business-in-society.pdf

Business in Society

BM3101

Autumn Term 2020

Module Meeting Location:

The links to the live weekly Zoom sessions are on moodle.

Module Leaders:

Module Overview

This course covers two central components of modern concerns related to the role of

Business in Society: 1) Ethics & 2) Corporate Social Responsibility.

Ethics is a crucial component of individual and group behavior and is at the heart of

organizational responsibilities. This course considers the ethical responsibilities of

managers and corporations. We consider individual and organizational business actions and

decisions in the light of moral principles and values. We will raise ethical challenges and

provide frameworks that inform common patterns of success and failure in managing ethics

and corporate responsibilities. We address these questions at multiple levels of individual,

organization, society as well as in international and multicultural contexts.

The second half of the course will focus on the growing notions of corporate social

responsibility and sustainability, which raises the question of organizations’ ethical,

environmental and societal responsibilities that go beyond their economic responsibilities.

Organizations are increasingly required to expand their understandings of their role in

society to include other stakeholders such as employees, customers, suppliers, local

communities, governments and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). We

address the complex environments of multinational corporations and innovative

governance structures, management systems and business models that can help align the

firms’ interests more closely to societal expectations.

At the end of the class the students will:

1. Gain a sound and critical understanding of the role of the firm in early 21st century

society;

2. Be able to critically analyse common social and environmental issues from both

business and stakeholder perspectives;

3. Develop a reflective approach on the external demands and expectations facing

corporations, as well as on according potential conflicts with stakeholders.

Teaching and Readings

Teaching will be done through a mixture of lectures, case studies, exercises, videos and

class discussions.

For the academic year 2020/2021, due to COVID-19, we will have our weekly live

sessions on Zoom. Attendance at these live synchronous sessions is essential, as we will

have an interactive class whereby the majority of the learning occurs in these sessions.

Each week, students will find material (short videos, readings, polls and quizzes) on

Moodle to be read, reviewed, and watched prior to the weekly live session.

Please attend the live synchronous sessions having prepared the week’s materials

beforehand and ready to debate ethical dilemmas and societal issues as they relate to

business. This is especially important for the case studies, which we will discuss in detail in

these live sessions.

There is no required textbook for the class. All readings and materials will be available

directly online on Moodle or through a Reading List, with links on Moodle.

Assessment

There will be three components of assessment for this course:

1) Individual Coursework: 45% of final mark

Individual coursework will be comprised of two case analyses (15% of final mark

each) and three quizzes (5% of final mark each)

Case Analyses: There are five cases in total throughout the module. Students must

choose 1 case in the first 4 weeks (Vandivier or Apple) and 1 case in the next 5 weeks

(Coca-Cola or Acumen Funds) to write an analysis on. Cases analyses should utilize

the case analysis framework that will be presented in class and is available on moodle.

Case analyses should be no more than 750 words and should be completely

independently and uploaded to Moodle prior to the case being discussed in class. The

cases will be marked for their quality of analysis based on the analysis framework

and the case content.

Quizzes: There will be three quizzes on Moodle to assess students’ engagement with

the asynchronous materials. To receive credit for doing a quiz, it must be completed

prior to the deadline (which will usually be prior to the synchronous session

discussing that material). Quizzes that are completed on time will receive full marks.

Late quizzes will receive a “0” for this individual coursework component.

2) Group Coursework: 25% of final mark

You will be assigned to a group of 4 or 5 students for your group coursework. The

marks for the group coursework are comprised of two components – the first is a live

project proposal pitch (5% of final mark) and the second is a written group project

report (20% of final mark).

For the group coursework, prepare an analysis of a real-world case or event in

relation to ethics and CSR. While the course endeavors to provide an overview of the

main issues related to ethics and CSR, it is by no means an exhaustive catalogue of the

rich questions, topics and situations encountered by various industries, organizations

and organizational members. This group project is an occasion to extend the course

concepts to new topics or topics of particular interest to the group members.

Examples of possible topics include: ethical issues or questions raised by new or

existing practices or technologies, organizational crises or scandals, or cases of

organizational growth or transformation.

The project proposal pitch will be a 5-minute live online presentation of your group

project idea and what you are finding out thus far with your initial research. For the

pitch, choose a group spokesperson to deliver this 5-minute presentation on Zoom

during Week 9.

The written component of the group coursework will be due on the Friday of Week

11 (11 December) by 8pm UK time. It should be submitted on moodle. It can be up to

2000 words long (excluding references).

For the written component you will be evaluated on the following criteria:

- Quality of the research

- Quality of the analysis

- Originality and relevance of the topic

- Application of course learning and concepts

3) Final Exam: 30% of final mark

The final exam questions will be integrative and cover the whole range of the course.

More details of the exam will be provided in time, and we will dedicate our final

synchronous session to preparation for the final exam.

Alternate Exam for Exchange Students

If you are an exchange student, you may need to complete a different assignment

instead of an exam. For this you should answer the following question, following a

word limit of 2,000 words (excluding references):

- Pick a film, TV show, novel, or documentary with an ethical or business and

society issue in it. Analyse it using concepts and theories discussed in class.

Describe how it was resolved, or the barriers to resolving it if it was left

unresolved. If it was resolved, was it resolved in the right way? If not, how

should it have been resolved?

Communication:

We will use moodle extensively for all communications related to the module. It is your

responsibility to check moodle regularly for updates. Please use the forum on moodle for

all communication outside the classroom. This is where you are expected to ask any

questions about the course content, assignments, etc.

Alternatively, if you have a personal concern you can attend our office hours, where we will

be able to discuss any issues one-on-one.

Outline of Sessions:

Week 1: Introduction

In this introductory lecture, we will cover the main ethical frameworks for ethical decision-

making: Deontology, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics. We will also consider how these

frameworks have been variously applied to understand the responsibilities of business and

managers.

- Required reading:

- Friedman, M. 1970. “The social responsibility of business is to increase its

profits.” The New York Times, September 13: 32-33, 122, 124, 126.

- Freeman, R. E. 2007. “Managing for stakeholders.” University of Virginia.

- Recommended reading:

- Deontological Ethics. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/

- Virtue Ethics. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-virtue/

Week 2: Individual Approaches to Ethics

In this week’s lecture we will cover psychological approaches to ethics. What are the

psychological bases of ethical behaviour? What are the darker sides to our ethical

behaviour?

- Required documentary: Obedience to authority (Milgram Experiments) – Link on

Moodle

- There are no required reading this week, but if you did not have a chance to read

Week 1’s Required Readings, please read them.

Week 3: Ethics in Organisations: Why do Smart People do Dumb Things?

In this lecture, we will discuss how power and authority shape ethical behavior in

organizations. If power is so important, what are the bases of power? What are our

options? We will also unpack a core process involved in ethical violations such as frauds -

escalation of commitment - and examine how to make organisations more resilient.

- Required reading:

- Case: K. Vandivier. Why should my conscience bother me? Chapter 1. In the

name of profit. R.L. Heilbroner.

- Cialdini, Robert B. 2001. Commitment and Consistency: Hobgoblins of the

Mind. Chapter 3. In Influence: Science and Practice. Allyn & Bacon.

Week 4: Ethics and Globalization

In this lecture, we will explore the responsibility of firms in a global environment. What

purpose(s) should corporations serve? Do cultural norms and practices matter? Should

companies like Nike, Apple and other global corporations be held responsible for the

practices of their partners and suppliers? If so, how? This session will introduce broadly

the notion of Corporate Social Responsibility.

- Required readings:

- Case: Apple: In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad. The New York Times.

2012.

- When the Job Inspector Calls: Do Campaigns for Ethical Supply Chains Help

Workers? The Economist. 2012.

- Zelizer, Viviana. 1985. From Useful to Useless: Moral Conflict over Child Labor.

Chapter 2. In Pricing the Priceless Child: The Changing Social Value of Children.

Princeton University Press.

- Recommended readings:

- Kochan, Thomas, Richard Locke, Fei Qin, and Monica Romis. 2007. “Beyond

Corporate Codes of Conduct: Work Organization and Labor Standards at

Nike’s Suppliers.” International Labour Organization.

Week 5: The History and Evolution of the Role of Business in Society

In this week's lecture we will examine the history of how different views of the role of

business in society have changed over time, as well as explore the key debates that have

persisted despite this evolution.

- Required readings:

- Porter, M.E. and Kramer, M. R. 2006. “Strategy and society: The link between

competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility.” Harvard Business

Review, December: 1-14.

- Karnani, A. 2011. “Doing well by doing good: The grand illusion.” California

Management Review, 53: 69-86.

- 181 Top CEOs Have Realized Companies Need a Purpose Beyond Profit;

Harvard Business Review; 2019 - Claudine Gartenberg & George Serafeim

- Recommended readings:

- McKinsey and Company, 2014. “Redefining Capitalism”

Week 6: External Pressures: Social movements & Voluntary Standards

This week we will examine one of the key stakeholders for businesses - social movements.

Movements have been critical to exposing organisations when they fall short of their social

commitments or environmental responsibilities. When consumers or the general public

organise and form a movement, such as #metoo, Black Lives Matter, or Extinction

Rebellion, they can pose a substantial threat to businesses, but also bring about large-scale

social changes.

- Required readings:

- Case:Coca-Cola Bottling

- Lawrence, A. 2010. “Managing disputes with nonmarket stakeholders: Wage

a fight, withdraw, wait, or work it out?” California Management Review, 53:

90-113.

- Recommended readings:

- Valkila, J, Haaparanta, P. and Niemi, N. 2010. “Empowering coffee traders?

The coffee value chain from Nicaraguan Fair Trade farmers to Finnish

consumers.” Journal of Business Ethics, 97: 257-270.

Week 7: Employees: Gender, Diversity, & Inclusion in the Workplace

This week is focused on one of the most salient issues in management today. We will

examine key academic findings on diversity in organisations and explore some of the

changes that are occurring in relation to issues such as equal pay and inclusion today.

Finally, we will also talk about employees as a key stakeholder group and the changing

expectations of employees in terms of their employer’s CSR and sustainability programmes.

- Required readings:

- Rivera. “Guess Who Doesn’t Fit in at Work?” New York Times.

- Phillips. “How Diversity Makes You Smarter.” Scientific American.

- Required podcast:

- “Three Steps for Creating a More Equitable Workplace” Knowledge at

Wharton

- Recommended readings:

- “How the BBC Women Are Working Toward Equal Pay” New Yorker; Letter

from London; July 23, 2018

Week 8: Social Entrepreneurship & Socially Responsible Investment

This week we will discuss how some organizations have attempted to make the triple

bottom line core to their work. These types of organisations are sometimes called social

enterprisea or hybrid organisations. We will also look at how these efforts and those across

more traditional firms are being measured and evaluated through triple bottom line

evaluation systems that attempt to measure impact and progress along environmental,

social, and economic lines. Finally, we use the Acumen Fund case to see how funding

models are being built that evaluate companies on their triple bottom line.

- Required readings:

- Case: Acumen Fund

- Elkington & Hartigan The Power of Unreasonable People, Part I: Building

Innovative Enterprises, pg 31-67

- Battilana, J., Lee, M., Walker, J., and Dorsey, C. 2012. “In search of the hybrid

ideal.” Stanford Social Innovation Review, 10: 51-55.

- Recommended readings:

- Haigh, Nardia and Hoffman, Andrew John, Hybrid Organizations: The Next

Chapter in Sustainable Business (October 2011). Organizational Dynamics,

41(2): 126-134.

Week 9: Live Project Pitches & Green Business Models for Innovation

This week our live session will be comprised of the Group Coursework Project Pitches.

In Week 9, you will also have to watch a recorded lecture on the topic of Green Business

Models for Innovation, which explores how companies vary in their approaches to the

natural environment - from risk reduction to approaches that embrace the environment to

guide and underpin innovation. This lecture looks at some firms which have tried to

incorporate the environment into the core of their products and ethos alongside others that

have faced criticism for operating without concern for the environment.

- Required Video

- Recorded Lecture on Green Business Models for Innovation

- Required readings:

- Chapter 8: CSR in the Ecological Environment of Corporate Social

Responsibility by Crane, Matten & Spence (2nd Edition)

- Lovins, Lovins, and Hawken. 2007. “A road map for natural capitalism,”

Harvard Business Review. (originally published 1999)

Week 10: Dilemmas of New Technologies

Information technologies and biotechnologies are among the most innovative industries.

But such new technologies constantly raise new ethical dilemmas. What are these main

dilemmas? Why are controversies so salient? Can we forge common guidelines and

practices? We will also discuss here the rise and relevance of ethics boards and ethicists.

- Required readings:

- Case: Geron Corporation and the Role of Ethics Advice. Margaret Eton

- Margaret L. Eaton. 2008. Managing the Risks Associated with Using

Biomedical Ethics Advice. Journal of Business Ethics 77:99–109

Week 11: Wrap-up - Revision Session and Moving Forward

In this final lecture we will review the whole course in preparation for the final exam and

group coursework. In order to do this, we will draw the content together and reflect on the

key learning.

- Recommended Resources for Going Further with Business in Society Issues (all

available on moodle):

- Meyerson, D. 2004. “The tempered radicals: How employees push their

companies - little by little - to be more socially responsible.” Stanford Social

Innovation Review, 2: 14-23.

- The Next Phase of Business Sustainability, Andrew Hoffman, 2018, Stanford

Social Innovation Review

- Podcast: Is Corporate Sustainability Broken? - the Network for Business

Sustainability

- Podcast: You 2.0: Rebel With A Cause, Hidden Brain, National Public Radio

(USA) - Interview with Dr Francesca Gino

- Gino, Francesca. Rebel talent: Why it pays to break the rules at work and in life.

Pan Macmillan, 2018.