Exploring Issues in Social Responsibility and Whistleblowing in Business Education

Part 1 - Essay: Failures of Business Education in Light of Corporate Scandals

The main purpose of this assignment is to test your ability to explore, using own research findings, issues in social responsibility in-depth and in a way which is relevant to you.

You are required to submit a single document of no more than 3000 words (excluding all references) which has the following 3 parts:

a)  PART ONE (ESSAY) - The first part of the assignment involves a substantial research element to replace the research work necessary to complete the reflective portfolio.

Sumantra Ghoshal (2005) has argued that the way MBA students are taught in US Business Schools has freed them "from any sense of moral responsibility" for the way they conduct themselves when at work. In the light of the range of high profile corporate scandals in recent years discuss the extent to which the scandals can be said to be due to failures of education systems.

Bad management theories are destroying good management practices.

b) PART TWO (ESSAY) - The second part of the assignment requires you to use appropriate theory/theories and examples to critically evaluate the phenomenon of whistleblowing. Your discussions should include a consideration of how socially responsible organizations ought to regard whistleblowers.  

c)  PART THREE (REFLECTIVE PIECE) - Write a conclusion reflecting on your learning about Business Social Responsibility (BSR) overall.

Here you should try to synthesise your learning about BSR overall. One way of doing this might be to compare/contrast the learning points from the key issues discussed in Parts and discuss these in the light of key theories of BRS that you learnt in the module

You may also wish to consider if there are any significant aspects of BSR which have not been touched on in the module

NOTE - Since this is a reflective piece, your discussions/reflection could be written in the first person. However, you still need to provide evidence to back up claims (e.g., you could argue that your personal views/opinions on a specific issue are consistent with those of Author XXX (e.g., Freeman [1882])

1.The THREE different tasks should be submitted as a single file, with the tasks clearly sectioned as Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 respectively

2.Parts 1 and 2 should be written in essay format. Correspondingly, you are expected to include title, introduction and conclusion for both parts. You have the option to use section titles for these parts of the task.

Part 2 - Essay: Critical Evaluation of Whistleblowing and Socially Responsible Organizations

3.ALL references used for the different parts (1, 2 and 3) should be reported alphabetically at the end of the document. In other words, you only to have one “References List” section at the end of the final document.

The learning outcomes that are being assessed in this assignment are:

a)Evaluate the dilemmas faced by business organisations in confronting their corporate responsibilities

b)Select and use range of formats and styles to argue and counter-argue ideas in the area of Business Social Responsibility professionally, and delivered in such a way as to enable understanding and engagement by academic, specialist and non-specialist audiences.

c)Demonstrate, using a range of communication tools, an informed social awareness and sustainability consciousness

Your grade will depend on the extent to which you meet these learning outcomes in the way relevant for this assignment. Please see the grading rubric at the end of this assignment brief for further details of the criteria against which you will be assessed.

In accordance with the Assessment and Feedback Policy, as stated in section 4.40 where a submission exceeds the stipulated word limit by more than 10%, the submission will only be marked up to and including the additional 10%. Anything over this will not be included in the final grade for the assessment item. Abstracts, bibliographies, reference lists, appendices and footnotes are excluded from any word limit requirements.

In line with section 4.41 of the same Policy, where a submission is notably under the word limit, the full submission will be marked on the extent to which the learning objectives have been met.

Online support will be provided by your specific module tutor.

Generic Grading Criteria

You will find the generic grading criteria for achievement at  University Grading Criteria.  Also explained here are the meanings of the various G grades at the bottom of the grading scale.

Written work submitted to TURNITIN will be subject to anti-plagiarism detection software.  Turnitin checks student work for possible textual matches against internet available resources and its own proprietary database.  

When you upload your work correctly to TURNITIN you will receive a receipt which is your record and proof of submission.

If your assignment is not submitted to TURNITIN rather than a receipt you will see a green banner at the top of the screen that denotes successful submission.

N.B Work emailed directly to your tutor will not normally be marked. The only exception to this is when you are instructed to do so because TURNITIN is down.

For first sits, if an item of assessment is submitted late and an extension has not been granted, the following will apply:

·Within one week of the original deadline – work will be marked and returned with full feedback, and awarded a maximum bare pass grade.

·More than one week from original deadline – maximum grade achievable LG (L indicating late).

At the second opportunity deadline (resits) work submitted late will be awarded a LG grade.  There is no opportunity to submit work late for a bare pass.