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Contemporary Business Issues CORP3502

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Answer 2 questions (out of 7) in 3 hours ... international business scandals, such as Enron, to the growth in management consultancy. ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Contemporary Business Issues CORP3502


1
Contemporary Business Issues CORP3502
  • Deferred/Referred Exam August 2007

2
CORP3502
  • Structure as per June exam
  • 3 hours duration
  • Answer 2 questions (out of 7) in 3 hours
  • Remember need a good balance of theory, real-life
    examples, statistics, critical analysis, and good
    descriptive narrative for an excellent answer.

3
Part-seen Exam Format
  • This presentation will identify the seven topic
    areas that are covered in the exam.
  • However, please remember the
    inter-relationship of these topics when you are
    doing your revision.

4
Expectations
  • You have 3 hours to answer 2 questions so we are
    expecting good, detailed, and informed essay
    style answers that include
  • Underlying theoretical framework
  • Relevant real-life examples

5
Expectations
  • Appropriate up-to-date statistics or other
    evidence
  • Balanced approach to answer
  • Logical conclusion

6
Remember
  • This exam will NOT simply repeat questions from
    the June exam.
  • However, there may be some overlap on some
    questions.
  • You should therefore also refer to the additional
    background information provided for the June
    exam, where relevant.

7
1) Corporate Social Responsibility
  • See lecture notes and assignment brief from term
    one for indicative readings
  • Carry out further research to update with latest
    articles, statistics, and trends

8
Defining CSR
  • Many different opinions about what we mean by CSR
  • Morgan (1997) defines the term corporate social
    responsibility (CSR) as The extent to which
    individual firms serve social needs other than
    those of the owners and managers even if this
    conflicts with the maximisation of profits.

9
Defining CSR
  • For instance Mallen Baker suggests that CSR is
    about how companies manage the business processes
    to produce an overall positive impact on society
    (Mallen Baker)
  • The World Business Council for Sustainable
    Development prefers the following definition.
    "Corporate Social Responsibility is the
    continuing commitment by business to behave
    ethically and contribute to economic development
    while improving the quality of life of the
    workforce and their families as well as of the
    local community and society at large"

10
  • Traditionally in the United States, CSR has been
    defined much more in terms of a philanthropic
    model. Companies make profits, unhindered except
    by fulfilling their duty to pay taxes. Then they
    donate a certain share of the profits to
    charitable causes. It is seen as tainting the act
    for the company to receive any benefit from the
    giving.

11
  • But the concept of corporate social
    responsibility (CSR) is a fuzzy one with unclear
    boundaries and debatable legitimacy (Lantos).
  • Whilst McWilliams and Siegel (2001), define CSR
    as where the firm goes beyond compliance and
    engages in actions that appear to further some
    social good, beyond the interests of the firm and
    that which is required by law.

12
Corporate Social Responsibility
  • For the exam you will need to focus on the
    various aspects of corporate social
    responsibility (CSR) identified by Milton
    Friedman (1962) through to Porter Kramer today.
  • The ethical dimensions by which some firms want
    to contribute to society by doing what is morally
    and ethically right

13
Corporate Social Responsibility
  • - The extent to which business needs to use its
    power in a responsible manner
  • - The pluralist approach to integrating social
    and wider stakeholder demands
  • - The strategic aspects of CSR see also Porter
    Kramer, and McWilliams et al

14
Corporate Social Responsibility
  • - How do all these approaches complement each
    other?
  • How do they contradict each other?
  • To what extent is the Friedmanite view still
    relevant today?

15
2) Sustainable Development
  • See lecture notes and assignment brief from term
    one for indicative readings
  • Carry out further research to update with latest
    articles, statistics, and trends

16
Recent events
  • See Stern Review (2006) from the former chief
    economist of the World Bank. Findings include
  • Carbon emissions have already pushed up global
    temperatures by half a degree Celsius
  • If no action is taken on emissions, there is more
    than a 75 chance of global temperatures rising
    between two and three degrees Celsius over the
    next 50 years

17
Recent events
  • There is a 50 chance that average global
    temperatures could rise by five degrees Celsius
  • Melting glaciers will increase flood risk
  • Crop yields will decline, particularly in Africa

18
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change
  • Excellent range of up-to-date reports and
    information available at http//unfccc.int/2860.ph
    p
  • Plenty on information on background and
    development of Kyoto etc.

19
Recent events
  • See also Sustainable Development Commission
    website http//www.sd-commission.org.uk/ Its
    March 2007 report suggests that UK Government
    departments are not on track to meet the carbon
    reduction target of 12.5 by 2010 and have
    increased waste by 20,000 tonnes since last year.
    Recycling, however, has risen by 8 across the
    government estate

20
Sustainable Development - questions
  • What role should govt adopt in promoting more
    environmentally friendly business practice?
  • What policies are open to govt? How effective are
    each of these measures?
  • What is alternative to govt. action

21
Sustainable Development
  • To what extent does greater investment in nuclear
    power represent a sensible environmental policy?
  • Does your view change if consider this from
    either an anthropocentric or eco-centric
    perspective?

22
Sustainable Development
  • Economic case for different types of energy
    policies nuclear, gas, oil, wind power, solar
    etc
  • Environmental case?
  • Social case?
  • Technological issues?

23
3) European Union
  • See lecture notes, tutorial notes and assignment
    brief for indicative readings
  • Carry out further research to update with latest
    articles, statistics, and trends

24
European Union - recent events
  • The European Union recently marked its 50th
    birthday having spectacularly exceeded goals set
    by its six founding nations but facing a crisis
    of confidence due to a failed constitution and
    doubts over further enlargement.

25
European Union
  • The now 27-member EU with almost 500 million
    people was created as the European Economic
    Community (EEC) under the Treaty of Rome by
    Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the
    Netherlands and West Germany on March 25, 1957

26
European Union
  • "The European unification idea came from the
    realisation that Europe's nation-states would -
    if left on their own - never break out of the
    vicious circle of war and destruction," said
    German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a recent
    speech at the Munich Security Conference

27
European Union
  • What is purpose of single market?
  • Has EU been successful or not? Justify your
    answer.
  • Is there evidence that single market is moving
    towards a more mature status?
  • Evidence?

28
European Union
  • There appears to be increased migration of
    workers within the EU.
  • Evidence?
  • Is this a good thing or not?
  • Theory?

29
European Union
  • Look at issues relating to competition policy
  • Advantages disadvantages of the policy
  • Is it encouraging more cross border takeovers?
  • Evidence?
  • Are these takeovers generally successful?

30
4) Single Currency
  • See lecture notes, tutorial notes and assignment
    brief for indicative readings
  • Carry out further research to update with latest
    articles, statistics, and trends

31
4) Single Currency
  • Another landmark agreement was the creation of
    the euro single currency in 2002. So far 13 EU
    states have replaced their old national
    currencies with the euro .

32
4) Single Currency
  • What is the economic case for and against the
    Euro?
  • What are the advantages to business?
  • What are the disadvantages?

33
4) Single Currency
  • What is the social case for the Euro?
  • For and against?
  • What are the key political considerations?

34
4) Single Currency
  • Why have Denmark, Sweden and UK chosen to remain
    outside the single currency?
  • Is it inevitable that they will join soon?

35
5) Management Consultants
  • See lecture notes, tutorial notes and assignment
    brief for indicative readings
  • Carry out further research to update with latest
    articles, statistics, and trends

36
Management Consultants
  • Total fee income for the top consultancy firms in
    UK grew by 455m last year, a 9.6 rise. Growth
    in the previous financial year had hit nearly14,
    adding 574m to total fee income.

37
Management Consultancy
  • Management Consultancy emerged as a separate
    profession in the US following the radical
    reshaping of financial regulations in the 1930s.
  • Prior to that, the few firms offering what we
    would today consider to be consulting advice
    served primarily as bankers, cost accountants and
    engineers.

38
Management Consultants - questions
  • McKenna (2006) explicitly links the recent
    international business scandals, such as Enron,
    to the growth in management consultancy. In
    particular, he is critical of the consulting
    industrys lack of professional standards.
  • Is this a valid criticism?

39
Management Consultants
  • Has the increased use of management consultants
    has led to a fall in the ethical standards and
    behaviour of large corporations around the world?
  • What examples evidence do you have?

40
Management Consultants
  • Why do companies employ consultants?
  • Can the benefits of consultancy be easily
    identified and quantified?
  • What are the issues involved in deciding whether
    to employ consultants or not?

41
6) Chinese Economy
  • See lecture notes, tutorial notes and assignment
    brief for indicative readings
  • Carry out further research to update with latest
    articles, statistics, and trends

42
China
  • Do you understand nature of Chinese economy a
    combination of govt. central control (a planned
    economy) and free market.

43
China
  • How does the Hybrid market system above compare
    to UK?
  • Is the Chinese economic system sustainable in
    present form? Does it challenge USA economists
    notion of the efficiency and efficacy of the free
    market?

44
China
  • Is it reasonable for EU USA to impose tariffs
    on Chinese imports?
  • Examples?
  • Theory?
  • Do tariffs protect western industries against
    unfair Chinese competition or are they simply a
    crude attempt to prop up uncompetitive
    manufacturing in the West?

45
China
  • What rights and responsibilities does China have
    as a member of WTO?
  • To what extent does China subsidise its exports?
  • Direct measures eg tax relief and subsidies etc
  • Indirect measure keeping currency value low etc

46
China
  • Is there danger of the Chinese economy
    overheating?
  • What measures, if any could western governments
    employ to counter Chinese competition?
  • To what extent would these measures be either
    harmful or beneficial to China?

47
7) Knowledge economy
  • See lecture notes, tutorial notes and assignment
    brief for indicative readings
  • Carry out further research to update with latest
    articles, statistics, and trends

48
Knowledge economy
  • What do we mean by knowledge economy?
  • How important is the concept of knowledge economy
    to the future prosperity of the UK

49
Knowledge economy
  • How is knowledge created?
  • To what extent are knowledge flows
    multidirectional?
  • To what extent are firms willing to invest in
    training and skilling of their workforce?

50
Knowledge Management
  • What are the barriers or disincentives that stop
    firms investing in knowledge management, and
    building the knowledge base of their workforce?
  • How might government encourage employers to do
    more in this respect?

51
Knowledge Management
  • What role do Universities play in increasing
    knowledge in society.
  • To what extent should employers and universities
    work together to improve the knowledge base of
    the UK?

52
Conclusion
  • These notes are guidelines only. Make sure you
    read the actual questions on the exam paper
    carefully.
  • Good luck you can contact me by email
    mkcor_at_dmu.ac.uk for some further general advice
    over the summer.
  • Martyn
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