At least 5 pages
Section I. (10 points)
This section involves both a video about Judy Wicks and two articles from class. Watch the video and read (re-read) the articles and answer the following questions in short essay form. You can also incorporate information from our last class regarding Local Business Networks, CSO’s, Philadelphia SBN and BALLE.
Judy Wicks Speech
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kh_ZbNlTbn4
Local Living Economies: The New Movement for Responsible Business, by Judy Wicks (pdf, week 9)
The Sustainable Business Network Serves the Community Through Social and Environmental Advocacy – https://philadelphianeighborhoods.com/2016/06/23/center-city-west-the-sustainable-business-network-serves-the-community-through-social-and-environmental-advocacy/
1. Judy Wicks chose to operate a socially responsible business instead of growing and expanding her business to other cities. Discuss some of the characteristics of Local Living Economies and what affect they have on both the businesses and the community.
2. In the video, she mentions working with many different suppliers. Explain some of those relationships and why she chose them instead of national distributors. What benefit did she believe existed? Do you agree with her assessment about these benefits?
3. How do some of these independent agencies and non-profits help promote community business ideals (Local Business Networks, CSO’s, Philadelphia SBN and BALLE)?
4. At the end of her article, she mentions many examples of what she feels the Local Living Economies Movement is all about. Choose four and describe what you think she means by them.
Section II. (10 points)
Recently General Motors announced plans to close four auto plants in the United States, which will cause over 11,000 employees to lose their jobs.
You can search Google for articles relating to GM closings and find hundreds of articles for reference. I have included one here to help you further understand the facts.
http://www.autonews.com/article/20181203/OEM/181209962/gm-plans-future-workforce-makeup
1. List at least five different stakeholder groups and discuss the attributes of each group.
2. Discuss GM’s responsibilities to each group.
3. Discuss how GM should approach managing its relationship with each group as it pertains to this decision.
4. Put yourself in one of the groups of stakeholders and discuss your feelings and ideas as a member of that group on the proposed decision.
Section III. (10 points)
We spent a great deal of time this semester in varying debates. Please think through the following issue and answer the questions. There are several articles and lectures from the semester that you should use as reference, including, but not limited to Adams – Capitalist Monkey Wrench, Reich – How Capitalism is Killing Democracy, and Freidman, Mackey, Rogers Debate and the John Deckop chapter.
The most appropriate approach for a company to take is Profit Maximization, not a Triple Bottom Line approach.
1. Please supply a short essay response in agreement with this statement.
2. Please supply a short essay response against this statement.
3. If you were beginning a business, given the choice, which approach do you think you would follow and how?
4. Do you think that as more discussions occur regarding environmental issues and social responsibility, there will be more businesses moving in the direction of B-Corps?
Evaluation
A) I will be looking for you to use course reference material when applicable.
B) You should use short essay style answers, not simply one sentence answers.
C) Well thought out and organized answers will score better than scattered and less coherent ones.
