Case Study on Alaska Palmer Project Mine: Ethical, Stakeholders, Sustainability, and Social Responsi

Question 1: Developing an Ethical Culture

Read the case study provided on Blackboard (Assessment > Assessment 3) carefully. Then, answer three of the following five questions.

The Case Study (Rushe, D. (2021). A tiny Alaska town is split over a goldmine. At stake is a way of life) is available on Blackboard, and you can find it online here: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/22/alaska-haines-village-salmon-fishing-gold-mine 

Drawing on the assigned reading (Nicholson et al., 2017) and the course content for Week 5, develop an argument against the Palmer Project mine that draws on an indigenous perspective on the relationship between people and the natural world. Your answer should refer to facts and examples from the Case Study.

The Palmer Project mine has many stakeholders. Draw on the assigned reading* (Freeman, 2013) and the course content for Week 6 to explain what the project would need to consider if it was to follow Freeman’s “new story of business”. Your answer should refer to facts and examples from the Case Study.

* If you are not able to access the required reading for Week 6 (Freeman, 2013) the following blog posts cover the same material.

Hodgkins, J. (2017, December 1). It Is Time to Replace the Old Story of Business with a New Narrative. https://blogs.darden.virginia.edu/ibis/2017/12/01/professor-ed-freeman-it-is-time-to-replace-the-old-story-with-a-new-narrative/  

Hodgkins, J. (2017, December 15). The New Story of Business: Towards a More Responsible Capitalism. https://blogs.darden.virginia.edu/ibis/2017/12/15/professor-ed-freeman-the-new-story-of-business-towards-a-more-responsible-capitalism/

In Week 8 we asked you to pay attention to your consumption of single-use plastic. Based on that experience and on the ‘Systems Iceberg’ model discussed in Week 9, explain some of the things that would need to change at the ‘Underlying Structures’ level and at the ‘Mental Models’ level in order for society’s consumption of single use plastic to significantly reduce.

Imagine that you run a sustainable tourism company around the Chilkat River. Drawing on the required reading (Whelan & Fink, 2016) and the course content for Week 10, list three business benefits that you might experience because of your commitment to sustainability, and clearly and fully explain why you could expect these benefits to occur. Your answer should refer to facts and examples from the Case Study.

The ‘Modern Social Contract' approach to the social responsibilities of business holds that “since the corporation depends on society for its existence and continued growth, there is an obligation for the corporation to meet the demands of that society rather than just the demands of a targeted group of customers” (Ghillyer, 2020, p. 68).

Do you think the social contract approach would support or oppose the Palmer Project? Explain your answer, drawing on the assigned reading (Ghillyer, 2020) for Week 11, and on facts and examples from the Case Study.