Reference no: EM133720231

Objectives of this Assignment

Develop and support critical thinking.
Drive exploration and analysis of ideas and course themes.
Organize your thoughts and structure your paper to communicate effectively.
Develop communication skills for business.
Provide structure and focus for class preparation that will support a good discussion in class.

Learning Objective 1: Explain the concepts of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability, their relevance in business and society today, and make the business case for both.

Learning Objective 2: Differentiate the roles played by business, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), governments and standards organizations in CSR and analyze the interactions among these groups.

Learning Objective 3: Identify and assess the potential impact of social, economic, and environmental issues and opportunities on a geographic region, an industry, or a business over time.

Assignment
This assignment involves imagining yourself in a specific situation. Your paper will be an email to your manager.

The Scenario

You graduated fromWSU (congratulations!) and have been in your job for six months. This is your first professional position since graduation. You see your manager frequently since you work in the same office and attend meetings together, however until now, your written communication with your manager and others at the company has been through email. Your manager is interested in your ideas. She also wants to see how well you communicate before she has you write content for the web or that may be read by senior executives.

Task
Today, your manager told you she watched a video on creating shared value. She asked that you watch it and give her your thoughts on it (in writing) and its relevance to your company. She's particularly interested in specific ways your company/industry might connect economic, social and environmental benefits in order to create value for your company/industry as well as for society and the environment. Your recommendations must be actionable. For example, if your manager reads your email and says,
"Great ideas! Get started on them", it must be clear from your recommendations what actions you need to take. For example, instead of "research electric trucks for our fleet", the action should be detailed.
For example, "lease three electric trucks and use them in our fleet for six months, then evaluate the environmental and economic impacts of them".
This is the first written deliverable your manager has assigned to you. She is interested in your analysis and critical thinking skills as well as the quality of your written communication.
You are to choose an industry or company you are working in. Pick one that you know. For example, you should know its business model and product(s). If you want to pick a large company, choose a specific division or product line. For example, rather than saying you work for Proctor & Gamble, be specific about the product you work on, e.g., Pampers diapers.
State early in your paper the industry or company you have chosen. For example, you might say
"Here in the fashion industry,...", or
"Since I started working in the Diet Coke division of Coca Cola, I have noticed...", or
"We and other dry cleaners..."

Required In This Paper
Identify the industry or company your work for in the scenario.
Identify at least a) one recognized business problem or risk, or b) one opportunity to improve current environmental or social impact or create positive environmental or social impact.
Develop at least one explicit idea or proposal with clear steps that demonstrates your understanding of the company/industry. For example, "give money to charities" is vague (and bad CSV). There must be enough detail to show the connection between the company/industry and the environmental or social impact that will result.
Include a description of and/or other support for the proposal that indicates it has a reasonable potential of creating shared value.
Explicitly state the potential shared value, both for business and for society. Note: "Good public relations (PR)" or the equivalent of this is insufficient. You must connect the value created society with measurable value created for the company/industry, such as a) an increase in revenue, b) decrease in expenses, c) increase in profit or d) an increase in the profit margin.

Demonstrate your understanding that creating shared value requires policies and operating practices that enhance the competitiveness of a company while simultaneously advancing the economic, environmental, or social conditions in the communities in which it operates.
Optional
Specify how to measure the existing problem to be addressed, e.g., how to determine the extent of the problem so your company can tackle it with a CSV strategy.
Specify how the results of your idea(s) or proposal(s) should be measured quantitatively.
Anticipate and respond to at least one barrier to adoption of your idea(s) or proposal(s).
Address an existing cluster or state a process to create industry cluster.
Suggest a new government regulation that addresses societal concern without undermining the productivity and competitiveness of company/industry.
Formatting Requirements
To see an example Paper, at the bottom of course Canvas home page, click on the Key Link to the Papers module. The Example Paper conforms to the formatting requirements.