Gbus 5 Introduction to Business

Long Beach City College Dept. of Business Administration

Module 1 - "Fundamentals of the Business Environment, 3ed."

ch. 1 Exploring the World of Economics and Business ch. 2 Being Ethical and Socially Responsible ch. 3 Exploring Global Business
(refer to the Calendar for due date) MODULE 1 ACTIVITIES: As you have probably noticed, Ethics and Social Responsibility sometimes seem like lost values in the business world. The past few years, though, have brought renewed interest in these concepts. In this Module's activities you will take a look at the current status of a couple companies to see how they address these issues. The following Internet research activities provide the foundation for this Module's assignments. WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT The purpose of this written assignment is to give you the opportunity to express your opinions, in a clear and concise manner, about the relationships between some of the new concepts that you are learning and the application of these concepts in the business world. Part 1: First off, check out the Nike website. One of the first things that you should observe is the scale of Nike's business operations. Why do I mean by that statement? In addition to the usual things that you would expect to find (great looking products and communication ideas), you can go to the bottom of the front page and view the link to their behind the scenes activities (About Nike/Jobs). What are some of the behind the scenes activities that relate to what you have already learned in this class? Also of interest is their unique Corporate Responsibility site. Why does Nike do this? Have you heard that Nike was a sweatshop operator? Has the information from this site affected your perception of Nike? How? Part 2: In contrast, let's look at the Annual Report for Enron from the year 2000. While browsing through the Report, look at "Our Values" (on page 53) to get a feeling for Enron's stated goals for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and a sense of their stated ethical foundations at that time. Sounds good, doesn't it? At that point in time, Enron was heralded as one of the most revered corporations in the "new economy". Now take a look at today's Enron website. What are your observations of the differences between the 2 reports? Most important is that you realize that statements & policies are important to the vision of an organization, but actions are what matters.

Myke Mc Mullen, T-2339, ext. 4941 (mmcmullen@lbcc.edu)

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Long Beach City College Dept. of Business Administration After reviewing these websites you should have a stronger understanding of the concept of ethics and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). To learn more about this topic, go to the Links section on our course website and check out some of the sites that have been posted. Part 3: After studying the concept of ethics and social responsibility in Chapter 2 of your text and after reflecting on these websites, please recap your new understanding of ethics and CSR in the workplace and the impact of Codes of Ethics and Mission Statements on the conduct of individual employees within organizations. Writing Reminders: Your work for this assignment should not exceed 2 pages, remembering to follow the writing standards that are published on this website in the <ORIENTATION/Communicating Online> section. Also, please use the Learning Module writing template that I have provided in Learning Module 1, since it has proven to be quite convenient for most students. If you are unable to use this template, your written response should be in Memo format as a (doc, docx, rtf, txt, html or pdf) file. Regardless of the format used, it is important to make sure your document is virus-scanned and that you use the following file-naming protocol: <gbus5ol_yourname_LM1> i.e. <gbus5ol_mykemcmullen_LM1>

You will submit your work to me through Moodle by clicking on the <Submit LM1 writing assignment> link, located in the Learning Module section. This is the protocol that you will use for each LM writing assignment, so its important to get it correct the first time thru and then it becomes a snap. I hope you enjoy this activity. It's a great way to expand your understanding of the importance of CSR and ethics in the workplace. DISCUSSION FORUM ACTIVITY: This module's discussions will be as follows: 1. Briefly recap some of the interesting points that you discovered while browsing the Small Business Administration website. What did you learn? Also, how did you score on the Entrepreneurial Surveys? Did your results surprise you? Were they consistent with what you read in the "Is Entrepreneurship for You?" article? 2. After looking through the list of most popular franchises for 2012, what franchise (or franchises) would be the most appealing to you? Why? 3. After reviewing the list of the Fortune 500 companies, what are some of the interesting points that you observed? What is your overall feeling after viewing this list of companies? Did anything surprise you?

Myke Mc Mullen, T-2339, ext. 4941 (mmcmullen@lbcc.edu)

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Long Beach City College Dept. of Business Administration Post your replies to these 3 discussion points at the Mod 2a/b Discussion Forums. Please remember to reply to at least 2 of your classmate's posts in order to receive maximum 3A points. I hope you enjoy this activity. It's a great way to expand your understanding of the roles of the various forms and structures of businesses.

Myke Mc Mullen, T-2339, ext. 4941 (mmcmullen@lbcc.edu)

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