Posted: May 31st, 2015

Business and Society

Business and Society

‘Making a living is not the same as making a life’(Maya Angelou, 1928-2014)
1. A recent study published by the Centre for Work and Life at UniSA (2014), suggests that workers
are grappling with the pervasive spread of work into what was once considered personal time. We
are now increasingly working “unsocial” hours (evenings, weekends and nights). Is any notion of
work-life balance a myth?
2. According to a recent survey by the World Economic Forum (2015), social and environmental risks
are amongst the top five issues that keep CEOs awake at night. KPMG (2013) suggests that
nearly 80% of CEOs now consider social and environmental sustainability as a key strategic area.
Is sustainability still feel-good philanthropy or is it now a strategic imperative?
3. In a recent editorial Anne Tsui, a leading management scholar, suggests that business schools are
now at cross roads where they have to carefully introspect on how meaningfully they have
engaged their students with ethical dilemmas they will confront in their professional lives. Are
business schools doing enough?
Welcome to Business and Society. In our journey together over the next 13 weeks we will discuss these issues
through exploring Work, Ethics, Sustainability and Being Professional. We hope that at the end of this course
you will have a broader understanding of work, ethical and sustainability challenges that confront businesses
and societies, and you will feel more capable of making meaningful contributions to your chosen profession. We
also hope that this course will ignite in you a passion, to engage further with these challenges as you continue
your journey – upholding with integrity the values of your chosen profession.

Purpose
This assignment is designed to explore ambiguities associated with work. It also serves as an introduction to
research and the concept of “triangulation of research sources”. It requires you to collect information from
multiple sources and use it to develop and support an argument (in the form of an essay).
Task Description
In this assignment, you are required to write a short essay (of 500 words) about “What is meaningful work?”
You need to develop and support your argument using multiple sources of information. These sources should
include:
1. Textbook (some of the relevant chapters are chapters 1 – 4 and chapter 9. But you can go beyond the
suggested chapters).
And any two of the following sources:
2. Academic journal articles
3. Art/Film/TV/Newspapers
4. Books – other than the textbook
How to go about it?
1. Read the statement in the context of the relevant chapters of the textbook.
Version 3 (05 March 2015) 6
2. Make notes about your views on this topic.
3. Select any two of the additional sources listed above – to consider and evaluate different views on
the topic.
4. Discuss these ideas in a short essay of 500 words.
Resources
A number of resources are available to assist you with this assignment:
1. The library will conduct a workshop early in the course to assist students identify sources relevant
to this assignment and to properly reference text and non-text sources.
2. A guide to the writing of essays at UniSA is available on the learnonline site.
3. Assistance is also available to help in structuring an argument on the learnonline site.
4. The referencing style to be used in this assignment is the UniSA variant of the Harvard style. It is
available on the learnonline site.
Submission instructions
Complete the ‘rubrics’ at the bottom of the Feedback form, indicating your self-evaluation of the assignment
against the criteria. Include the Feedback form in Word format at the end of the assignment. Feedback forms
are provided on the learnonline site. The assignment must then be submitted through the learnonline site.
Feedback
Feedback will be given within two-three weeks of the submission date. Feedback on this assessment will be
provided on the Feedback form which is found on the learnonline site. For assessment criteria refer to the
feedback sheet.
Due date
The completed assignment is due at 11.00 pm Adelaide time on Sunday 29 March 2015.
Extensions
Extensions will not normally be granted. Exceptions will be made for personal illness supported by medical
certificates and for significant, unexpected and unforeseeable personal and family events. Apply for extensions
to the course-coordinator, through the learnonline site. Note that assignment one will be discussed in the week
following the due date, and so extensions longer than a couple of days will be made only in exceptionally rare
cases. Late penalties will not apply to assignments for which an extension has been granted provided that the
assignment is submitted by the extended submission date.
Late submissions (where no prior arrangement for an extension has been made)
Assignments submitted after the due date, without an authorised extension, will receive a penalty of 10% a day
deducted from the total available mark for the assignment for up to 7 calendar days. After 7 calendar days the
assignment will no longer be accepted. There is no commitment to return late assignments within two weeks of
submission.
Resubmission
For assignment 1 ONLY, students who get graded between 40 – 49 will be invited to resubmit. If the student
passes a resubmission the maximum mark that may be awarded is 50%. Re-marking may also be available
subject to negotiation with the Course Coordinator as per standard policy.
Assessment #2 – Online Presentation (Graded)
Media presentation: Sustainability
This assignment requires you to explore sustainability challenges in business and society. It will enable you to:
1. Use contemporary audiovisual technology to prepare and deliver an effective online presentation
2. Present a convincing, clear and concise argument
Task Description
Prepare a video clip or voice-over PowerPoint presentation about the role of consumers in driving business
Version 3 (05 March 2015) 7
organisations to be environmentally or socially sustainable.
Start by defining what is environmentally or socially responsible buying behaviour. Why is it important? Provide
some examples of products you consider to be environmentally or socially sustainable. Then present your
research findings. Details of the research process are provided below. Conclude your presentation with what
your research suggests about the role of consumers in driving business organisations to be environmentally or
socially sustainable.
Research process
For the purpose of this assignment you are required to interview 10 consumers about their environmentally or
socially responsible purchases. Your interview should include questions such as:
1. Demographics of the consumer (age, gender, occupation)
2. Whether or not they have ever made any environmentally or socially responsible purchases
3. Why (or why not) did they engage with environmentally or socially responsible purchases
For the purpose of this assignment environmentally responsible purchasing includes buying behaviour that
considers the environmental impact of the product (e.g. environmentally responsible sourcing of raw materials/
manufacturing/packaging/reuse/recycling etc). Similarly, socially responsible purchasing includes buying
behaviour that considers the social impact of the products (e.g. fair-trade/fair employment conditions/employee
safety/corporate social responsibility etc.).
Maximum length is 2 minutes.
Simple presentations such as speaking to the webcam and a succession of stills with commentary are
acceptable, as are more complex submissions. Students who do not have access to facilities which would allow
them to prepare such an audio-visual presentation should approach their tutor before the end of Week 3 to
make alternative arrangements. The alternative arrangement will most likely be the production of a full-page
newspaper advertisement or poster, A3 size.
You will need to acknowledge where the conceptual and audio-visual material you use in the presentation
comes from through referencing according to the UniSA version of the Harvard Guide.
Technical requirements for audio-visual presentations:
Your audio-visual presentation can be a videoclip or an autorunning PowerPoint with a voice over presentation.
The assignment should be prepared in a widely accepted format which can be uploaded through learnonline.
Acceptable video file formats include Quicktime .mov, Windows Media .wmv. PowerPoint presentations should
be in Microsoft PowerPoint Slideshow format in either the .ppt or.pptx versions. If you are doing a voice over
PowerPoint make sure that the voice files are properly embedded. For more information on this and other
aspects of preparing an audio-visual presentation see the ‘Resources’ section below.
Resources
A number of resources are available to assist you with this assignment:
1. There is a comprehensive Help resource for Assignment 2 in the Assessments block on the course
website.
2. Relevant elements of the course include all the material in the segment about sustainability.
3. The library conducts special session to help you with how to make voice-over PowerPoint
presentations.
Submission instructions
Complete the ‘rubrics’ at the bottom of the Feedback form, indicating your self-evaluation of the assignment
against the criteria. Include the Feedback form in Word format at the end of the assignment. Feedback forms
are provided on the learnonline site. The assignment must then be submitted through the Gradebook link on the
learnonline site.
Feedback
Version 3 (05 March 2015) 8
Feedback will be given within two-three weeks of the submission date. Feedback on this assessment will be
provided on the Feedback form which is found on the learnonline site. For assessment criteria refer to the
feedback sheet.
Due date
The completed assignment is due at 11.00 pm Adelaide time on Sunday 17 May 2015.
Extensions
Extensions will not normally be granted. Exceptions will be made for personal illness supported by medical
certificates and for significant, unexpected and unforeseeable personal and family events. Apply for extensions
to the course-coordinator, through the learnonline site. Late penalties will not apply to assignments for which an
extension has been granted provided that the assignment is submitted by the extended submission date.
Late submissions (where no prior arrangement for an extension has been made)
Assignments submitted after the due date, without an authorized extension, will receive a penalty of 10% a day
deducted from the total available mark for the assignment for up to 7 calendar days. After 7 calendar days the
assignment will no longer be accepted. There is no commitment to return late assignments within two weeks of
submission.
Assessment #3 – 3 reflective pieces (Graded)
Purpose
The capacity to reflect is an important element of professional life. It enhances the capacity to evaluate current
knowledge and to understand and accept personal weaknesses and strengths. This assignment will enable you
to develop critical reflection skills and recognise its value in professional life.
Task Description
The assignment requires you to write three short reflective pieces. Each piece will reflect on a specific content
within the course. The three pieces in total should not exceed 2000 words.
Each piece requires you to bring together:
1. information from relevant readings
2. concepts from the relevant part of the course
3. personal experience
Turn these over in your mind and reflect on the topic, and write in the first person about your considered view.
The total word length for this assignment is 2000 words. You may choose to allocate approximately equal words
to each of the three pieces.
Specific information about the 3 reflective pieces
You are required to write three separate reflective pieces for this assignment:
1. The first reflective piece requires you to reflect on “what does a fulfilling life mean for you?”
Information: One suggested reading is Christensen, CM 2010, ‘How will you measure your life’,
Harvard Business Review, vol. 88, no. 7/8, pp. 46-51. You may, however, also choose to anchor
your reflection in any of the other readings from the course.
Way of making sense: Useful conceptual background is provided by the segment of the course
which discusses work.
Personal experience: You can draw from personal life events/experiences/situations. You may
also want to discuss what a fulfilling life means for a person you consider a mentor/role model.
Version 3 (05 March 2015) 9
2. The second reflective piece requires you to reflect on “whether (or not) corporations can be
a force for good.”
Information: One suggested reading is Ignatius, A 2012, ‘Captain Planet: Interview with Unilever
CTO Paul Polman’, Harvard Business Review, vol. June, pp. 112 – 118. You may, however, also
choose to anchor your reflection in any of the other readings from the sustainability and
ethics section of the course.
Way of making sense: Useful conceptual background might come from the segments of the course
which discuss sustainability and ethics.
Personal experience: This may be experiences you have had or experiences of other people
where corporations have (or have not) contributed to societal good.
3. The third reflective piece requires you to reflect on “what does being ethical mean for you
in your chosen profession.”
Information: The careers workbook might help you identify the profession that you seek to join. If
you are already a member of a profession, the careers workbook might help you identify the values
that are important for that profession. You can then reflect on whether these values encourage
being ethical. A suggested reading is Bazerman, MH 2014, ‘Becoming a first-class noticer’,
Harvard Business Review, vol. 92, no. 7/8, pp. 116-119. You may, however, also choose to anchor
your reflection in any of the other readings from the ethics and/or being professional sections of
the course.
Way of making sense: Useful conceptual background might come from the segments of the course
dealing with ethics and being professional.
Personal experience: This might be examples of people, from your profession, who have (or have
not) acted ethically and the consequences of that.
Reflective writing records the writer’s thoughts about individual learning and experience. Whenever you use
ideas from a source, reference them using the UniSA version of the Harvard Guide.
Resources
A number of resources are available to assist you with this assignment:
1. There is a comprehensive Help resource for Assignment 3 in the Assessments block on the course
learnonline site.
2. Relevant elements of the textbook include (but are not limited to) chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9.
3. There will be exercises in class to assist students in understanding the concept of reflection and to
provide an opportunity to practise reflective writing. This will occur before the first piece needs
to be written.
4. The Learning and Teaching Unit has a number of resources specifically addressing the practice of
reflection, as well as an item on reflective journals in its Assessment study guide series.
5. The online resource ‘An introduction to reflective practice’ includes a section on reflective writing
and is available on the course learnonline site.
Submission instructions
Version 3 (05 March 2015) 10
The assignment must then be submitted through the Gradebook link on the learnonline site. Complete the
rubrics at the bottom of the feedback form to indicate your self evaluation of the assignment against the criteria.
The feedback forms are available from the learnonline site.
Feedback
Feedback will be given within two-three weeks of the submission date. Feedback on this assessment will be
provided on the Feedback form which is found on the learnonline site. For assessment criteria refer to the
feedback sheet.
Due date
The completed assignment is due at 11.00 pm Adelaide time on Sunday 7 June 2015.
Extensions
Extensions will not normally be granted. Exceptions will be made for personal illness supported by medical
certificates and for significant, unexpected and unforeseeable personal and family events. Apply for extensions
to the course-coordinator, through the learnonline site. Late penalties will not apply to assignments for which an
extension has been granted provided that the assignment is submitted by the extended submission date.
Late submissions (where no prior arrangement for an extension has been made)
Assignments submitted after the due date, without an authorised extension, will receive a penalty of 10% a day
deducted from the total available mark for the assignment for up to 7 calendar days. After 7 calendar days the
assignment will no longer be accepted. There is no commitment to return late assignments within two weeks of
submission.
Examination
The exam will assess the content described in the course statement.
The exam has three parts:
• Part A : Case study – worth 15 marks.
• Part B: Short answer questions – worth 10 marks
• Part C: 10 multiple choise questions – worth 5 marks
The duration of the exam will be two hours plus 10 minutes reading time, plus 20 minutes for NESB students.
Information about exams, including what to bring, can be found on the exams website.
If you have an Entext entitlement or an Access Plan you may be allowed to take additional approved items into
the exam or be allowed extra time. These adjustments to the standard requirements of examinations are
outlined in Section 3.3 ‘Variations to Examinations’ of the Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual.
The standards by which the exam will be assessed are consistent with the Assessment Policies and
Procedures Manual.
Resources and activities
A number of resources are available to assist you with preparation for the exam:
1. There is a comprehensive help resource for the examination in the assessments block on the
course website. This includes a past paper and the relevant mark scheme.
2. The case which is the basis for the case study part of the examination will be the subject of a
presentation in the lectures and will be discussed in tutorials and online. You will be provided with
a copy of this case at least one week before the end of classes. You are not permitted to take your
personal copy of the case into the examination. A complete copy will be provided as part of the
examination paper.
Version 3 (05 March 2015) 11
Supplementary Assessment
Supplementary assessment is not available for this course.
Important information about all assessment
All students must adhere to the University of South Australia’s policies about assessment:
http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/default.asp.
Students with disabilities or medical conditions
Students with disabilities may be entitled to a variation or modification to standard assessment arrangements.
Information for students with disabilities is available at:
http://www.unisa.edu.au/Disability/Current-students/
Variations to assessment tasks
Variation to assessment methods, tasks and timelines can be provided in:
Unexpected or exceptional circumstances, for example bereavement, unexpected illness (details of
unexpected or exceptional circumstances for which variation can be considered are discussed in clauses 7.8 &
7.9 of the Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual). Variation to assessment in unexpected or exceptional
circumstances should be discussed with your course coordinator as soon as possible.
Special circumstances, for example religious observance grounds, or community services (details of special
circumstances for which variation can be considered are discussed in clause 7.11 of the Assessment Policy and
Procedures Manual). Variations to assessment in expected circumstances must be requested within the first
two weeks of the course (or equivalent for accelerated or intensive teaching).
More information about variation to assessment may be found by consulting the relevant policy: http://
w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/default.asp (section 7).
Marking process
The marking of each assignment is subject to moderation by the Course Coordinator to ensure consistency
between markers. Each tutor submits a sample of assignments to the teaching team once they have marked
their first batch of assignments. The teaching team provides feedback before tutors complete the marking of the
rest of the assignments and returning these to students.
Academic Integrity
UniSA is committed to fostering and preserving the scholarly values of curiosity, experimentation, critical
appraisal and integrity. Students are expected to demonstrate high standards of academic integrity.
Academic integrity is a term used at university to describe honest behaviour as it relates to all academic work
(for example papers written by staff, student assignments, conduct in exams, etc) and is the foundation of
university life. One of the main principles is respecting other people’s ideas and not claiming them as your own.
Anyone found to have used another person’s ideas without proper acknowledgement is deemed guilty of
Academic Misconduct and the University considers this to be a serious matter.
The University of South Australia wants its students to display academic integrity so that its degrees are earned
honestly and are trusted and valued by its students and their employers. To ensure this happens and that
students adhere to high standards of academic integrity and honesty at all times, the University has policies and
procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct for all students. Work
submitted electronically by students for assessment will be tested using the text comparison software Turnitin.
More information about academic integrity and what constitutes academic misconduct can be found in Section 9
Version 3 (05 March 2015) 12
of the Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual (APPM) at: http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/ or on
the Learning and Teaching Unit website at: http://w3.unisa.edu.au/ltu/integrity/default.asp
Submission and return of assessment tasks
See above under Assessment details.
Action from previous evaluations
Students will have the opportunity to participate in the evaluation of the course. This will include in-class
discussion and formal questionnaires.
Recent changes to the course as a result of student feedback include:
• Changes to the categories of resources for Assignment 1
• Extra assistance with the voice-over element of Assignment 2
• Continuance of the Facebook page for the course after the initial trial
• Readings changed and updated
• Reflection exercises developed
Version 3 (05 March 2015) 13
Course Calendar
Study Period 2 – 2015
Weeks Topic Notes Assessment Details (Adelaide
Time)
Public Holidays
16 – 22 February Pre-teaching Key readings listed below. Key
readings are the shorter readings
for weekly discussion. See course
website for further details and also
for in-depth readings.
23 February – 01 March Pre-teaching –
1 02 – 08 March Big Event Workshop
Monday 2 March 6-9 PM in H216
and BH209
–
2 09 – 15 March Topics 1 and 2:History of Business
and Meaning of Work
Introduction to the textbook and
chapters 1 and 2 of the textbook
Adelaide Cup Day
9/03/2015
3 16 – 22 March Topic 3: Work and Leisure Chapter 4 of the textbook and
Christensen, CM 2010, ‘How will
you measure your life’, Harvard
Business Review, vol. 88, no. 7/8,
pp. 46-51.
4 23 – 29 March Topic 4:Ethics 1
(Recognising Ethical Issues)
Bazerman, MH 2014, ‘Becoming a
first-class noticer’, Harvard
Business Review, vol. 92, no. 7/8,
pp. 116-119.
Research assignment due 29 Mar
2015, 11:00 PM
5 30 March – 05 April Topic 5: Ethics 2
(Ethical Decision Making)
Pfeffer, Jeffrey. (2013). Power,
capriciousness, and
consequences. Harvard Business
Review, April, 36.
Good Friday 3/04/2015
6 06 – 12 April Topic 6: Sustainability 1
(Introduction to Sustainability)
Friedman, Milton. (1970). The
social responsibility of business is
to increase its profits. The New
York Times Magazine, September
13: 32 – 33 (and then continued on
pages 122-126)
Easter Monday 6/04/2015
Version 3 (05 March 2015) 14
13 – 19 April Mid-break
20 – 26 April Mid-break Anzac Day 25/04/2015
7 27 April – 03 May Topic 7: Sustainability 2
(Environmental Sustainability)
Ignatius, Adi. (2012). Captain
Planet: Interview with Unilever CTO
Paul Polman. Harvard Business
Review, June, 112 – 118.
8 04 – 10 May Topic 8: Sustainability 3
(Social Sustainability)
Mackey, John. (2013). The kind of
capitalist you want to be. Harvard
Business Review, January –
February, 34.
9 11 – 17 May Topic 9: Being Professional 1
(Reflection)
Chapter 7 of the textbook and
Pfeffer, Jeffrey. (2011).
Management a profession?
Where’s the proof? Harvard
Business Review, September 38.
Online Presentation due 17 May
2015, 11:00 PM
10 18 – 24 May Topic 10: Being Professional 2
(Career Management)
Chapter 6 of the textbook and
Wrzesniewski, Amy, Berg, Justin
M, & Dutton, Jane E. (2010). Turn
the job you have into the job you
want. Harvard Business Review,
June, 114-117.
11 25 – 31 May Topic 11: Being Professional 3
(Professionals around the World)
Molinsky, Andrew L. (2012). Code
switching between cultures.
Harvard Business Review, January
– February, 140 – 141.
12 01 – 07 June Topic 12: Being Professional 4
(Leading a Fulfilling life and
Contributing to Society)
Christensen, CM 2010, ‘How will
you measure your life’, Harvard
Business Review, vol. 88, no. 7/8,
pp. 46-51.
3 reflective pieces due 07 Jun
2015, 11:00 PM
13 08 – 14 June Topic 13: Review and Exam Case Beard, Alison. (2012). Life’s work:
Interview with Muhammad Yunus.
Harvard Business Review,
December, 136.
and
Bell, Katherine. (2010). Life’s work:
Interview with Jane Goodall.
Harvard Business Review, April,
124.
Queen’s Birthday 8/06/2015
15 – 21 June Swot-vac
22 – 28 June Exam week
Version 3 (05 March 2015) 15
29 June – 05 July Exam week
Version 3 (05 March 2015) 16