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social responsibility problem or issue of their choice. The purpose of your fina
social responsibility problem or issue of their choice. The purpose of your final paper is to detail a social problem and offer a way for business to participate in the solution to the problem.: Final Paper
Students will develop a (roughly) 1500-word paper regarding a social responsibility problem or issue of their choice. The purpose of your final paper is to detail a social problem and offer a way for business to participate in the solution to the problem.
This paper should be presented in double-space type (Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, Bookman Old Style, or Lucida Fax, 12-point font, one-inch margins) and include relevant (and self-created) tables and figures as applicable. The paper should be well-formatted, making good use of headings. The paper should draw on external sources and should cite those using standards consistent with the APA or Academy of Management citation style. I accept any formatting of your submissions, citations, and references as long as you are consistent. I prefer the Academy of Management Journal style (aom.org/publications/amj/styleguide/). However, you can use APA, MLA, or any other style if you a familiar with it. You can install EndNote on your computer for free from the UHCL Library website. EndNote is a tool that allows you to organize and format all your citations and references. Please ask the UHCL research librarians for help with EndNote if you need it. It is essential that you cite the relevant concepts and ideas from academic articles in your final paper.
1500 words is roughly 5-6 double spaced pages. For your reference, this section of the syllabus, detailing the Course Final Paper is about 1500 words long. I will not consider long quoted passages as part of your word count. I will only count sections of your authorship. Substance matters more than volume. References, tables, and pictures do not count toward the 1500-word guideline.
You are welcome to use ideas developed by your classmates in Virtual Learning Communities (see below). If you use some of those ideas, be sure to cite them properly and include the proper references in the “References” section of your paper (using the student’s name, date of post, and the number of VLC in which it was posted). I will look for your value added above and beyond the ideas of your classmates and any other sources that you will choose to cite. Simply recycling ideas from your sources is insufficient.
Every submission will be checked via the Turnitin feature of Canvas (see the section below on Academic Honesty). Turnitin compares submissions to other submissions as well as catalogued sources on the Internet. Turnitin is therefore a tool to fight plagiarism.
Matching sections are not necessarily indications of plagiarism. Properly cited and quoted sections will show up as matches in Turnitin. In this case, the presence of quotation and citation indicates your compliance with scholarly requirements for attribution of sourcing. Matching areas of content without proper attribution, though, are certainly a sign of plagiarism. Plagiarism, if detected, will be handled as indicated in the academic honesty policies of this syllabus. Your enrollment in this course constitutes your knowledge of and agreement with the UHCL Academic Honesty policies.
Identify the Problem
You should fully identify the social problem you choose to address. This means you should explain the problem as well as several of the most important issues or challenges which this social problem comprises. For each issue you describe, you should provide explanations of important concepts that must be understood (don’t assume that your readers are familiar with the topic you choose). You should also provide evidence in the form of convincing information. This information should be traceable to a reputable organization and it should be relevant to the problem, issue, or concept you are discussing.
The social problem you choose to address may be drawn from one of the broader topics we examined in our virtual learning communities, but this is not a requirement. You may, at your discretion, choose to address a different social problem. Additionally, while the virtual learning communities largely focused on social problems within the United States, your paper need not be restricted to the U.S. market. Indeed, students are reminded to review some of the areas of focus of B Corps and other socially responsible entrepreneurial activities addressed during our first VLC for potential directions.
At all times you should explain the relevance and significance of the problems, issues, and concepts you are discussing (we need to know why it’s important). You should also focus on helping us understand the underlying assumptions and logic of these issues, concepts, or problems. If there is a relationship between two things (either A causes B, A precedes but may not necessarily cause B, or A and B consistently happen in correlation with each other), make sure we understand the logic of why these relationships are believed to exist.
Keep in mind that you are not being asked to solve world-wide problems with magical solutions. It’s okay to think small or think local in this project. As an example, solving the problem of poverty in the entire United States is not something any specific business could hope to accomplish. Addressing one aspect of poverty in one area of the country, though, is within the scope of operations for many businesses.
Be sure to use the theory that was covered in the assigned readings. You don’t have to cite every single paper that you have read; however, proper use of relevant theory demonstrates learning.
How can business contribute
Offer a suggestion in how business can participate in solving (or at least helping mitigate) the problem you identify. Make sure you have an idea that addresses the problem you identified and attempt to show how addressing this problem could potentially be part of a businesses operating strategy.
You are asked to develop a novel idea, not simply report on the CSR activities of an already existing entity. However, if you can identify a firm that uses a similar approach, it is reasonable to consider adapting that idea to a new market or new problem. Be sure to credit the source of your idea if it is developed from an existing CSR initiative and also be clear to demonstrate how your idea differs from the existing idea if this is the case.
Your proposed solution could focus on actions of large firms, actions of small or mid-sized firms, or actions of start-up entrepreneurial ventures. Your solutions could directly address the problem or could participate in the discourse on the problem. While it can (and in many cases should) involve participation and partnerships with government and not-for-profit organizations, you need to identify where and how a for-profit entity fits into this solution.
While you are not being asked to prove the profitability potential of your solution, you are asked to at least think about and provide some discussion on the profit aspects of your solution. Remember that profit can be gained by increasing overall revenue while retaining near-similar cost structures or by reducing cost while retaining near-historical revenue levels.
This means that upstream-focused operations (things that address your supply lines and direct firm operations) can be as meaningful as those downstream-focused (involving the marketing, selling, and distribution of your goods). Within the scope of this paper you don’t have room to fully investigate the cost-benefits of your recommendation, but you must provide some consideration of the economic impact of this action for the firm in question.
What’s missing (e.g. why isn’t this already happening)?
What is needed to put your idea into action? Think about the resources needed to enact your idea.
What human capital is needed? What types of skills, capabilities, and expertise would it take and where would you find those types of people?
What physical capital (plants, property and equipment) is needed? Does it exist and if so, where would you find it? If it doesn’t exist, what type of new technologies are emerging which suggest that the physical capital you need may eventually become available (and how long will it take)?
What financial capital is needed? Is this an expensive and extensive project or something that can be done reasonably inexpensively (your answer to the two prior questions likely suggests your answer to this question)? What sources of capital might be interested in involvement with this and what types of government grants or incentives would help?
What social capital (what types of people or organization connections would be beneficial) is needed to develop and implement your idea?
You may not have an easily identifiable answer to each of these areas. You need to consider them, though. If you can’t find an example of the thing you would need, you should identify this as an obstacle and offer a suggestion on what it might take to address this obstacle.
Ultimately, your solution and your identification of resources must address the problem you articulate. This reinforces the importance of addressing actionable problems, and that often involves narrowing the scope of your focus. In terms of social responsibility in business, a CPA in rural Arkansas who helps other small businesses identify tax credit benefits for implementing sustainability solutions is just as important as IKEA focusing on global sustainability of its operations.
Grading rubric for the final project
Your final project will be graded based on the following criteria:
Problem identification significance, clarity, evidence, and precision – up to 6 points.
Contribution of business: logic, theory, evidence, depth, breadth, and originality of the solution that you offer – up to 9 points.
What’s missing? (Resources needed) Evidence, logic, and fairness of your diagnosis of the resources that are missing to implement the solution in #2 – up to 6 points.
Writing, organization, and presentation: quality of writing; overall organization of your paper; clarity of communication of your ideas; presentation is supported by relevant visuals, charts, well-organized data – up to 6 points
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