Course objectives:
All COs are relevant and apply to this Assignment in the choice and analysis of your selected case study. Keep in mind the following COs in particular in the preparation of the project:
CO-1 Assess the legal environment of business.
CO-2 Explain how ethical frameworks shape business decisions.
CO-10 Assess laws applying to antitrust and consumer protection.
Assignment Prompt:
Review the following case studies involving companies’ decision making (hyperlinked to source information).
Choose ONE of these case studies* as the subject of your presentation.
M F Global (2013)
Hooker Chemical and Plastics Corporation and its Successors — Love Canal Disaster (1953)
*Start with the research source provided. You must conduct more research about the company, its decision, the law, ethics, and issues in the case study for your presentation. Initial material is provided to you to get you started. Focus on the specific pivotal decision the company made.
When you have selected your case study, research and cover the points listed in the instructions below in a well-developed PowerPoint presentation. These instructions provide guidance about how to organize the slides and the minimum number of slides for the required content. Key points are to be presented on slides with explanation and analysis expanded in your Speaker’s Notes narrative.
INSTRUCTIONS: (Also see Grading Rubric.)
This 12-slide outline is the minimum; you might wish to use additional slides for some segments of the presentation for a complete presentation.
The outline identifies how to organize the content areas of your presentation. You will see that the Grading Rubric follows this outline.
Each slide should display key bullet points supplemented with Speaker’s Notes in the speaker’s note space below the slide or as an audio or video narrative.
Slide 1 – Title Slide (title of topic/presentation, your name, course, prof., date)
Slide 2 – Agenda slide – Simple outline of the presentation so your audience knows the topic scope and where you are going.
Slide 3 – at least one slide – (An introduction of the company) Introduce and briefly describe the company, the nature of its business and corporate business environment. Do not spend a lot of time on the history of the company as a business, but do describe necessary history sufficiently to create meaningful context. For some of these case studies, history will have significance.
Slides 4 & 5 – at least 2 slides: explain facts of the case study; identify the decisional dilemma and succinctly state the 2 choices the company had at the critical point in time; the choice the company made and why; the choice the company should and could have made instead (and why). Tip: There is always a choice. Refer to definition of dilemma:
A problem in the decision-making process between two possible but undesirable options from an ethical perspective.
Slides 6 & 7 – at least 2 slides: Identify and explain the statutes and regulations implicated and violated – or potentially violated – by the company’s conduct. Be specific, and explain:
• the purpose of the law; and
• how the company’s conduct violated or might have violated the law, and the consequences of violation
Slides 8 & 9 – at least 2 slides: Explain the ethical question/failure of the company’s decision, apart from violation of law. Present an analysis and explanation of an ethical course of conduct and reasoning that the company leadership could have followed to reach the better decision you identified above, to both follow the law and meet the higher goals of the company. Include in your explanation the definition and application of at least one specific ethical framework we have studied that would have led to the better decision. (Examples: ethics of care, deontology, utilitarianism, virtue ethics, etc.) It is NOT sufficient to simply say “exercise CSR” or “do the right thing.”) Analytically apply a specific framework.
Slide 10 – at least 1 slide: Recommend a take-away lesson for the business management of ANY company (not just this company in this situation) that is a lesson to be learned from this case study. What is a recommended business practice? Do not overly generalize. Be specific.
Slide 11 – at least 1 slide: Conclusion – your wrap-up—3 bullet points summation of case study relevancy; law/ethics; recommendation. As with other slides, expand narrative in Speaker’s Notes.
Slide 12 – at least 1 slide: References slide – References are listed on the Slide, not only in the Speaker’s Notes
Minimum five (5) credible sources that support your material in the PPT. These should also be cited in the PPT Speaker’s Notes to support your narrative, in APA short form. If you are giving an audio presentation, you can include a source by saying something like, “An article by ___________ in ____________ explains how the ethic of care supports successful management decisions.” Also include where necessary on your slides.
AVOID THESE SOURCES: Dictionaries, encyclopedias — including Investopedia in general. Wikis, and the like, and Internet generic quick-answer websites are not acceptable to populate your Reference list. AI-generated material as source and narrative is not acceptable. Use your text, required readings, peer-reviewed articles, statutory and case law, and other credible sources for your research authority.
If you were giving this presentation to your CEO, s/he might well say, “You know, I can read a dictionary. I can chat with a robot myself. I need to hear what the experts and the law are saying about this. And I want to hear your own original analysis. It’s what I’m paying you for.” If you were the CEO what would be your expectation?
APA 7th Edition formatting required for References citations, but a “hanging indent” is not required and citations can be single spaced. Refer to the help sources provided
