Assignment Title: Social Responsibility of Business

Assignment Brief:

During our classes together we will look at issues connected with the following topics
Introduction to corporate responsibility, stakeholder analysis

• Organisation Culture and Values
• Compliance and Managing for ethical behavior
• Employees and the Changing Work Environment
• Business and the Environment
• Global Society
• Business Responsibility to Consumers
• Science, Technology, and R&D
• Social impact CSR strategy

Topic selection: –

For section A, please choose the option “Compliance and Managing for ethical behavior”. Please check the Verizon’s Code of Conduct which you can download from this link:
https://www.verizon.com/about/our-company/code-conduct
For section B, please choose the option “Business and the Environment”. Please check this page from Verizon to give you some directions:
https://www.verizon.com/about/sites/default/files/corporate-responsibility-report/2018/environment/index.html
For section C, please choose the option “Social impact CSR strategy”. Please check the following links:
https://www.verizon.com/about/sites/default/files/corporate-responsibility-report/2018/priorities/strategy.html

For your individual assignment, you are to complete a project about the company “Verizon” (https://www.verizon.com/)” which includes:

• A stakeholder analysis of the company (this can be a simple table or diagram and does not need to eat up word count)
• Your choice of one topic from each section, A, B and C as shown above (so three topics in total). For each of the three topics, you are to outline an aspect of the topic for this business that is particularly important and set out your recommendations for this company. There will be additional guidance at the end of each slide set.

I do not want a mere description of what the company is doing. I want your recommendations based on learning from class (see slides), class discussion, academic research and research on a range of industry players. It might be helpful to imagine you are writing a report for the CEO of Verizon.

You need to research an aspect of a topic that is particularly relevant for the business. For example, we will look at considerations around responsible practice in terms of compliance issues. If you were applying that to a retail organisation with low paid staff spread over a wide geographic area you might focus on the difficulty of communicating a consistent message and training to them due to shift work, staff turnover etc. Please do keep in mind that you are required however to demonstrate coverage of the stakeholder analysis and three other topics so make sure that your work has that spread even while doing a deeper dive into specific issues within your topics.

1. Clear and comprehensive identification and analysis of the key issues
2. Application of current thinking and research to issue
3. Logical and clear structure
4. Good presentation of work which is properly referenced
5. Evidence of additional research beyond what was covered in classes
6. Attendance and participation

Learning Outcomes Addressed in this Assignment:

MLO1 Critique and justify new sustainable business approaches taking into account stakeholders, globalisation, human needs in the workplace, diversity, and corporate citizenship.
MLO2 Act as a responsible, informed, socially aware and self-aware individual and a contributor to positive organisational change and ethical management.
MLO3 Anticipate challenges to an organisation’s social and environmental performance and suggest and defend proposed solutions to those challenges.

Question 1

As a Global Business expert, discuss the current state of the Chinese and the U.S. economies, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Question 2

By examining relevant PESTEL factors, and citing relevant examples, illustrate the reasons why Multinational Corporations are likely to have to adapt their marketing strategy from country to country.

Question 3

Citing theoretical models and practical examples, evaluate the implications of cultural diversity for the leadership and management of employees of multinational corporations today.

Question 4

“Despite the existence of compelling theory and evidence, Globalisation has its critics” (Hill, 2014)
Evaluate the evidence in favor of, and against, Globalisation today.

Question 5

a) “The Euro was a political, rather than an economic, project” [McWilliams]
Discuss
b) “We’re all Keynesians now” [President Richard Nixon]
Discuss the effectiveness of Keynesian and Hayekian economic policies in assisting governments to avoid booms and busts, and to resolve them when they happen.

Question 6

“The financial crisis will happen again, but there will be a different trigger. The only thing crises have in common is human nature” (Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve chairman)
Analyze whether the factors that led to the 2008 crash could happen again, and evaluate the likelihood of another major crash happening soon.

Question 7

For the management of Multinational Corporations:-
a) Analyze the challenges of leading and managing a culturally diverse workforce
b) Discuss the prospects of standardizing products/services worldwide

Question 8

“The Euro is far from perfect. It is fragile, vulnerable, and does not deliver the benefit it could if it were completed” [ECB President, Mario Draghi, 2015].
Analyze the “imperfections” of the Euro, with particular reference to the possible creation of a federal state as a means of “completing” it.

Question 9

You are a Global Business Consultant and are asked to evaluate the attractiveness of a potential new market on behalf of a Multi-national Corporation. Identify and discuss the factors to be examined under the following headings:-
a) Political
b) Legal
c) Economic

Question 10

Discuss the failures in Corporate Governance highlighted by the Financial Crisis, and the attempts to improve practices since then.

Question 11

For the management of Multinational Corporations:-
a) Analyze the challenges of leading and managing a culturally diverse workforce.
b) Discuss the prospects of standardizing products/services worldwide.

Question 12

“The Euro is far from perfect. It is fragile, vulnerable, and does not deliver the benefit it could if it were completed” [ECB President, Mario Draghi, 2015].
Analyze the “imperfections” of the Euro, with particular reference to the possible creation of a federal state as a means of “completing” it.

Question 13

You are a Global Business Consultant and are asked to evaluate the attractiveness of a potential new market on behalf of a Multi-national Corporation. Identify and discuss the factors to be examined under the following headings:-
a) Political
b) Legal
c) Economic

Question 14

Discuss the failures in Corporate Governance highlighted by the Financial Crisis, and the attempts to improve practices since then.
2017

Question 15

“The world’s center of economic gravity is shifting towards emerging markets” (Gaspar et al, 2014)
For the emerging market of your choice, construct a SWOT analysis that captures its attractiveness and future prospects, supporting your analysis with evidence.

Question 16

“The Euro was premature, poorly designed and poorly managed”
(McCarthy, 2015)
Discuss.

Question 17

Identify and discuss the business implications of the key Political and Legal factors in the global business environment today.

Question 18

Evaluate the key arguments in favor of, and against, Globalisation, giving evidence in support of your analysis.

Question 19

Write a concise note on two of the following:-
a) The ideological differences between Keynes and Hayek.
b) The implications of national cultural diversity for the international marketing mix.
c) The main criteria to be used when multinational businesses decide how to enter new markets they have decided are attractive.
d) The key success factors for Leaders of international businesses today.

Question 20

“The financial crisis will happen again unless you can show me a cure for human nature” (Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve Chairman)
Discuss the causes of the financial crisis in the context of this claim.

Question 21

“Good Corporate Governance is built on the ethics of its individuals” (Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director, 2015)
Discuss, in the context of the global financial crisis and the global business environment
201

Question 22

“The world’s center of economic gravity is shifting towards emerging markets” [Gaspar et al, 2014]
For the emerging market of your choice [including the sub-Saharan Africa region]:-
a) Discuss the factors which are driving economic growth and development.
b) Identify the keys to success for foreign firms entering the market.

Question 23

“Today policymakers are caught in a debate between the thinking of two great economists: Keynes and Hayek. This intellectual debate shapes action in terms of choosing either more austerity or stimulus”. [Henton, 2013]
a) Compare and contrast the economic ideologies of Keynes and Hayek.
b) Assess the international response to the Financial Crisis, commenting upon the visibility and effectiveness of each ideology.

Question 24

As a global business expert, you have been asked for advice on global business trends.
Discuss the principal PESTEL factors in today’s global environment, identifying their implications, and citing evidence and examples in support of your analysis.

Question 25

“According to a survey of senior executives, 76 percent believe their organizations need to develop global-leadership capabilities, but only 7 percent think they are currently doing so very effectively”. [Ghemawat, 2013]
Discuss the significance of strong and effective Leadership for international [and crosscultural] businesses today, citing practical examples in support of your analysis.

Question 26

Write a concise note on two of the following:-
a) The claim by American commentator Peter Schiff, that the Dollar is destined to fall sharply in value.
b) The extent to which the Eurozone conforms to the design requirements of a Monetary Union.
c) Strong and weak forms of Corporate Governance you have encountered in this module.
d) The arguments in favor of, and against, globalization and international free trade.

Question 27

“Cultural understanding plays a major role in global business success”
[Bierman et al, 2014]
Discuss the implications of different national cultures for the international marketing of products and services, with particular reference to the need to adapt the marketing mix due to cultural considerations.

Question 28

a) Discuss the key political and legal factors which determine the attractiveness of entering a new international market.
b) As a result, identify markets that you would regard as relatively attractive /unattractive.
2014

Question 29

For any ONE of the BRICS OR MIST emerging economies:-
Assess the viability of a multinational organization, which is entering your chosen market for the first time, deploying a standardized marketing mix that has served them well in other markets.

Question 30

“We conclude a combination of excessive borrowing, risky investments, and lack of transparency put the financial system on a collision course with the crisis”.
[US Commission of Inquiry, 2011]
Identify and discuss the principal causes of the global financial crisis.

Question 31

Discuss the implications of different national cultures for the management of employees by a multinational organization.

Question 32

a) Assess the extent to which the Eurozone conforms to the requirements of an Optimum Currency Area
b) Evaluate the future prospects for the Eurozone

Question 33

Write a concise note on two of the following:-
a) The claim by American commentator Peter Schiff, that banks and other troubled companies should have been allowed to fail, rather than be rescued by Government.
b) The key Legal factors that determine the international market attractiveness.
c) The failures in Corporate Governance models highlighted by the financial crisis.
d) The future economic prospects of sub-Saharan Africa.

Question 34

“Globalisation has made it possible for goods, services, capital, technology, and culture to cross national borders. Yet its value to society as a whole is endlessly argued – it does create winners and losers”
[Gaspar et al, 2013].
Discuss, identifying the drivers of Globalisation, and balancing the arguments for and against Globalisation and Free Trade.

Question 35

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently”.
[Warren Buffett]
Discuss, with particular reference to the need for international organizations to pursue “good” Ethics and Social Responsibility policies.