Select a current news topic related to business and society. The topic should involve an ethical dilemma or a gap in expectations between society and business. Examples could be any of the situations which were referenced informally during our first few classes (e.g. Lance Armstrong and Livestrong, Bangladesh and Loblaws) or any recent or current topic which interests you and relates to the course. The topic should not be an existing case used in a business class. Current events found on the internet offer many examples. A good list to generate topic ideas is the “Top Business Ethics Stories of 2013” found at the following link http://www.scu.edu/r/ethics-center/ethicsblog/business-ethics-news/18689/Top-Business-Ethics-Stories-of-2013
– Describe the situation
o Research the topic and provide a rich description
o Define the problem (if your topic involves a specific business this could include a description of the business and the community as is outlined in the Northern Pulp Assignment or it might take another form depending on the topic you chose)
o Describe the trends in business and society which led to the topic becoming important now
o Explain why you selected the topic
– Identify and describe the stakeholders and stakeholder perspectives about the topic
o List the stakeholders groups
o Describe the stakeholder groups
o Describe the perspectives each of the stakeholder groups has about the problem (some groups may share the same general perspective)
o Include evidence (quotations from referenced sources) of the viewpoints of each identified stakeholder groups and/or representative individuals
o The above should apply at least one model or framework from the text
– Identify alternative solutions and the suggested solution for management
o From the perspective of management
o Describe alternative solutions to the problem
o Describe what management should do
o Describe the actions management should take and why
o Provide a high level timeframe for their actions
– Describe your personal perspective about the problem
o Describe what you personally think management should do about the problem and why
o If your opinion is different from what you recommended for management explain why
o Describe what you personally think government(s) should do about the problem and why
To get started you should first write a proposal which at a high level describes the topic and approach you will use. The following is a description of the proposal assignment.
BUSI 4412 Individual Project Page 2
Individual Project Written Paper Proposal of 3-5 pages before references (double spaced) – 15%
To be submitted on Moodle, due date September 30, 2014
Develop an outline of the topic and the approach you plan to take for the individual project paper. The intent is to choose the topic early and get a head start on the paper. The proposal may be written in point form and should describe at a high level:
– Describe the selected topic including a statement of the problem and why you chose it
– List connections you will make between the topic and the text
o 3 related key concepts
o 1 model or framework
– List at least 3 reference sources you will use to learn more about the topic
– List headings for the final paper and an estimate of the page count for each heading
– List the biggest obstacles you expect to encounter in completing the project
Individual Project Written Paper Proposal Grading Rubric
– Clarity of the topic and the problem statement (5 points)
– Appropriateness of connections to the text (5 points)
– Completeness and consistency with the above outline (5 points)
Individual Project Written Paper Grading Rubric
– Depth of description of all 4 elements requested (4 points)
1. The situation
2. The stakeholders and stakeholder perspectives of the problem
3. Alternative solution and suggested solution
4. Your personal perspective
– Discussion and analysis coherence (4 points)
– Number and appropriate use of terminology, key concepts, and models from the text (4 points)
– Number and appropriate use of references (4 points)
– Quality of writing and readability (4 points)
