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NYU Stern School of BusinessUndergraduate College

C40.0125.003.SP08: Business and Its Publics: Inquiry and DiscourseSAMPLE SYLLABUS

The following sessions are required:

1. Plenary session:Select Mon. evenings, 6:30pm – 8:30pmSchimmel Auditorium, Tisch HallVarious speakers

2. Inquiry session:Tuesdays 3:30 pm – 4:45, Tisch Hall UC 61

Inquiry Instructor: Office Hours

3. Discourse session: Thursdays 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm, Tisch Hall UC 61

Discourse Instructor: Office Hours (subject to change):

Required Materials:

1. Business and Its Publics Inquiry and Discourse, (custom edition for Stern School of Business NYU). Various Authors. (2008). Pearson Custom Publishing. Available in the NYU bookstore.

2. Beyond Feelings: A Guide to Critical Thinking (custom edition for Stern School of Business NYU). Ruggiero, Vincent P. (2004). New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Available in the NYU bookstore.

3. Additional required readings will be posted to Blackboard.

Introduction to Inquiry / Discourse

The Inquiry and Discourse sessions follow each of the plenary sessions in the Business and Its Publics course. The plenary sessions are designed to expose you to an individual or set of individuals who represent a distinct perspective on one of the central issues related to business and its publics.

NYU Stern Business and Its Publics Monday/Tuesday/Thursday 2

The central goal of the Inquiry sequence is to expand your view beyond the initial perspective that you were offered in the plenary session. Thus, the Inquiry sequence will involve discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the perspective offered in the plenary session, readings that offer one or more alternative perspectives, and real life predicaments suggesting complications and implications that perhaps no perspective can effectively deal with.

The central goal of the Discourse sequence is to give you an opportunity to articulate and defend your own personal perspective on the key issues and topics of the course. Thus, the Discourse sequence will give you an opportunity to select issues, conduct research, evaluate and document sources, and present a clear and well-supported argument.

The central skill that you will be developing in both the Inquiry and Discourse sequences is Critical Thinking. Critical thinkers actively analyze information, are generally skeptical of information they receive, and are open to challenging their own beliefs by investigating evidence.

Critical thinking combines a number of complex processes:

Rationality: critical thinkers distinguish between emotion and reason; require evidence, and look for explanations rather than the “right answer”

Self awareness: critical thinkers recognize their own assumptions, biases, and frames of reference

Open-mindedness: critical thinkers consider and evaluate evidence, inferences, and interpretations whether or not they are consistent with existing beliefs

Discipline: critical thinkers are precise, avoid snap judgments, and analyze attempts to manipulate thinking or use irrational appeals

Judgment: critical thinkers recognize the merit of assumptions and perspectives that are different from their own, and seek supporting evidence

By choosing Stern/NYU, you have entered an academic community where knowledge is both disseminated and created. The practice of critical thinking will help you evaluate what you are learning and provide the tools you need to contribute to knowledge yourselves. In Business and Its Publics: Inquiry and Discourse, you will learn how to differentiate between perceptions, assumptions, opinions, and evidence as you learn to analyze and create arguments.

Course Basics: Course materials will be managed by Blackboard. PowerPoint lectures, handouts, etc. that are available in electronic form will be submitted to Blackboard. You’ll be directed to submit assignments to specific Blackboard locations, unless paper versions are needed for class work.

To do well in this course, you need to: Complete all assignments on time Follow the specific assignment requirements in this course outline Participate in class discussions Contribute to class, Blackboard discussions and forums


Grading is based on points awarded for written assignments and class participation. A description of assignments and grading follows below.

OVERALL GRADING SCHEMA

Max. pts / percent

Participation – Inquiry Sessions 25%

Participation – Discourse Sessions 5%

Discourse Cycles 1, 2 and 3

Cycle 1 Position Paper: 20%

Progression 1 5

Progression 2 5

Final Position Paper 10

Cycle 2 Event Analysis Paper: 25%

Progression 1 5

Progression 2 5

Final Analysis Paper 15

Cycle 3 Corporate Action Paper: 25%

Progression 1 5

Progression 2 5

Final Action Paper 15

TOTAL 100

Attendance and TardinessOur sessions involve creating a highly interdependent learning community. We are a small group and there are relatively few sessions in each sequence, so we count on each one of you to be present and involved every week. Therefore, only excused absences are acceptable. Per university policy, excused absences are only granted in cases of serious illness or grave family emergencies, and each of these situations must be documented to my satisfaction. We must be notified in advance for any excused absence. (Schedule conflicts for events such as job interviews and incompatible travel plans will not be excused). Absences from the three components of BiP (Plenary Presentations, Inquiry Classes, and Discourse classes) are tracked and treated separately. If you incur two unexcused absences from any one of the three components you will fail the course.

Class will always start on time. Coming in late is disruptive, particularly in such a small discussion group. Arriving to class more than 5 minutes late will negatively impact your class participation grade. Arriving to class more than 15 minutes late will be treated as an unexcused absence.

Grade DistributionAt Stern, we want to ensure fair and consistent grading across core courses. As such, grades for this course will be distributed following the Stern Grading Guidelines for Core Courses at the Undergraduate College.


25-35% A’s – awarded for excellent work50-70% B’s – awarded for good or very good work5-15% C’s (or below) – awarded for adequate or below work

Classroom ParticipationYou will receive a class participation grade from your Inquiry instructor which will be worth 25% of the total grade for the course and you will receive a class participation grade from your Discourse instructor which will be worth 5%. Your class participation takes two forms: (1) the quality of your involvement during class sessions, whether with regard to ongoing class discussions or your presentation to the class, and (2) the quality, thoughtfulness and insight of your Blackboard postings.

With regard to in-class participation, we will be assigning a grade to each student after each session. In any session, your participation may be assessed as acceptable, extraordinary, or poor.

Extraordinary class participation involves activities such as contribution of new insights and ways of looking at the material or issue, new examples that you might find from reading the newspaper or other periodicals, efforts to synthesize or compare across multiple readings or speakers, relating the material we discuss one week to material and perspectives we have discussed earlier in the course, and providing constructive feedback to your fellow students.

Class participation may also count against you. Examples of class participation that would lead to a ‘poor’ assessment include repeating something a fellow student has already said, comments that suggest that you have either not done the reading or not paid attention to the plenary speaker, being unable to defend a perspective you have stated when asked to defend it, and comments that are tangential to the ongoing class discussion (suggesting that you have not been closely following the class discussion).

On-line participation will be graded based on how thoughtful and insightful your postings are. The best quality postings are those that link the readings to the plenary speaker(s) and topic, and that reflect a thoughtful consideration of the perspective of the plenary speaker(s).

We are interested in the quality as well as the quantity of your class participation.

Reading/Homework Students are expected to come to the plenary having read the assigned readings. Students are expected to come to class prepared having read text and assigned readings prior to the plenary. Homework, online discussion, and other assignments are expected to be completed and submitted on time.

Late Assignments and Make-up Policy


At the discretion of the instructor, late assignments will incur a grade penalty unless due to documented serious illness or family emergency. The instructor will make exceptions for religious observance or civic obligation only when the assignment cannot reasonably be completed prior to the due date and the student makes arrangements for late submission with the professor in advance.

Ethical Guidelines Student Code of ConductAll students are expected to follow the Stern Code of Conduct <http://www.stern.nyu.edu/uc/codeofconduct>A student’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

A duty to acknowledge the work and efforts of others when submitting work as one’s own. Ideas, data, direct quotations, paraphrasing, creative expression, or any other incorporation of the work of others must be clearly referenced.

A duty to exercise the utmost integrity when preparing for and completing examinations, including an obligation to report any observed violations.

For more information on plagiarism and how to avoid it see the “Statement of Academic Integrity” at the following URL: <http://www.nyu.edu/cas/ewp/html/policies___procedures.html#statementacademicintegrity>

Students with Disabilities (recommended language)Students whose class performance may be affected due to a disability should notify the instructor immediately so that arrangements can be made in consultation with the Henry and Lucy Moses Center for Students with Disabilities <http://www.nyu.edu/csd/> to accommodate their needs.

Assignments – Inquiry SessionsYou will have two on-line written assignments due every week, and both are due prior to the inquiry session – one pre-plenary assignment and one post-plenary assignment. In addition, once during the semester you will have a pair’s presentation assignment.

Pre-Plenary weekly assignment: Prior to each plenary, you are required to post on Blackboard a single, thoughtful question that you would like to pose to the plenary speaker(s). The question should be one or two sentences maximum. Your questions must be meaningfully different from any of the questions other students in your section have posted prior to your posting, suggesting that this task will be easier for students who post their questions earlier. Questions may be posted anytime after the previous week’s inquiry session in which the speaker profile is discussed, and the best questions are those that draw a link between the readings for the week and the speakers’ area of specialization.


http://www.nyu.edu/csd/

http://www.stern.nyu.edu/uc/codeofconduct%20

Post-Plenary weekly assignment: Anytime after the plenary but at least 2 hours prior to the inquiry session, you must post on Blackboard an answer to your own question. The answer should be the answer the plenary speaker(s) gave (either in their prepared remarks or in response to questions from the audience afterward), or the answer that you think the plenary speaker would have given if the question had been posed to them. Answers should be no longer than a single paragraph.

Pair’s presentation assignment: PresentationOnce during the semester you will be paired with a fellow student and together you will prepare a presentation of the speaker and the topic of the upcoming plenary for the rest of the class.

Students will be paired in the opening class. As a pair, you and your partner will prepare and deliver a brief presentation in preparation for each plenary speaker beginning with “Business and Society: The Economic Perspective: Richard Sylla”. These short presentations (approximately 5 minutes plus 5 minutes for questions) will serve to profile the upcoming speaker, specifically focusing on the speaker’s point of view as it relates to the topic of the plenary. You need to demonstrate an understanding of the issues that may connect the plenary topic to the speaker’s personal predisposition or bias.

1. Profile: You will determine the speaker’s viewpoint and support this perspective based on the speaker’s words, experience, interests and activities. Plenary speaker profiles available on Blackboard contain the necessary background information. Additional research is optional.

2. Plenary topic: In addition, you need to connect the speaker’s perspective to the plenary topic of the week. The assigned readings for the week should form the basis for your description of the plenary topic. You should briefly summarize the key issues raised in each reading and explain what you think the speaker’s opinion on those issues is likely to be.

3. Question: Finally, you and your partner will present one clarifying question for the plenary speaker. Questions will be collected from all sections and delivered to the plenary speaker before he or she presents.

NOTE: Pairs and plenary assignments will be established in the first class and the first pair will present “Business and Society: The Economic Perspective: Richard Sylla” during the first Inquiry Session meeting on Tuesday January 29, 2008 or Wednesday January 30, 2008, depending on your course section.

Written Assignments – Discourse Sessions


Document assignment guidelinesHow your documents are prepared and delivered is very important. Follow these guidelines explicitly:

1. All documents must be in the designated format for each assignment. You will get detailed descriptions of all major assignments.

2. Most documents and visual aids will be “turned in” by posting to Blackboard. All document assignments must be in a font size of at least 12 points with margins of 1”.

3. Computer issue: If you have Office 2007, you must submit papers using the Word 1997-2003 option in order for Blackboard to process Assignment submissions properly.

4. When you submit an assignment or an attachment, always include your name as part of the filename! (For example, Ortiz_cycle2prog1.doc).

Any assignment posted after the deadline will be considered late. Written assignments will be returned as promptly as possible with comment sheets attached.

Document assignments

CYCLE 1: Position PaperA current thesis states “Business is now the world’s dominant social institution.” Why might this be true? How has this power evolved? What does it mean for cultures and communities? What kind of repercussions and responses do we see?

In this first cycle, you will be given a set of two written assignments to help you articulate your own positions on the relevant themes you will be hearing about in the plenary sessions and talking about in the inquiry sessions.

Assignment 1Cycle 1 / Progression 1:You will start by choosing a topic from one of the two posted sets posted on the class’ Blackboard site. Visit Bb > “Plenary 1” > “DISCOURSE SESSION” > “Assignment INFO”:

Opinion Essay #1: Government Rules or No Rules Opinion Essay #2: Globalization - Doom or Boon

Your first paper will be a critique of the positions and arguments used in the two essays provided for the topic you’ve chosen. Analyze the essays based on concepts and tools you are learning about in the class discussions, readings, and exercises.


• Discuss how the principles of critical thinking apply to each author’s case: - What kind of evidence and rationales do they use? - In what ways are the authors appealing to emotions? - What are the key arguments they make to support their position?

• How do the authors’ arguments square up against the key points made in the articles you have read by Friedman and Freeman? - Describe how the authors value the interests of outside stakeholders - What do the authors imply about the importance of sustaining profits and equity value? - Where do the authors’ positions fall in the continuum of opinions about corporate duty and obligation?

• And finally, if you believe one of the essays is more effective than the other, explain why you think so.

Due: Jan 31. 1000 words approx.

Assignment 2Cycle 1 / Progression 2:

Next, choose the essay that you most oppose and write a rebuttal. Examine again the positions, tactics, and style of argument that the author uses, and detail what you disagree with, why you think the author is wrong.

• Break down and analyze the components of the author’s arguments. Identify the assumptions, the supporting evidence and the perspectives that the author’s opinion is based on.

• Discuss alternative evidence and perspectives that may refute the author’s points.

• Draw from the other readings and plenary talks on business and society to cite additional arguments that counter the author’s points.

Due: Feb. 11. 1000 words approx.

Assignment 3Cycle 1 / Final Position Paper:

Now you can integrate the work from your first two progressions into your own position paper. Stake out your position on the topic issue, explain your rationale, and support your argument.

• Identify clearly the underlying issue you are discussing

• Present the basic arguments for each side


• State your opinion and explain how and why you have come to that position.

• Cite the relevant evidence and arguments from the readings and speakers that support your position.

• Reconcile your position against the core arguments made by Friedman and/or Freeman about business and society.

• Make sure your essay displays the tenets of critical thinking discussed in-class and from the readings in your Ruggiero textbook.

Due: Feb. 28. 1500 words approx.

CYCLE 2: Event AnalysisBusinesses now operate within an increasingly transparent web of interdependent relationships with numerous societal institutions: media, governments, social movements, and special interest groups. With increased reach and instantaneous global communication comes more focus on business’ responsibilities and accountabilities. How do these networks influence businesses, and vice versa? What are the societal obligations of business: to communities, to governments, to the environment?

In recent decades we have seen innumerable dramatic business events that expose the sometimes fragile and dynamic relationships between businesses and the societal institutions that they interact with: from the tragedies of the Exxon Valdez in Alaska and Union Carbide in Bhopal, to charges of labor exploitation against Nike’s Asian operations, to electricity blackouts in California tied to Enron’s manipulation of energy markets. In this cycle, you will select one such event in the recent past to explore in-depth.


Your first step is to gather information about the case from the perspectives of the various organizations, groups, and business(es) involved. Organize this research into a short overview paper that identifies the key players, describes their roles, their relationships, their influences, and outlines the timelines of the major event.

• How did the various groups respond to the unfolding events?

• How was each group’s response affected by or influential to other players?

• What are the most important facts and information you have gathered?


• What key information or perspectives might be missing or limited?

• What biases have affected the perspectives and information available to you?

Due: March 6. 1000 words


Select one of the key groups that you want to focus on (either a specific business or other involved organization), and write about the event from their perspective.

• Analyze the information available and discuss how your chosen group may have interpreted and used (or mis-used) the data.

• What were their underlying assumptions?

• What were their motivations and goals?

• Did their motivations and behavior change over the course of the event? Discuss how and why (or why not).

• Discuss how they saw their relationships and accountability with other groups and organizations, and how those relationships may have changed during or after the event.

Due: March 24. 1000 words

Assignment 6Cycle 2 / Final Event Analysis Paper

Now integrate the work of your first two progressions into a comprehensive presentation of what happened, why, how, and the eventual consequences.

• Apply the analysis you used in the Progression 2 paper to the other key player(s).

• Discuss how those dynamic factors interacted in the course of events, and how those interactions affected (or could have affected) the outcomes.

• What are the consequences of the outcomes to the key players, including to society at large?

• What conclusions can be drawn from this event about the obligations and relationship rules between businesses and other societal institutions?


Due: April 7. 1500 words.

CYCLE 3: Corporate Social ActionThe historical separation between business and social life is breaking down. Businesses can no longer remain blind to social values. ‘Races to the bottom’ are now seen less as reasonable pursuit of competitive advantage, and more as exploitations of vulnerable workers and resources. On the other hand, businesses may now be uniquely positioned as the best agents of change in contemporary society.

What choices do businesses have in responding to these pressures? What motivates them? How do human issues of social justice and ethics play out in business operations and decisions?

In the final cycle major paper, students will explore what action(s) a specific business could take to address a pressing social issue, and marshal arguments that support taking those steps. In the previous paper, students looked at an event in the recent past. Here, they look to the future, focusing on how a business organization can play a role in changing society.

This paper will integrate what they have learned in the first two papers, combining opinion and argument with insight and analysis into the complexities of relationships between businesses and societal institutions.

Students can choose to continue with the underlying social issue of their Cycle 2 Event Analysis Paper, or they may choose to write about a new, different topic and issue.


First, select a topical issue and a target organization or business that is in a position to take consequential action(s). Then, as you did for the Cycle 2 paper, research the perspectives of the various organizations, groups, and business(es) involved. Again, craft a short overview paper that identifies the key players, describes their relationships, their influences, and the options available to them.

• How do the various groups affect or influence each other?

• What are their major and general goals and motivations?

• How do those goals conflict and/or align?


• What similar actions have been tried in the past to address this issue, either by the players in your situation or by other groups and organizations in similar situations?

• What were the positive and negative outcomes of those actions, and what lessons apply to this situation?

Due: April 10. 1000-1500 words.


Outline a proposed scenario, describing what action(s) could be taken by which organization, and examine how it could enfold from the perspectives of the major groups involved.

• Detail a specific action to be taken and the desired goal(s)

• Explore both possible negative and positive outcomes

• Discuss how different responses could affect and change outcomes

• Identify and discuss the social principles or values that spur this action

• Describe the challenges and obstacles to achieving success from this action.

• Examine the potential impact on broader groups of stakeholders

Due: April 21. 1000-1500 words

Assignment 9Cycle 3 / Final Corporate Social Action Paper:

Finally, combine your research and analysis in the first two progressions into a comprehensive paper that argues in favor of a specific corporate social action.

• Provide a full and clear analysis of the present situation, the social issue and the stakes involved.

• Outline the interests, positions, and options for action available to various key players and stakeholders

• Describe what has been tried before, what has and has not worked, and discuss why.


• Identify the best option for action, and give compelling arguments for why this particular action should be taken, citing support from readings and presentations from throughout the semester.

• Integrate the information and insights from the first two progressions into your discussion

• Explain why and how you have come to take your position: justify your position on the basis of core arguments about the role of business and society you have read and discussed, and make sure your arguments are consistent with the tenets of critical thinking.

Due: May 6. 1500 – 2000 words


CYCLE 1: THEMES: A current thesis states “Business is now the world’s dominant social institution.” Why might this be true? How has this power evolved? What does it mean for cultures and communities? What kind of repercussions and responses do we see?

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS: POSITION PAPER: In this first cycle, you will be given a set of two written assignments to help you articulate your own position on the relevant themes that will be discussed in the plenary and inquiry sessions.

Progression 1: A paper comparing published essays on the plenary themes against each other and against the core arguments of Friedman & Freeman

Progression 2: A rebuttal to one of the opinion essays

Final Position Paper: You will stake out your position on the topic issue, explain your rationale, and support your arguments.

PLENARY SESSION PLENARY READINGSDue before plenary session

INQUIRY SESSION DISCOURSE SESSION

1/22: SPECIAL DISCOURSE SESSION:Introductions & Class Overview

PRESENT CYCLE 1 ASSIGNMENTS

1/24: Begin Progression 1 assignment: discuss guidelines

1/28: PLENARY 1Introduction to Business as a Societal Institution. Batia Wiesenfeld, NYU

Richard Sennett, Bureaucracy, pp. 1-9. (focus on pp. 4-9)

Milton Friedman, The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, pp.93-97.

R. Edward Freeman, A Stakeholder Theory of the Modern Corporation, pp. 99-107.

1/29:Pre-Plenary Pairs Presentation

1/31: CYCLE 1 / PROGRESSION 1 DUE JAN. 31Begin Progression 2 assignment: discuss guidelines

READING DUE: Ruggiero: Chapter 5, “How Good Are Your Opinions?”


2/4: PLENARY 2Business and Society, the Economic Perspective.Richard Sylla, NYU

Adam Smith, excerpt from The Wealth of Nations, (Blackboard)

R.H. Coase, The Nature of the Firm, pp. 11-23. (focus on section II)

Richard Sylla, Hamilton and the Federalist Financial Revolution, (Blackboard)

2/5Pre-Plenary Pairs Presentation

2/7: How to read and write about conflicting opinions: positions versus interests

2/11: PLENARY 3Business and Global Markets: Culture, Ethnicity and Religion.Amy Chua, author World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability, and Professor of Law, Yale University

Benjamin Barber, Jihad vs. McWorld, pp. 25-32.

N. Klein, Bad Mood Rising: The New Anticorporate Activism, pp. 33-43 (skim)

2/12: Pre-Plenary Pairs Presentation

CYCLE 1 / PROGRESSION 2 DUE FEB 11

2/14: Present & discuss the final Position paper.

2/18: (No Plenary session) 2/19: SPECIAL DISCOURSE SESSION: Library Research class!

2/21: Workshop session in small groups.


CYCLE 2: THEMES: Businesses now operate within an increasingly transparent web of interdependent relationships with numerous societal institutions: media, governments, social movements, and special interest groups. With increased reach and instantaneous global communication comes more focus on business’ responsibilities and accountabilities.How do these networks influence businesses, and vice versa? What are the societal obligations of business: to communities, to governments, to the environment?

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS: EVENT ANALYSIS: In recent decades we have seen innumerable dramatic business events that expose the sometimes fragile and dynamic relationships between businesses and the societal institutions that they interact with: from the tragedies of the Exxon Valdez in Alaska and Union Carbide in Bhopal, to charges of labor exploitation against Nike’s Asian operations, to electricity blackouts in California tied to Enron’s manipulation of energy markets.

In this cycle, you will select one such event in the recent past to explore in-depth.

Progression 1: An overview of the major players and stakes involved

Progression 2: Paper written from the perspective of a single key player

Final Event Analysis Paper: You will integrate the work of the first two progressions into a comprehensive presentation of what happened, why, and how.

You will apply the analysis used in the Progression 2 paper to the other key player(s), and discuss the interactions, outcomes, and consequences.



2/25: PLENARY 4Media and Business. Tunku Varadarajan, NYUJohn Bogle, NYU

Eric Klinenberg, Breaking the News (Blackboard)

Ken Auletta, Promises, Promises (Blackboard)

Tunku Varadarajan, Bad Company (Blackboard)

Forelle & Vandler, The Perfect Payday (Blackboard) (skim)


2/28: Present and discuss Cycle Two assignments

CYCLE 1 / FINAL POSITION PAPER DUE FEB. 28

READING DUE: Ruggiero: Chapter 6, “What is Evidence?”

3/3: PLENARY 5Government and Business. Robert Lieber, NYC Economic Development Corporation

Andrei Schleifer, State Versus Private Ownership, pp. 45-58.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The Bush Administration: Texas Chainsaw Management, pp.151-153.


3/6: CYCLE 2 / PROGRESSION 1 DUE MARCH 6

Examine and discuss information sources available about business activities.


http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=223535702&sid=2&Fmt=10&clientId=9269&RQT=309&VName=HNP

3/10: PLENARY 6Corporate Social Responsibility and the Environment Alice Tepper-Marlin

Thomas Dyllick and Kai Hockerts Beyond the Business Case for Corporate Sustainability, pp.121-132

Paul Hawken, Natural Capitalism, pp. 141-149.


3/13:

Workshop on Cycle 2 / Progression 2 paper: organizing and writing narratives.

3/17 – 3/23: SPRING BREAK

3/24: PLENARY 7Corporate Social Responsibility and Social EntrepreneurshipDr. Calvin O. Butts III, Pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church

C. Seelos and J. Mair, Social Entrepreneurship: Creating New Business Models to Serve the Poor, pp.59-65.


CYCLE 2 / PROGRESSION 2 DUE MARCH 24

3/27:

Present and discuss Cycle 2/ Progression 3 paper.


CYCLE 3: THEMES: The historical separation between business and social life is breaking down. Businesses can no longer remain blind to social values. ‘Races to the bottom’ are now seen less as reasonable pursuit of competitive advantage, and more as exploitations of vulnerable workers and resources. On the other hand, businesses may now be uniquely positioned as the best agents of change in contemporary society.

What choices do businesses have in responding to these pressures? What motivates them? How do human issues of social justice and ethics play out in business operations and decisions?

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS: CORPORATE SOCIAL ACTION: In the final cycle major paper, you will explore what action(s) a specific business could take to address a pressing social issue, and marshal arguments that support taking those steps. In the previous paper, you looked at an event in the recent past. Here, you will look to the future, focusing on how a business organization can play a role in changing society.

This paper will integrate what you have learned in the first two papers, combining opinion and argument with insight and analysis into the complexities of relationships between businesses and societal institutions.

You can choose to continue with the underlying social issue of their Cycle 2 Event Analysis Paper, or you may choose to write about a new, different topic and issue.

Progression 1: Overview of the issue and business situation: identify players, action options, goals, motivations

Progression 2: Outline the steps and effects of the corporate social action

Final Social Action Paper: Combines the research and analysis of the first two progressions into a comprehensive paper that argues in favor of a specific corporate action.



3/31: PLENARY 8 Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Justice: Corporate Panel.Thomas Schick, American Express CompanyAnita Roper, AlcoaKrista Gullo, Ford Motor Company

Robert Frank, Can socially responsible firms survive in competitive environments?, pp. 115-120.

D. Meyerson, The Tempered RADICALs: How Employees Push Their Companies -Little by Little - to Be More Socially Responsible, pp. 133-139.


4/3:

Present Cycle 3 assignments CYCLE 2 /FINAL EVENT ANALYSIS PAPER DUE APRIL 7

READING DUE: Ruggiero: Chapter 7, “What is Argument?”


4/7: PLENARY 9Social Justice within the Firm and Society: Union Panel. Michael Musuraca, AFSCME, AFL-CIOEdward Ott, NYC Central Labor Council, AFL-CIOMaida Rosenstein, United Auto WorkersBruce Raynor, UNITE HERE

R. H. Frank and P.J. Cook, The Winner-Take-All Society, pp.189-201

John Rawls, The Main Idea of theTheory of Justice, pp.171-174.

S. Blount-Lyon, Grand Illusion, pp.185-188.

Skim:A Blinder, Offshoring: The Next Industrial Revolution?, pp.155-163.

L. Dobbs, Assault on Middle Class Americans, pp. 165-169.


4/10:

CYCLE 3 / PROGRESSION 1 DUE APRIL 10


4/14: PLENARY 10Personal Ethics and Business.Walter Pavlo, Etika, LLCTim Hedley, KPMG LLP in the United States

Richard Sennett, Why good workers make bad people, pp.203-206.

Banaji, Bazerman and Chugh, How (Un)Ethical Are You?, pp. 207-214.

4/15: 4/17:

Workshop on Cycle 3 / Progression 2 assignment: organizing and writing a corporate social action paper.

4/21: PLENARY 11Personal Ethics in Action. Wrap-up.Documentary Screening: Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)

J. L. Badaracco, Right versus Right, pp.175-183.

Carr, Is Business Bluffing Ethical? pp. 215-224.

4/22:

CYCLE 3 / PROGRESSION 2 DUE APRIL 21

4/24:


4/28: (No Plenary session) 4/29: SPECIAL DISCOURSE SESSION:

5/1: FINAL DISCOURSE SESSION:CYCLE 3 / FINAL CORPORATE SOCIAL ACTION PAPER DUE MAY 6


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