ethical scandal
It is very important that you reference all academic work fully and appropriately using the American Psychological Association guidelines for Harvard referencing (6th Edition). Guidance on referencing can be found on the library’s website in addition to the Library and Information Services Blackboard page.
The written assignment allows you to engage critically business ethics and the social responsibility of business or organisations.
Choose an organisation with which you are familiar. Analyse their approach to corporate social responsibility. The organisation may be one that engages with what can broadly be defined as ethical behaviour or one that has been reported to be unethical in their activities, for example, in the form of an ethical scandal.
Evaluate the organisation with regards to their ethical activities. What are the key issues facing the organisation? You should focus on 2 of these key issues in your assignment.
Apply at least TWO ethical theories to your case organisation.
Your arguments need to be supported by academic literature. Your essay should present a full discussion of the relevant issues, showing a clear understanding of relevant ethical theories and concepts.
This assessment will require reading and engagement with academic journal articles. Aside from examining more than one journal article, there are no restrictions on the number of academic articles you use. Background reading for the examination of a ‘case’ and the issues raised will need to be conducted; the analysis itself will require further reading in relation to the academic literature as a means of supporting your argument. It would be helpful to indicate the two forms of ethical reasoning (ethical theory) that you wish to use in the analysis of the case in the introduction.
The assignments should have a brief introduction which will stipulate the issues you are covering, what may be considered ‘scene setting’ where you guide the reader into the tenor of your argument and what is to be expected in the assignment. It may be worth noting that the introduction is where you set the tone and the scope of your work and should avoid unnecessary, irrelevant and unsubstantiated claims such as: ‘business is more ethical nowadays’, ‘Bauman wrote a really interesting book where he put forward his own views and some views of other people about ethics’. This does not really say very much about your assignment or your understanding of (in this example) contemporary business practice or the work of Bauman. Similarly, it is good practice to avoid the following:
•    Truism: those are self-evident truths that do not add anything to an argument such as ‘Business Ethics is concerned with the ethics of business’
•    Tautology: a statement that is constructed in such a way that it can only ever be correct or undisputed such as ‘is business ethical? Business can be considered ethical when the business is considered ethical’
•    Redundancy (seen as a form of tautology): a statement that repeats itself such as ‘the business died fatally’, ‘a new innovation’
The main body of the coursework, the bulk of the writing, can be structured in any way you wish. For example, you could present the ‘ethical case’ following the introduction, discuss two issues that may have merged and then analyse the issues according to the two ethical perspectives chosen. How you choose to structure this is dependent upon your own writing style. You already have a fair idea of what an assignment should look like and there are no rules concerning tenses (past, present), how you structure an argument, or the point of view from which you are writing (first person, third person). What is important is that there is consistency in your writing, or the switch of writing makes sense. I have placed the assessment criteria from the module outline as an appendix here for ease of reference, these are the main assessment criteria.
In terms of the literature, a good assignment will demonstrate a high level of understanding of core debates. Many of the issues and pronounced solutions are part of far bigger debates that extend beyond the academic paper you are engaging with. In developing an understanding of concepts, it can be useful to engage with what some authors are critical of, or to grasp what new phenomenon they are trying to show. In sum, the main expectations of this assignment are that you can:
•    Demonstrate a clear understanding of the core argument
•    That you are able to critically engage with the concept or issue
•    That the assignment and argumentation is clear and concise
•    There are no spelling or grammatical errors
•    Referencing follows the APA (6th edition) Harvard conventions
•    You can begin to use clear argument and counter argument
•    You are able to show the implications of issues in work or organisation
•    You use established academic evidence to justify opinions
QUESTION SPECIFIC STRATEGIES FOR APPROACHING THE ASSIGNMENT
Advice:
•    You need to be concise with your answer. Essays should also be clearly structured, with use of sign posts to link your argument – sub-titles may be used.
•    You can support your argument with other case examples but please focus on one company.
•    Include critical reflection of the situation – such as providing a critique of a given ethical policy.
•    Think of these issues as a series of dilemmas and tensions as discussed in the lectures.
•    Use various sources such as journal articles and professional media in order to inform your case (e.g. The Economist, Financial Times, New Statesman). Do not rely solely on textbooks or websites, unless you decide to critique a given CSR policy.
•    Use the Harvard referencing system – details are Blackboard and on the LIS website.
•    Where possible use peer reviewed academic material (such as the journals suggested in the module outline – most of these can be accessed online)
Assignment Tips
Questions you may want to consider when doing your research:
•    Who are the stakeholders in the decision-making process?
•    What are the main ethical issues and dilemmas facing the organisation? What are the trade-offs occurring in the organisation?
•    What can you conclude about the organisation’s commitment to ethical activities?
•    Use of journal articles is important – students may want to consult iFind Research on the LIS website to search for relevant articles.
•    Students will achieve better marks if they consult academic texts such as peer-reviewed journal articles (a list of journals is provided in the module outline) and professional media rather than relying on website sources or textbooks.
Submission Guidelines
Hard copies of your assignment should be placed in the appropriate drop box in the Haldane Building.
All assignments must be word-processed. All assignments must include a completed, signed declaration that the submitted work is entirely the student’s own.
You will also be required to submit an electronic copy through Turnitin.
The deadline for submission of coursework is 15:00 on March 14th 2014.
You should submit an electronic copy of your coursework which through Turnitin. It is very important that you reference all academic work fully and appropriately. Guidance on referencing can be found on the library’s website (http://www.swan.ac.uk/sbe/Student/SBE%20Referencing%20Guide.pdf), Blackboard, as well as in the student handbook.
Your attention is drawn to the School and University statements on plagiarism and unfair practice, and the consequences of violation of the rules on unfair practice. It is very important that you reference all academic work fully and appropriately using the American Psychological Association Harvard guidelines. Guidance on referencing can be found on the library’s website (http://www.swan.ac.uk/sbe/Student/SBE%20Referencing%20Guide.pdf), Blackboard and the student handbook. If you have any questions about referencing for your coursework please speak to the module coordinator.
Some Frequently Asked assignment Questions (from previous years)
How do I approach the ethics of the issues?
I would start with two issues that may have been reported as ethical or unethical, or a CSR policy that purports to be ethical. Once you have these you should suspend your belief as to whether or not these issues are ethical and use ethical theory to inform your judgement. This is important as we are using ethical theory (a rational and reasoned form of assigning a judgement of right and wrong) to determine whether or not an action or the implications of a policy can be deemed ethical or unethical. Within this you will be expected to take note of who is seen to benefit or be disadvantaged by the issue that you examine, that is consideration of the stakeholders are important. The use of ethical theory to make such a judgement is important as it shows your understanding of the theory and your ability to think through the implications of business action from two theoretical perspectives. After all, if we were interested in finding out the implications of gravity, we would probably start with an understanding of classical and quantum physics rather than simply analyse gravity according to our pre-existing norms, values and beliefs.
How do I apply the theories?
Ethical theories provide different perspectives of looking at the approach and the behaviour of a company. A variety of ethical theories were covered in Lecture 3 where we looked at the shortcomings of some of the traditional theories known as normative theories (egoism, utilitarianism, ethics of duties, ethics of rights and justice, for example) that attempt to provide universal ways of applying rules. These are split into consequentialist and non-consequentialist theories. You should be reading around the theories we covered in class both in the textbooks suggested in the module outline and from journal articles in journals such as the Journal of Business Ethics or Business Ethics Quarterly (a list of other appropriate journals is also in the module outline). In the lecture on ethical theories we also examined alternative theories such as virtue ethics, postmodern ethics, ethical feminism and an ethics of care (for example). You can choose any of these ethical theories, either ones that we have covered or ones you have researched yourself.
Applying ethical theory means that you are using a particular theory to analyse the approach to corporate social responsibility that the company has. So what does utilitarianism, for example, say about the actions of the company? How can you start to understand ‘greatest good’? Who may be benefitting in the particular company you have chosen? What does it tell us about the values and beliefs of the organisation? If you take egoism, as another example, what does an egoist perspective say about the organisation’s approach to corporate responsibility? What might be the downsides of this approach? We also looked at the problems of some of the theories such as the difficulty of quantifying outcomes or consequences. You may want to bring some of the shortcomings of the theories into your assignment so that you can demonstrate that each theory focuses on different issues and gives you a different perspective.
Which company do I pick?
Most of you may have picked an organisation by now. The choice of organisation will depend on what you are interested in. We have stated that this may be a company broadly seen as ethical or unethical. Choose any organisation you like, public sector, Multi-national Corporation, small or medium enterprise and look at how that organisation approaches issues of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). For example, you could read around what corporate social responsibility means and examine the ways that the company purports to be socially responsible. Look for documents they produce or news articles, for example. Not all organisations are explicit about their approach to social responsibility and it may require some work to find out what their policies or actions are with regard CSR.
The assignment is less about whether you pick a typically unethical company or a typically ethical company, it is more to do with the research you do on that company, how focused the assignment is, how well you discuss the dilemmas and apply ethical theories. The key is to do quality research on the organisation you choose. Core to this is how you show an understanding of the theoretical principles you are using and it is through the application that your understanding is shown to its best effect.
How do I focus my essay?
From doing your research on a company there may be key issues that concern the company. For example, in the apparel industry where sweatshop labour is prominent, some CSR information may focus on their relationships with suppliers abroad. What other key areas come up in the research you have done? You should choose two issues or focus on two stakeholder groups that you can discuss in more depth in the space of the assignment.
So, for example if we take Starbucks there are numerous issues they have been associated with: tax avoidance, water wastage, treatment of coffee suppliers, treatment of employees, for example.
Similarly, in terms of particular issues, The Body Shop is known for its social accounting, the acquisition by L’Oreal and its effects on stakeholders such as consumers, its relationships to suppliers, its focus on the environment, the notion of ‘care’ and responsibility that underpins their approach to social responsibility, for example. They purport to focus on cultivating relationships with different stakeholders.
These are some examples of issues that may help focus your assignment and you can then relate the issues to particular stakeholders, such as consumers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, government, civil society organisations and competitors.
‘Issues’ don’t have to be seen as negative, they may be the kinds of questions that face the organisation.
The key thing is that you can show that different ethical theories allow you to shed light on the company’s activities in different ways. So a utilitarian perspective may render their actions ethical whilst a different theory, for example, feminist ethics or a Kantian approach may deem a company’s activities unethical. Week 3’s lecture should help with understanding various theories.
How do I structure my assignment?
You need a short introduction outlining which issues you are going to explore and which theories you address. In the introduction you need to demonstrate to the reader what is to come and what issues you will be dealing with. For the main body of the assignment you may want to use subtitles but these should be used sparingly (subsections are not simply 3 or 4 sentences long). You need to have a conclusion that brings together the issues you have discussed. You may want to mention the implications for the future of the company you have chosen in your conclusion.
All references in the text should be detailed in a full references list (following the American Psychological Association (6th edition) Harvard referencing conventions) and not footnoted at the bottom of each page. You can read about the Harvard referencing system on the LIS website and Blackboard where the APA Harvard referencing guidelines can be found.
Further Notes and Advice on Applying Ethical Theories
The traditional ethical theories we have covered give you a ‘lens’ or perspective by which to analyse a company’s actions or behaviour. We can see that some theories are more readily applied to an issue or group.
For example, non-consequentialist theories such as ethics of duties and rights are often related to employees or used to justify transparency and ‘accountability’. Consequentialist theories, whilst broad ranging, are often applied to issues such as an organisation’s environmental and sustainability objectives (i.e. what are the outcomes or benefits for different groups) or as we see with cases like the Ford Pinto, they may be used to calculate outcomes such as the quantification of human life.
Another interesting example of consequentialist thinking is given in the film The Corporation. It involves General Motors and a design problem in their Chevrolet Malibu in the 1970s. GM decided to reposition the fuel tank despite knowing this would increase the possibility of passengers being harmed in fuel-fed fires in a rear collision. A GM engineer had multiplied the 500 fatalities that such collisions caused each year by $200k as an estimated cost of legal damages for each potential fatality. We may instinctively see this focus on outcomes for the organisation as scandalous and wrong. When applying different theories, think of the disadvantages of each theory that we discussed. As with other forms of transparency, accountability and ethical reasoning by focusing on one issue or set of issues, something else may be obscured. What does it miss out on, for example?
To help you I have provided an example of how you can apply utilitarianism to a particular issue.
A well-known educational charity working in the field of HIV/AIDS wishes to set up an office in a city in a developing country.  Having employed an architect to draw up plans, its officers seek planning permission.  The planning department indicates that, in order to obtain approval, it will be necessary to offer a bribe.  Should the charity pay the bribe?
According to utilitarianism, you need to assess the pleasure and pain for the people involved and analyse (or attempt to predict) what will happen to them. This can be done in the form of a simple balance sheet as you can see below. According to utilitarianism, you need to calculate the pleasure and pain of an action for different affected parties. From the balance sheet below the greatest utility of actions is the right one – from this analysis it suggests that the decision probably tends towards paying the bribe because it seems to involve most pleasure, while not paying seems to involve most pain. But do you agree with this outcome? Other ethical theories (think about some that we covered such as deontology, ethics of rights, ethics of justice, postmodern ethics, and feminist ethics, for example) would come to different conclusions about whether to pay the bribe or not.
Utilitarian Balance Sheet
Lecture 3 – Thinking about Theory 1
QUESTION: Think about the concepts of absolutism and relativism in the context of bribery. How would different approaches conceptualize the problem of bribery and what course of action might they suggest for someone faced with a corrupt official?
Absolutism suggests bribery is always wrong. The person faced with a corrupt official should certainly not engage in bribery, and depending on the policies in place should also take the matter to the authorities. But is this workable? India’s zero rupee note for example, attempts to take a stand against bribery and corruption which is seen as endemic but what about the consequences of standing up against such norms and practices?
Relativism would suggest that bribery may be wrong but it depends on the situation; the person faced with a corrupt official should make a judgement based on the culture in which they are operating and the specific circumstances of the interaction. If the judgement is that engaging with the corrupt official would be wrong, the person should act as above; if the judgement is that it is not wrong, no barrier exists to ‘greasing the wheels’.
QUESTION: Stakeholder theory has also been considered from a variety of theoretical perspectives. How would you apply utilitarianism for instance to the concept of stakeholder theory? Do you think that the two different perspectives would suggest different obligations towards stakeholders?
There is a basic difference in the two approaches, rendering different obligations. The
Kantian ethics of duty is non-consequentialist: stakeholders are ends in themselves, and firms should treat them all with dignity. Utilitarianism is consequentialist. Here, an action is morally right (only) if the result is the greatest good for the greatest number. Individual stakeholders can therefore be treated instrumentally. One example to illustrate how utilitarianism could be applied: a supermarket chain might be justified in pressurising its suppliers to deliver goods at disadvantageous conditions (if the utility to customers and shareholders outweighed the costs to suppliers).
Some other comments based upon questions received about the assignment:
–    We don’t mind which organisation you choose, the only stipulation is that it is a different organisation to that drawn upon for Organisational Behaviour 2.
–    A good assignment can be written on any organisation. We are more interested in how you apply and relate ethical theory to the issues you have focused upon in the case organisation.
–          The point of choosing 2 issues in relation to your chosen organisation is to help you focus your assignment so that you can go into some depth in 1400 words. We don’t expect you to cover all activities of an organisation. Issues can be any activity the company engages in – e.g. tax avoidance, sustainability initiatives, use of child labour etc. The options are endless and depend on your choice of organisation.?
–          In terms of ethical theories, these give you different perspectives on a company’s actions. If you pick 2 consequentialist theories – reason this and demonstrate how they may give a different ethical picture to your chosen organisation.?
–          We are not judging you on your choice of 2 ethical theories. Provide some contrast in your analysis so try to apply both theories you have chosen to each of the issues. You may want to pick up on different aspects of the theories in relation to the different issues you have chosen to highlight the theory’s assumptions, for example. What does each theory neglect and how does it affect that issue and help you draw conclusions about their ethical (or not) actions??
–          The different stakeholders you include in your analysis will depend on which theories you apply.?
–         The assignment is less about how a theory ‘fits’ an organisation’s actions but analysing their actions from different perspectives.? It is also worth noting that you are not expected to make the assumption that organisations use ethical theories, rather the exercise aims to show how ‘corporate’ action or (inaction) can be judged from different perspectives.
–          There are no hard and fast rules as much depends on the focus of your essay.? Explain in your introduction which issues you’ve chosen to focus on (2 approximately) and the theories you are applying. We know you cannot cover everything in 1400 words.?
–          In terms of research, you can start with the textbook and lecture slides, both of which will contain key references to relevant academic literature. You are not expected to reference the lecture slides, rather use the references to research the original sources for yourself. You can then build on this using additional reading and research on Google Scholar and iFind Research on the library website, for example.?
Appendices
Unfair Practice, the official university policy
Plagiarism can be defined as using without acknowledgment another person’s work and submitting it for assessment as though it were one’s own work, for instance, through copying or unacknowledged paraphrasing. This constitutes plagiarism whether it is intentional or unintentional;
Collusion can be defined as involving two or more students working together in order to gain an unfair advantage  without prior authorisation from the academic member of staff concerned (e.g. lecturer) to produce the same or similar piece of work and then attempting to present this work entirely as their own.  It is also considered unfair practice for student/students to submit the work of another with or without the knowledge of the originator. An allegation of collusion may be amended during a hearing/investigation to allow a student to be exonerated of the offence whilst alleging plagiarism against another student(s);
Examples of Plagiarism:
•    use of any quotation(s) from the published or unpublished work of other persons which have not been clearly identified as such by being placed in quotation marks and acknowledged;
•    summarising another person’s ideas, judgements, figures, software or diagrams without reference to that person in the text and the source in the bibliography;
•    use of the services (paid or unpaid) of ‘ghost writing’ agencies in the preparation of assessed work;
•    use of unacknowledged material downloaded from the Internet;
•    submission of another student’s work as your own.
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