...COMM101: Principles of Responsible Commerce Assessment 2: In Class Essay (45 minutes) The aim of this assessment task is to help you develop a deeper understanding of the difficult ethical questions in business, and how to respond to those using moral philosophies. In doing so, we hope that you will be able to make more considered and informed business (and consumption) decisions for the benefit of both yourself and the wider society. In your week 2 tutorial, you were required to produce a short summary of your understanding at that time of the meaning and importance of the term ‘responsible business’. Since then you have explored various historical, moral, governance and economic aspects of business both domestically and internationally. Task In COMM101, you have been exposed to several cases of corporate unethical behaviour. Ethical misconduct of senior executives appear to be at the centre of these scandals. In Australia, the James Hardie Industries ‘asbestos’ case has been featured in the media for some time. The company has been accused of causing over half of the number of documented cases of mesothemilia, a lung cancer caused by asbestos. In your in-class essay writing, you are required to do the following. 1. Using utilitarianism, discuss two reasons each in favour of, and against, James Hardie executives’ conduct. 2. As summarised in your week 2 tutorial exercise, reflect in your essay, how your views concerning ‘responsible business’ have been influenced...
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...Welcome to Comm101 Principles of Responsible Commerce Dr Frank Neri Senior Lecturer School of Economics. What is socially irresponsible commerce? • Perhaps the Global Financial Crisis is the latest large scale manifestation of some s.i.c. • What caused the GFC? • This question does not have a simple answer. • But roughly speaking, the GFC began when a large housing price bubble in the USA burst. • Asset prices tumbled, and then so did the financial position of some very large banks and other corporations. • The global links of these corporations meant that these collapses had knock on effects in many other countries. • The response of many remaining banks: severely tighten lending. This led to economic slowdown, increasing unemployment, and hence the term GFC. Do these events involve socially irresponsible behaviour? • My view is that, to some extent, YES. • Why? • Because not all ‘players’ have equal access to, or equal understanding of, relevant information. • In economics we call this problem ‘asymmetric information’. • Asymmetric information can promote socially irresponsible behaviour, and hence individual and social harm. • The existence of asymmetric information is as old as commerce itself. For example, what does the following data refer to? 1 Semper Augustus Prices paid for tulip bulbs in 17th century Holland. • Flowers appear in May/June. • Bulbs were bought/sold at flowering (initially) by enthusiasts, later by the general...
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...Comm101 Tutorial 1) What were the individual factors that contributed to the failure of Enron? Briefly explain two key factors. Enron collapsed in large part because of the unethical practices of its executives. Egoism (Self interest) was one of the major factors contributed to the failure of Enron. Enron’s executives put their own interests above those of their employees, company and the public, and failed to exercise proper oversight or shoulder responsibility for ethical failings. They allowed themselves to be motivated much more by what would benefit themselves than what would truly benefit the company. Money, greed, arrogance and hubris led company executives to lose focus on working for the good of the company and to act unethically (Gini,2004). Abuse of power to make decisions which were beneficial economically and politically to themselves and the company, was one of the key factors that led to Enron’s failure. Company leaders used insider information and traded millions of dollars in company stock, borrowed from subsidiaries with no intent to repay the loans (Wilke, 2002) , and avoiding federal taxes even though some of its subsidiaries, like Portland General Electric, collected tax payment from customers (Manning & Hll, 2002). Such behaviors of moral failure at the top and irresponsible behaviors led to the collapse of Enron. The unethical behavior of Enron’s leaders appears to be the product of both individual and situational factors. Greed was the primary...
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...1. What are three key Australian public company directors’ responsibilities? The three key responsibilities are duty to act in good faith and not to act contrary to the interest of the company, duty to avoid conflicts of interest and duty not to use power for an improper purpose. The first one refers to promoting the success of the company. You must consider to act in the way in good faith. It would be most likely to promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members. The second one means you must avoid a situation in which you have, or may have an interest that conflicts, or may conflict, with the interests of the company. This applies in particular to the exploitation of any property, information or opportunity, regardless of whether the company could take advantage of it. And to make decisions for the benefit of the company, not yourself. The example of the third responsibility is not accepting benefits from third parties. Some organizations offer you additional benefit to reach goals. They may ask you to cheating other members in company to help them to get the chances. You must refuse them. 2. “They must not be allowed to socialise their losses and privatise their gains!!!” Do you agree? Why? Justify from your own experiences or from what you have heard/seen. Yes, I agree with him. No industry has a right for socialising losses and privatising gains. For individual aspect, if the losses are caused by director because of an improper purpose, they...
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...Business and Marketing Across the globe, people started globalization when the idea of relocating to different parts of the world looking for business opportunities emerged. Since then, globalization has been steadily but surely growing. Considering the age of advancement that the world is in now, globalization has increased rapidly. However, as much as globalization has increased in scale and speed, it has had a different impact on different economies around the world. However, before assessing the different impacts that globalization has had on the economy, one must first understand, in detail, what globalization is, in order comprehend the effect it has had on the global economy. For globalization to exist, a few aspects must be put in consideration. First and most important, a business-based environment has to exist in all countries to bring about investors from different regions. With this in mind, globalization during this age and time seem to have increased due to a proper communication channel that have been realized due to the rapid speed in which technology has changed. In many countries, globalization has affected the economy in different ways. While talking about the effects globalization has had on the economy of different countries, one has to look at both the positive and the negative effects. For instance, due to globalization, large organizations are able to invest their money in different countries around the world. This has led to job creations (Berch, 2005)...
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...Week6 Comm101 Tutorial Assignment 1. According to Kantian theory, was Alan Turing’s action to ‘play God’ so that ‘Britain can win the war and more lives are saved in the long run’ ethical? Why? Justify using three key principles of Kantian theory. I believe that Alan Turing’s actions were not ethical. I support my statement by the help of three key principles of Kantian theory. Firstly, goodwill is an important factor in most decision making process. Kantian implies that if an action or decision creates goodwill then it should be carried on otherwise it must be rejected. Similarly, in the case of Alan Turing’s situation, his actions did create goodwill for the country but at same time they harmed a lot of people who were going to die in the passenger convoy. Therefore his actions definitely did not create goodwill in all aspects. Similarly, the second key principle of Kantian’s theory suggests that you cannot harm any body while making ethical decision. The decisions made should fulfill the requirements of categorical imperative. Clearly as Alan’s decision harmed many people in short run but there is no clear data and statistics of having saved large number of lives in long run as implied by Alan. Lastly, our decisions must always be universally accepted to identify if they are ethical. In the case of Alan Turing, his actions were not universally accepted, especially not by families that lost their members. Many lives could have been saved in the passenger convoy and...
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...22/03/2014 Lecture outline Teaching and Learning in COMM101 What is a Corporation? The Business of Business Sources of Morality The Importance of Moral Principles Past Cohort Performances HD Autumn 2013 (607) Spring 2012 (440) Autumn 2012 (674) Spring 2011 (528) 15% 6% 13% 13% D 31% 25% 28% 22% C 32% 34% 29% 25% P 12% 19% 18% 25% F 8% 10% 7% 9% TF 2% 5% 3% 6% Avg. 69.75 65.36 69.02 65.88 Autumn 2011 (701) 10% 24% 26% 25% 7% 6% 65.38 1 22/03/2014 Critical elements in a teaching episode people learning processes context learning outcomes Adapted from Biggs and Tang, 2007 T & L Challenges in COMM101 Interdisciplinary subject Based on ethics Subjective Multiple perspectives A feeder subject for other faculty subjects Questions for teachers... 1. How do we know whether learning is occurring in the subject? 2. What is my (implicit) theory of learning? 2 22/03/2014 Students’ developmental journey Developmental Level Reliance on external [Foundations] Student traits Knowledge viewed as certain references Reliance on authorities (e.g. professors, parents) as source of knowledge Externally defined value system and identity Act in relationships to acquire approval At the crossroads Evolving awareness of multiple perspectives [Intermediate Learning] and uncertainty Evolving awareness of own values and identity and of limitations of dependent relationships Self-authorship [Capstone] Awareness of knowledge...
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...Taylor Huston Major Political Speech-Comm101 Obama Speaks on Trayvon Martin Obama makes a surprise statement about the George Zimmerman trial, Trayvon Martin and race in America. Obama starts his speech stating what his goals for the speech are,” The reason I actually wanted to come out today is not to take questions, but to speak on an issue that obviously has gotten attention over the course of this past week...”. He then goes on to say that he will try to have a press conference at later point to answer more questions. Doing that gives him more time and allows him to better plan for his next public event. By planning out his speech, Obama is using rhetoric. Obama clearly expresses three traits of a strong public speaker. At first he establishes Ethos and uses his title of President of the United States of America. This gives him ultimate credibility for his audience. Once his credibility is established he begins to relate to the African American community’s. This is so important in showing Pathos; the ability to relate to the audience. He does this so well by sharing emotional stories that can really hit home for a large portion of his listeners. After relating so well to his audience he gives them an option and a clear path to take. He uses very convincing words and begins to bring back positivity. Obama reaffirms cultural values when he publicicly speaks on racial issues. He speaks positively and offers help, “as long as its nonviolent!” He then goes on to say...
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...GROUP 2: SCRIPT (DRAFT) COMM101 SCENE 1: INT. KWARTO- DAY. *Pagmulat ng mata, paggising ni Nichole* *Bubungad yung tatay niya na may hawak na cake* TATAY: Happy 16th Birthday Anak! NICHOLE: Wow, thank you tay—medyo inaantok pa yung boses* *Biglang lalabas yung mga friends ni Nichole* FRIENDS: Happy 16th Birthday Nichole! *Masaya sila, may confetti, if ever* TATAY: Kanina pa nga yan nandito eh! Yayayain ka daw lumabas? FRIEND 1: Uy tara! Nood tayong sine! Wag kang mag-alala. Kami na bahala sa tatay mo! *winks* *Titingin si Nichole sa tatay niya* NICHOLE: T-tay?... (parang asking for permission) *Tatango yung tatay* FRIEND 2: YEHEY!!!! Oh tara na dali!!!!!! *hinahatak si Nicholle* NICHOLLE: Ngayon na? As in? Teka. Mag-aayos muna ko. Friend 3: *Aayusan si Nichole. Parang aayusin lang yung buhok* Oh yan! Maayos na! Tara na alis na tayo! *hinahatak palabas ng pinto* *tatawagin ng tatay si Nichole* TATAY: Basta yung bilin ko sayo ha! Wag mong kalilimutan! Nichole: Oo tay sige! Promise! Bye! SCENE 2: EXT. KALYE- DAY *Naglalakad yung barkada, sabay –sabay, masaya (fastforward)* *Mapapadaan sila sa maraming tv* *lalampas sila yung barkada sa lugar na maraming tv except kay friend 4 na mapapatitig sa pinapalabas don sa tv (yung X-Rated)* *babalikan ng mga magkakaibigan si friend 4* FRIEND 3: Oy ano ba yang pinapanood mo? *titingin sa tv* (makikita yung trailer na X-Rated) FRIEND 5: *Babatukan si Friend 4* Ikaw talaga! Napaka mo talaga kahit kalian! *Nakatitig...
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...Tutorial 1: What is does the term ‘responsible business’ mean to you? Knight (2015) noted that the word ‘responsible’ can be seen as accountable as well, and principles of responsible commerce is another language rather than accounting, marketing etc. The ORB (2009) website provides information about the definition of responsible business, which is business responsibility is often known as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and CSR is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large. For me, responsible is someone treats something as his or her obligation. And business is activities of buying and selling, or in another word, social dealings between hundreds of thousands people all around the world. So my understanding of the term “responsible business” is that companies and firms should build their businesses with the consideration of morality and values rather than only aim to maximize their profits, which means companies and firms should build a socially acceptable business that not only according to shareholders’ wants but also have good influences for society and the environment of our planet. Knight (2015) discussed there are two points of views as in shareholder and stakeholder. Docstos (2009) post details about these two theories that stakeholder theory is businesses have corporate social responsibilities...
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...Audience Analysis COM 285 Audience Analysis Audience analysis is “the process of examining information about the listeners whom you expect to hear your speech” (Audience Analysis, para 1.). In this paper, I will describe a situation in which I am presenting quarterly sales information to a group of stakeholders, salespeople, managers and customers, at an in-person meeting. I will also discuss some of the audience characteristics that I must consider, along with finding the appropriate communication channels to use. I will also discuss some factors to consider when given the diversity of the group, and how to ensure that my message that I will be giving is effective. According to Locker and Keinzler (2008), the first step in analyzing an audience is to determine who the audience is. Identifying the audience and their motivations will assist you in learning how to reach them, and what messages to use to accomplish the task (Locker & Keinzler, 2008). Audience Characteristics Determine my Audience. The first step in developing my presentation, I will have to determine who my audience is. This is to ensure that I deliver an effective and clear presentation, with the focus on who is receiving the message. I am already aware that the audience consists of stakeholders, managers, salespeople, and customers. Therefore, given the audience, I can presume that I will be expecting a diverse group of people attending my presentation. Some of the...
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...About my in-class writing submission in week 2 tutorial about my understanding of the need of engage in responsible commerce, it is just a superficial discussion. At that time I did not thinking about this topic systematically. In that article, I only talk about the importance of responsible commerce like how necessary of responsible commerce and what consequences it can be brought if there is not responsible commerce. To my mind, ‘responsible commerce’ refers to the corporation preventing and solving long term issues to maximize the benefits of the shareholders and stakeholders which compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards and international norms. But during the study of COMM101, I found that the principles of responsible commerce are really important for the development of our society, both in economic and culture areas. With the development of globalization, the competition among industries becomes more and more fierce. How to earn more profits with much lower operational cost has become every company's concern and pursuit. Unfortunately, in order to reach their profitable goal, many companies adopt illegal and immoral methods to conquer the market and maintain their market share. However, their improper market behavior is devastating to both the market and the enterprises themselves. On the one hand, their immoral market activity may break the market rules and regulation, which in turn disrupt the normal running of this industry and threaten the operation...
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...1 COMM101 TECHNICAL WRITING ADVANCED KNIFE SHARPENING TECHNIQUES INTRODUCTION As the amounts of disposable income for the average family have fallen with the decline of the economy, people have become much more selective about where they spend their money. The restaurant that takes advantage of recent innovations in kitchen gadget technology to save themselves money could pass the savings to their customers and build their business in hard times. Growth being the goal of every business, it is essential that we research and implement any innovations which could give us such an advantage. CURRENT KNIFE SHARPENING METHODS Currently, our kitchen uses two different approaches when sharpening our knives which are: periodic sharpening by a local knife sharpening company and hand-held sharpening stones used to hone the edge when necessary. Both of these methods have advantages and disadvantages. ADVANTAGES OF PROFESSIONAL SHARPENING All of our knives are sharpened at the same time: when the knives are returned, all of them are sharp and ready for immediate kitchen use The blades are honed to a razor edge: all of our knives are as sharp as the day they were purchased Edge lasts for a long time: if not abused, the edge stays sharp for three weeks on average DISADVANTAGES OF PROFESSIONAL SHARPENING No periodic touch-ups: the sharpening company will only sharpen our knives on our scheduled date Two day turnaround time: we deliver our knives on Saturday...
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...Comm101 Principles of Responsible Commerce Topic: The Historical Development of Modern Business Enterprises Objectives for this lecture • Consider a brief historical account of the development of modern national and multinational business organisations. • Consider, in particular, the benefits and costs of two major characteristics of such organisations: increased size and separation of ownership and control. • Discuss some of the processes by which firms have tried to reduce the incidence of opportunistic behaviour by management. • Briefly consider a recent Australian example of a significant business management failure. 2 Why is knowledge of historical developments important? • Understanding historical developments helps us to: • Apply lessons from the past: are there commonalities between past and the present? • Understand the importance of path dependency, i.e. that some past decisions have had long term ramifications (e.g. convict settlement of Australia), and so current period decisions may also affect future generations (e.g. CO2 emissions). • Appreciate the inevitability of continual economic and social evolution, but understanding that we have some influence on how and when such changes should occur. • So a sound understanding of history brings empowerment to 3 the debate about current business practices. 1 Important historical developments • Pre about 1850, in industrialising UK, the typical business firm was: • Small scale, mostly catering to local demand...
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