+++' F+ employees (or$ed on labour issues. &"pensi e e"ternal professionals audited B++ suppliers. 2ut ?i$e (as e"posed for not sincerely follo(in! its o(n publicised practices After a G month re ie(' senior mana!ers concluded that factory practices (ere not the problem' but rather problem lay in the common structure of performance incenti es based on price .uality and deli ery times. Codes (ould be bypassed by buyers to hit tar!ets and secure personal bonuses. 4he tension (as bet(een short term financial !oals and lon! term strate!y to protect the brand. 4o introduce and mana!e corporate responsibility meant challen!in! the entrepreneurial spirit that had brou!ht success to the company o er #+ years. 4he reaction (as not 3ust a!ainst chan!e. ?i$e9s efforts to create better (or$er conditions had little effect on profitability. ,ost in estors (anted only short term profits. 4he American and 2ritish !o ernments supported de eloped initiati es to help resol e such situational difficulties. 4he American =air Labor Association and the 2ritish &thical 4radin! 8nitiati e helped to brin! about compliance in hi!her labour cost standards by a number of companies.

Stage % +esponsible business strategies 4he important trade a!reement in the clothin! industry (as the ,ultifiber Arran!ement (hich caused ?i$e to search for spare .uotas of production at lo(er prices from de elopin! countries. Lon!er term commitments to suppliers (ould be impossible. 4he arran!ement e"pired in 2++E lea in! ?i$e freer to (or$ (ith fe(er' lar!er suppliers. Lean manufacture has follo(ed' reducin! the number of (or$ers throu!h the use of ad anced production technolo!ies. )or$ers need to learn these ne( production methods' so helpin! them increase their s$ills and recei e hi!her (a!es. 8n 2++% ?i$e ac.uired the foot(ear brand @Starter9' sold at lar!e retailers such as )alD,art. @Starter9 operates to hi!h production olumes and lo( mar!ins' creatin! challen!es to maintainin! the company commitment to its labour codes. Customers see$in! alue focus on price' and are !enerally less interested in ethical concerns. ?i$e is ho(e er clear that it is committed to !ood (a!es for anyone (ho (or$s in the supply chain. ?i$e has ar!ued for re!ulated international labour standards' to deal (ith any disad anta!e that mi!ht happen if
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it acted alone. Cooperation bet(een competin! companies ma$es sense. Stage 2 -owards ci&il action 8n Huly 2+++ C&O of ?i$e ;hil Ini!ht attended the launch of the @Jlobal Compact9 or!anised by the 1nited ?ations. /e (as the only C&O of a 1S company out of E+ company chief e"ecuti es. Ini!ht announced ?i$e9s support of @mandatory !lobal standards for social auditin!9 assertin! that @e ery company should ha e to report on their performance 9a!ainst these standards. (>ade$ 2++%-1#2) Bibliograph' 2uchholtA A and Carroll A (2+12) Business and society, Ethics and Stakeholder Management, Fth edition' South )estern' Cen!a!e Learnin! Crane A and ,atten D (2+1+)' Business ethics' #rd edition' O"ford' O"ford 1ni ersity ;ress Jriseri ; and Seppala ?' (2+1+) 2usiness ethics and corporate social responsibility' South )estern' Cen!a!e Learnin! )ic$s A C' =reeman R &' )erhane ; /' ,artin I &' (2+1+) Business ethics, a managerial approach' 2oston' ;rentice /all >ade$ S (2++%) 4he path to corporate social responsibility' Harvard Business Review F2' December 12ED#2 ;uidance< instructions< and 0uestions1 !=U US- US5 rele&ant theor' from the module to answer all the 0uestions1 5ach 0uestion carries e0ual mar.s1 When 'ou ha&e full' understood the case< write an essa' for each 0uestion below1 -he word length for each essa' should be a minimum of #000 words1 -he total word length should not e6ceed 2000 words1 -o achie&e a grade of )0> or abo&e 'ou must include at " academic ?ournal articles in the total assignment: not for each 0uestion1 @o not include general unreferenced sources from Wi.ipedia or other sources without peer academic re&iew1 1 &"amine and 3ustify actions ?i$e could ta$e to impro e the labour conditions of its (or$ers in de elopin! countries. 2 Assume you are the Chief &"ecuti e Officer (C&O). Discuss (hether or not you should carry any personal responsibility for alle!ed misdeeds in the multinational company. )hat moral theories could you useK 5ou should focus on normati e ethical theories' not on theories related to corporate social responsibility. # 8s it reasonable' or fair' to e"pect a lar!e company in one part of the (orld to be responsible for the acti ities of a supplier in another part of the (orldK 8nclude your

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assessment of future trends and de elopments for csr. *onfine 'our answers to the moral and csr aspects of this case1 See. guidance from 'our tutor in case of doubt< at an agreed scheduled session during the module1 !our lecturer will not mar. emailed draft assignments1 !ou should 8=- use the case to e6press an' personal opinions about the nature and operation of modern capitalism1

Appendi6 #: the fi&e stages of organisational learning1 S4AJ& Defensi e )/A4 ORJA?8SA48O?S DO Deny practices outcomes or responsibilities )/5 4/&5 DO 84 4o defend a!ainst attac$s to their reputation that in the short term could affect sales' recruitment producti ity and the brand 4o miti!ate the erosion of economic alue in the medium term because of on!oin! reputation and liti!ation ris$s 4o miti!ate the erosion of economic alue in the medium term and to achie e lon!er term !ains by inte!ratin!

Compliance Adopt a policy based compliance approach as a cost of doin! business

,ana!erial

&mbed the societal issue in their core mana!ement processes

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responsible business practices into their daily operations Strate!ic 8nte!rate the societal issue into their core business strate!ies 4o enhance economic alue in the lon! term and to !ain first D mo er ad anta!e by ali!nin! strate!y and process inno ations (ith the societal issues. 4o enhance lon! L term economic alue by o ercomin! any first mo er disad anta!es and to realiAe !ains throu!h collecti e action

Ci il

;romote broad industry participation in corporate responsibility

Appendi6 "1 Some te6ts from noted authors 4he te"ts belo( are !i en to hi!hli!ht some of the issues in the sub3ect areas of business ethics and corporate social responsibility. ?ot all comments from these authors can be used directly in the ans(ers to the case study' but they should encoura!e you to thin$ about company beha iour and practice. 4he te"ts illustrate some of the ery real dilemmas faced by mana!ers and policy ma$ers in lar!e or!anisations.

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1 @8t is bein! increasin!ly reco!niAed by mana!ers' policyDma$ers and researchers that business ethics in the !lobal economy is simply too important to be left merely to chance. Jlobal corporations such as ,cDonalds9s' Shell' ?i$e' ?estle and others ha e realiAed to their cost the threat that percei ed ethical iolations can pose to their Aealously !uarded reputations9. (Crane and ,atten 2+1+-1F%)

2 @?o issue has been more consistently e ident in the !lobal business ethics debate than the ,?Cs9 (,ultinational Corporations9) use and abuse of (omen and children in cheap labor factories in de elopin! countries. 4he ma3or players in this contro ersy ' lar!e corporations' ha e hi!hly reco!niAable names L?i$e' )almart' Reebo$M..4he countries and re!ions of the (orld that ha e been in ol ed are also reco!niAable L Southeast Asia' ;a$istan' 8ndonesia' M.9 (2uchholtA and Carroll 2+12- #EF)

# ?i$e li$e @,any companies ha e disco ered (or their critics ha e disco ered for them) that in their suppliers9 factories' (or$ers ha e been paid belo( a li in! (a!e' sub3ected to physical and erbal abuse' (or$ed compulsory o ertime' failed to ha e time off reco!niAed' and e en en!a!ed in child labour.9 (Crane and ,atten 2+1+-%1G)

% @?i$e9s problems (ith !lobal outsourcin! became an international scandal as pictures of children (or$in! in deplorable conditions reached mainstream ne(spapersM2oycotts' started on 1ni ersity campuses' prompted chan!es in policy for ?i$e9s outsourcin! strate!y. & entually' ?i$e chan!ed many of its policies and is no( a leader in disclosin! the conditions of its factories. ?i$e no( performs many of the tas$s that had pre iously been left to the factories or outside monitorin! a!encies.9 ()ic$s et al 2+1+-#CFD#CB)

E @?i$e (as hea ily criticiAed in the 1BB+s for buyin! footballs from companies that used child labour in ;a$istanM8n 2++G ?i$e reacted to the concerns (o er the continuin! use of child labour) by shiftin! its football production to China and 4hailand. 4his ho(e er had a harmful effect on employment in the area (here football production ta$es place in ;a$istan. A local ne(spaper commented on the decision as follo(s- 62y se erin! its contract (ith the local company' ?i$e scored moral points (ith its customers in the )est at the e"pense of 2+'+++ families (ho (ere affected' since C+ percent of local (or$ers relied on Sa!a Sports for employment.7 Since then ?i$e has re ie(ed
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its decisionM9 (Jriseri and Seppala 2+1+-1F+)

4he follo(in! information is important (hen ;reparin! for your assessment Chec$in! your (or$ before you submit it 8nterpretin! feedbac$ on your (or$ after mar$in!.

Assessment Criteria 4he module Learnin! Outcomes tested by this assessment tas$ are indicated on pa!e 1. 4he precise criteria a!ainst (hich your (or$ (ill be mar$ed is as follo(s-

Analyse concepts and theories of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and business ethics. Discuss the rele ance of ethical and CSR concepts in or!anisational conte"ts. Differentiate CSR issues from the perspecti e of different sta$eholders & aluate the outcomes of CSR strate!ies and pro ide reasoned predictions on the future use of CSR' and ethical perspecti es' (ithin or!anisational policy ma$in!.
7erformance descriptors ;erformance descriptors indicate ho( mar$s (ill be arri ed at a!ainst each of the abo e criteria. 4he descriptors indicate the li$ely characteristics of (or$ that is mar$ed (ithin the percenta!e bands indicated.

,e&el ) > # A0B#00

Wor. will often demonstrate some of the following features 4he (or$ aries from ery !ood (C+DCB*)' e"cellent (F+DFB*) to outstandin! (in e"cess of B+*). Nery !ood' possibly outstandin! or e"ceptional le el of analysis' sho(in! deep critical en!a!ement (ith a comprehensi e ran!e of conte"tual material. Demonstration of independent thou!ht resultin! in creati e responses to the assi!nment brief and some tellin! insi!hts. Clear e idence of understandin! of current scholarship and research based on an e"tensi e ran!e of rele ant sources. Clarity of structure demonstratin! complete focus of ar!ument. Little or no ob ious errors in referencin! or !rammar or synta". ,ature lin$s made bet(een rele ant ideas' theories and practice. Clear lin$s bet(een theory and practice. Jood co era!e of assi!nment issues. =ull understandin! of core issues. & idenced le el of understandin! of appropriate theory and concepts. Some small repeated errors in referencin! or !rammar or synta" as appropriate 8dentifies main issues and rele ant theory. Co era!e of most of assi!nment issues. Competent application of rele ant theory and states ob ious lin$s to practice. Some repeated errors in !rammar or synta" possibly failure to apply /ar ard referencin! standard correctly in places. ,a$es fe( lin$s bet(een theory and practice. Ans(ers .uestion in a ery

":#

)0B)3

":"

20B23

%0B%3

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basic (ay. Describes rele ant theory accurately' and some rele ant ideas offered. ;ossibly failure to apply /ar ard referencin! standard correctly. Limited coherence of structure. :ail 30B33 Some learnin! outcomes and 0 or assessment criteria not met. 8nade.uate content (ith issues not addressedO insufficient e idence of understandin! of rele ant theory and concepts and only partial understandin! sho(n. Nery limited application of theory. 1se of e"tensi e .uoted passa!es is e ident. & idence of sufficient !rasp of learnin! outcomes to su!!est that the student (ill be able to retrie e the module on resubmission. ?o learnin! outcomes fully met. ?o demonstration of ade.uate $no(led!e or understandin! of $ey concepts or theories. 4here is no reco!nition of the comple"ity of the sub3ect. Little attempt to en!a!e (ith assi!nment brief and has not met learnin! outcomes. 8nade.uate demonstration of $no(led!e or understandin! of $ey concepts' theories or practice.

:ail

0B"3

-o help 'ou further:

Refer to the )OL= topic for contact details of your module leader0tutor' tutorial inputs' recommended readin! and other sources' etc. Resit details (ill also appear on )OL=. 4he 1ni ersity9s Learnin! 8nformation Ser ices offer support and !uidance to help you (ith your studies and de elop your academic s$ills http-00(((.(l .ac.u$0lib0s$ills:for:learnin!0study:!uides.asp"

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