1

--- Draft ---

Corporations, Politics and Society
BA 4307.001
Fall 2010
Padmakumar Nair, Ph.D., Dr. Eng.
972-883-6264; Padmakumar.nair@utdallas.edu
Time: Mondays and Wednesdays 05.30 AM to 06.45 PM
Place: SOM 2.107

Office Hours: Monday 10.30 to 11.30 AM and 6.45 to 7.30 PM or by appointment (office: SOM 2.422)

Books and Other Reading Materials:

1. Stuart L. Hart, Capitalism at the Crossroads: Aligning Business, Earth, and Humanity (2nd Edition) [Paperback] Wharton
School Publishing; 2 edition (July 28, 2007)

2. Joel Bakan, The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power [Paperback], Free Press (March 1,
2005)

3. Michael J. Sandel, What's the Right Thing to Do? [Paperback] Farrar, Straus and Giroux (September 15,
2009) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBdfcR-8hEY

4. Daily newspapers and business periodicals

Readings

1. Henry Mintzberg. 1996. “Managing Government, Governing Management”, Harvard Business

Review, May-June 1996
2. Charles Handy, 2002, “What is a Business For”, HBR, Dec. 1, 2002

Readings: The readings can be downloaded from the library website (go to eJournals:
http://www.utdallas.edu/library/resources/journals.htm )

Introduction

After the global economic meltdown of 2008, ordinary citizens, politicians and business leaders alike
are reflecting on the wisdom of current market practices and the underlying assumptions upon which these
 2

practices are based. Several key questions have emerged from this state of reflection and debate. The
most meaningful ones are listed below:

1. What is a business for?

2. What is a “life” for?
3. Greed versus Economic Progress: How can we balance it?
4. Sustainable Growth: Is it an oxymoron?
5. Can science help us find answers to the above questions?
6. What is the role of philosophy in answering these questions?

In this course we will critically examine historical as well as current political and social events and its
impact on the business world. Our major goal in this course is to find useful answers to the above
questions. Students are encouraged to openly discuss societal issues and its relevance to corporations and
our ability to create wealth.

Class Participation + Weekly Homework (due on Wednesday) [30% of your grade]

The class participation component means that you must come to class prepared to discuss the
clipping you brought as homework. I must be able to know your name and your level of participation for you
to receive participation credit. I will call on people at random if necessary to make sure that the quiet
students have a chance. Attendance is required in this course. Students who attend all class sessions and
participate always perform better on the exam and the group project. Each week, students will be called on
randomly to discuss the chapters assigned for the week. Some discussions will be role play activities,
others will be debates. If you are not present when your name is called or if you do not participate in the
discussion, you will receive a zero for this portion of the grade.

Your weekly homework assignment is to bring in a current event clipping from a daily newspaper
(New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Dallas Morning News, etc.), a business periodical (Business Week,
Fortune, etc.) or the internet that preferably relates to the topic of the week, for example: corporate
citizenship, lobbying, education, media, foreign trade, ethics, worker safety, pollution, sustainability etc.

Please attach your news story to another sheet of paper that includes the following:

1. Explaining why this news item is important to business

2. How does it relate to the topic/chapters assigned for the week
3. Oppose or support the way the article is written by asking critical questions

Homework is due every week (Wednesday) from week 2 except on exam days and on the last week
of the class.

Group Project (weekly presentation (every Monday) and final presentation) [30%]

Weekly presentation (every Monday)

 3

Every Monday one group will make a 10 minutes class presentation on an issue which is very
topical and current. If Monday is not a working day we will move the class presentation to Wednesday.
This will be a good practice for the final group presentation. Your presentation should generate:

Good class discussion on the topic

Touch up on ideas, theories and concepts from what has been already covered in the
class

Final presentation

Choose an industry, a firm or a topic (such as healthcare or energy) that is of particular interest to
you and that is also in the news (examples are tobacco, dietary supplements, sub-prime mortgage, credit
cards) which represents a business/society or business/government problem. Talk about the impact of
regulations or lawsuits on the industry and the impact of the industry on government and society both in the
past and currently. Assume that you are writing a case study to add to a textbook. Present the facts and
only the facts: this is not the time for opinion. This is the research portion of the project.

o State the problem/Facts only

 Who are the major players?
 What is going on?
 When did it happen?
 Where is it happening / happened?
 Also give relevant historical background
o Describe the situation based on its potential impact
 Potential social impact
 Potential political impact
 Potential economic impact
o Use timelines, maps, graphs if necessary to illustrate your case
o Identify the stakeholders
 Who are they?
 How important are they to this problem?
o Environmental analysis
 What opportunities are available to the firm in the environment with respect to:
Demographic
Political / legal
Socio-cultural
Technological
Economic
Global
 What threats await the firm in the environment?
o Your presentation should end with strong, clear and convincing recommendations to
overcome the issue being considered
 4

Your group will make a 20 minutes Power Point presentation in the last week of the semester. In addition
you should also prepare a word document of 2000 words. You should send me the presentation and the
word document at least a day before the actual final presentation day.

Exams I & II [20% each]

The exams will consist of mainly multiple choice questions. The questions are primarily from the
lectures, discussions and from the three prescribed books.

GRADING

1. Class Participation (includes Weekly Homework) 30%

2. Exam I 20%
3. Group Project 30%
4. Exam II 20%
Total 100%

Week Topic / Chapters

Week 1 Introduction and class expectations
August 24th
Exploring the Terrain (The Corporation chapters 1 and 2; Capitalism at the
Crossroads chapter 1 and 2)
Week 2 Exploring the Terrain (The Corporation chapters 1 and 2; Capitalism at the
August 29th + 31st Crossroads chapter 1 and 2)

Presentation: Group 1
Week 3 No class on Sept. 5th
Sept 7th Exploring the Terrain (The Corporation chapters 1 and 2; Capitalism at the
Crossroads chapter 1 and 2)
Presentation: Group 2
Week 4 Finding The Key Questions (The Corporation chapters 3 and 4; Capitalism at
Sept 12th + 14th the Crossroads chapter 3, 4, 5 and 6; What's the Right Thing to Do? Chapters 1, 2
and 3)
Presentation: Group 3
Week 5 Finding The Key Questions (The Corporation chapters 3 and 4; Capitalism at
Sept 19th + 21st the Crossroads chapter 3, 4, 5 and 6; What's the Right Thing to Do? Chapters 1, 2
and 3)
Presentation: Group 4
Week 6 Finding The Key Questions (The Corporation chapters 3 and 4; Capitalism at
Sept 26th + 28th the Crossroads chapter 3, 4, 5 and 6; What's the Right Thing to Do? Chapters 1, 2
and 3)
Presentation: Group 5
Week 7 Finding The Key Questions (The Corporation chapters 3 and 4; Capitalism at
Oct 3rd + 5th the Crossroads chapter 3, 4, 5 and 6; What is the Right Thing to Do? Chapters 1,
2 and 3)
 5

Presentation: Group 6
Week 8 Pre-Presentation of the Final Project (15 minutes each)
October 10th + 12th
Week 9 Finding The Key Questions (The Corporation chapters 3 and 4; Capitalism at
October 17th + 19th the Crossroads chapter 3, 4, 5 and 6; What's the Right Thing to Do? Chapters 1, 2
and 3)
Exam I on October 19th
Week 10 What is Next? (The Corporation chapters 5 and 6; Capitalism at the Crossroads
October 24th + 26th chapter 7, 8 and 9; What's the Right Thing to Do? Chapters 4 to 6)
Presentation: Group 7
Week 11 What is Next? (The Corporation chapters 5 and 6; Capitalism at the Crossroads
October 31st + Nov 2nd chapter 7, 8 and 9; What's the Right Thing to Do? Chapters 4 to 6)
Presentation: Group 8
Week 12 What is Next? (The Corporation chapters 5 and 6; Capitalism at the Crossroads
Nov 7th + 9th chapter 7, 8 and 9; What's the Right Thing to Do? Chapters 4 to 6)
Presentation: Group 9
Week 13 What is Next? (The Corporation chapters 5 and 6; Capitalism at the Crossroads
Nov 14th + 16th chapter 7, 8 and 9; What's the Right Thing to Do? Chapters 4 to 6)
Presentation: Group 10
Week 14 What is Next? (The Corporation chapters 5 and 6; Capitalism at the Crossroads
Nov 21st + 23rd chapter 7, 8 and 9; What's the Right Thing to Do? Chapters 4 to 6)
Week 15 Exam II on November 28th
Nov 28th + 30th Final Group Project Presentation
Week 16 Final Group Project Presentation (cont…)
Dec 5th REFLECTION!!!