You are required to choose one (1) of the following three statements (Topics 1, 2 or 3) and argue...

Question

You are required to choose one (1) of the following three statements (Topics 1, 2 or 3) and argue either in the affirmative (for) or the negative (against) providing a critical argument with evidence to support your argument:

Essays should be no longer than2000 words, exclusive of appendices, references, etc. Students are required to undertake research to locate academic references using online databases (e.g EBSCO, Proquest, Emerald, Science Direct etc) and need to use at least twelve academic references. Literature pointers will be provided on the Ethics & Governance Canvas. The submission deadline will be announced during the teaching visit (Early July 2018).

Topic 1:

During the 2018 Malaysian election, Air Asia CEO Tony Fernandes provided support for the incumbent political party (as did many other business leaders?). This was criticised by some as being unacceptable for people to use their corporate influence to throw their weight around. Do you think it is legitimate for senior executives to engage in public discourse on political issues?

Reading Pointers:

Scherer, AG, Palazzo, G, Matten, D (2014) 'The Business Firm as a Political Actor', Business & Society, Vol.53(2), pp XXXXXXXXXX
Lawton, T., McGuire, S., & Rajwani, T XXXXXXXXXXCorporate Political Activity: A Literature Review and Research Agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, 15(1), 86-105.
Chin, MK, Hambrick, DC, Treviño, LK (2013) 'Political Ideologies of CEOs: The Influence of Executives’ Values on Corporate Social Responsibility', Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol.58(2), pp XXXXXXXXXX

Topic 2:

Facebook has recently been embroiled in a data privacy scandal with controversial firm Cambridge-Analytica. Does a lack of moral awareness explain Facebook's decision making in this case?

Reading Pointers:

Manohka XXXXXXXXXXCambridge Analytica’s closure is a pyrrhic victory for data privacy,https://theconversation.com/cambridge-analyticas-closure-is-a-pyrrhic-victory-for-data-privacy-96034[Accessed 12 May 2018].
Butterfield, K. D., Trevin, L. K., & Weaver, G. R XXXXXXXXXXMoral awareness in business organizations: Influences of issue-related and social context factors. Human relations, 53(7), XXXXXXXXXX.

Topic 3:

Given scandals across a range of supply chains, how credible are claims by firms that they have an ethical supply chain? Draw on course concepts/readings and wider research and reading to critically discuss a specific case (Thai fishing, Rana Plaza or Fair trade coffee/chocolate).

Reading Pointers:

Crane, A XXXXXXXXXXModern slavery as a management practice: Exploring the conditions and capabilities for human exploitation.Academy of Management Review,38(1), 49-69.

Hunt T (2015) 'Drinking an ethical cup of coffee: how easy is it?',https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/may/29/drinking-an-ethical-cup-of-coffee-how-easy-is-it[Accessed 28 May 2018]

Gale A (2016) 'Is Apple's supply chain unethical?'https://www.managementtoday.co.uk/apples-supply-chain-unethical/article/1379976[Accessed 28 May 2018]

Lawrence F & Hodal K (2018) 'Thailand accused of failing to stamp out murder and slavery in fishing industry'https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/mar/30/thailand-failing-to-stamp-out-murder-slavery-fishing-industry-starvation-forced-labour-trafficking[Accessed 28 May 2018]

Nagaraj A (2018) 'Five years after Rana Plaza disaster, many workers face 'unacceptably dangerous' conditions'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bangladesh-garments-accident/five-years-after-rana-plaza-disaster-many-workers-face-unacceptably-dangerous-conditions-idUSKBN1HU301[Accessed 28 May 2018]

Please read the Research Essay Guide and Referencing Guide

Ethics&Governance Assessment 1 - Guide 2018 S2 SIM-1.docxHarvard_Citation_Style_Examples.pdf Preview the document

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Parul · Accepted Answer

Assignment
We live in time where world's most precious commodity is not spices, gold, diamonds, steel but data. Today, knowledge and information is what drive modern society. Entire marketplace has transformed and evolved into an online digital place where brands segments and targets user based on their specific needs, likes and dislikes. I am selecting Topic 2 which discusses very recent event that has shattered many beliefs on one of the most adored and loved social media and networking platform in present time Facebook. This organisation has been embroiled in this data privacy scandal with the analytical firm Cambridge Analytica and its connection with SCL. Indeed, there is sheer lack of moral awareness on part of the organisation, Facebook not fully comprehending the impact and consequences of decisions made especially in this case. 
Argument 1: Today world has become a digital jungle with complex business that run across many cultures, nations and boundaries. Companies like Facebook has forced us to realize what is are value system and what we stand for and also have raised certain essential questions on ethics and its necessity in businesses. Taking reference from “Essentials of business ethics”, (Chryssides, G. and Kaler, J., 1996) comprehending how actions would have consequence on others, ethics help us to know what is right from wrong and taking responsibility of actions. Ethics is something that affect us every day not just while we work and interact with colleague but also where we heading towards. For all of the benefits Facebook has provided in building communities and connecting societies, I guess devil’s bargain has been stuck. Taking reference from article in MIT Technological Review “Facebook Personal Data a Security Risk” (Lemos, R., 2018) people don’t like to be manipulated, they don’t like to be spied on, someone getting inside our home and watching us, following us and much worse following our children. Facebook has evolved to a place where is it is tracking everyone and practically collecting data on just about everyone. I know there are certain user agreement that users have to proactively sign in and accept but then how much of that is clear to the user. User agreements are framed in a manner that they are difficult to understand by an average individual and get along with the length. As an organisation the track data of their users not just when they are online but also when they have logged off from system and it digs into our preferences irrespective whether it is personal or political. At this point, we can easily discern that Facebook has defaulted on normative ethics. Taking reference from “Behavioral Study of obedience” (Milgram, S., 1963) this organisation by the virtue of its model deals with very personal and sensitive data and it is morally expected that that information should be protected rather than making it a commodity of money making machine. Constantly monitoring people and tracking them for some business agenda is not just in-appropriate at so many levels but also breaching one’s privacy is conflicts with normative ethics. 
Argument 2: For all the reason mentioned one of the critical one is that Facebook only came forward regarding the massive data breach until it was identified by other sources and cameras was on them. With reference to the facts of the case disclosed in the article, “Cambridge Analytica's closure is a pyrrhic victory for data privacy” (The Conversation., 2018) Facebook had known about this data leakage with Cambridge Analytica (CA) and its impact yet they didn’t take any concrete actions to resolve the issue and much less about communicating its users. The data analysis firm, Cambridge Analytical and its related organisation Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL) that were dedicatedly working on the US Presidential campaign of 2016 especially in favour of Donald Trump who is now the running president of States have not just pilfered the data but also harvested several desired actions on the account of more than 50 million users on Facebook. It turns out Facebook had already known about this data breach and connection of CA with SCL however they kept it a secret. Although Facebook had discontinued the contract with CA and instructed them to destroy all the data but never cared enough to follow up on that or even take stringent actions on this massive breach of the contact. Furthermore,

You are required to choose one (1) of the following three statements (Topics 1, 2 or 3) and argue either in the affirmative (for) or the negative (against) providing a critical argument with evidence...

Topic 1:

Reading Pointers:

Topic 2:

Reading Pointers:

Topic 3:

Reading Pointers:

Please read the Research Essay Guide and Referencing Guide

RMIT Assessment Policies and Guidelines

Academic integrity and plagiarism procedure

Copyright Management Services - Student Resources

College of Business: Guidelines for referencing and presentation in written reports and essays

Viewing an Originality Report in Turnitin - Student Guide

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