Wednesday, October 21. 2020

Today's classes are: 

9:15 - 11:50 A Block Criminology 

12:30 - 3:05 D Block Social and Environmental Sciences 

A Block Criminology - Today we'll watch the first eight sections of the movie "The Corporation". Please do not forget that the documentary is an opinion piece...it is trying to persuade you that a corporation acts like a psychopath. Not all business is bad but we do need to understand the "corporate view" of white collar criminal activity. What is it that makes a successful business person and what kind of ethical behaviour is valued by corporate culture? You will need to work on the following questions:

1. Is it fair to blame a single executive for the activities of a company that has thousands of employees?
2. Can Corporations Commit Murder? If a corporation is considered as a person in law (as it is in the US) who can be held liable (responsible) if a corporation kills people?  
3. Recall 10 or more brands, their logos, their jingles, slogans, and any memory of the product (think Nike = swoosh = "just do it"). Do you know who owns the brand? What is your perception of this "brand"?
4. The documentary raises important questions about ethics and personal responsibility. One of the fundamental messages in the film is that corporations are irresponsible because in an attempt to satisfy corporate goals, everyone else is put at risk. To what extent is a person responsible for what they do even when within a company? Is a person morally culpable for their actions when satisfying the goal of profit within a corporation? Why or why not?

For more on the movie go to the official site here

From the Business Ethics Forum blog site:

An outstanding in-depth article on the Value of Corporate Values can be found in an article by Reggie Van Lee, Lisa Fabish, and Nancy McGaw in this month's S+B. Based on a survey at 365 companies in 30 countries, the authors claim "increasingly, companies around the world have adopted formal statements of corporate values, and senior executives now routinely identify ethical behavior, honesty, integrity, and social concerns as top issues on their companies’ agendas". The highlights of the survey and article are:

1. A large number of companies are making their values explicit. That’s a change — quite a significant change — from corporate practices 10 years ago. The ramifications of this shift are just beginning to be understood.
2. Ethical behavior is a core component of company activities.
3. Most companies believe values influence two important strategic areas — relationships and reputation — but do not see the direct link to growth.
4. Most companies are not measuring their “ROV.”
5. Top performers consciously connect values and operations.
6. Values practices vary significantly by (continental) region.
7. The CEO’s tone really matters.

The article provides quantitative data about these 7 findings and concludes with "A commitment to corporate values may be in vogue, but the public will remain suspicious until corporations both understand and can demonstrate that they are committed to using values to create value". What we are looking at is what makes people abuse the public trust in corporations.

D Block Social and Environmental Sciences - What are the positions on environmental issues for the political parties in BC?

B.C. Election 2020: Parties take different approaches to environment

B.C. election: where the NDP, Greens and Liberals stand on climate and environment issues

Where They Stand: BC’s Parties on Climate Change. A Tyee Video

Today we need to continue working on publicizing the election...the process and get info to students on their options for voting next week. 

So what are the positions on environmental issues for the political parties in British Columbia?

With the Student Vote coming up this Thursday, today in the library / learning commons I will have you work through a "preparing to vote" worksheet after you complete the CBC Vote Compass in class. Once you've done this look at the local candidates either through Vote Mate or through the Times Colonist. Then:

❶ Which of the party leaders do you think would make the best premier and why?

❷ Which local candidate do you think would make the best Member of Legislative Assembly and why?

❸ Which party platform do you support the most and why? Which aligns with your priorities? Explain.

❹ Which election issue is most important to you? Which party’s proposal to address this issue do you agree with the most?