Thursday, November 3. 2016

Today's schedule is D-C-B-A

A Block Criminology 12 - Yesterday we started learning how to identify a pyramid / ponzi scam (for more take a look at How Stuff Works). Remember the pyramidal structure? Next we'll look corporate crime. 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. Should corporate executives be found guilty of murder if they fail to take reasonable measures to protect their staff and an employee subsequently dies?
2. Is it fair to blame a single executive for the activities of a company that has thousands of employees?
3. 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?  
4. 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"?
5. According to individuals interviewed in The Corporation, the problem is with the corporations themselves, not necessarily with the people who run them. What evidence does the film use to make this point? Do you agree or disagree? Explain using examples from the film.
6. 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.

C & B Blocks Social Studies 11 - Today we'll look at the Paris Peace Conference, and the Treaty of Versailles that was signed by the major powers involved in the war including the dreaded War Guilt Clause (forcing Germany to accept blame for starting the war and therefore paying reparations to the allied countries). Although the cost in lives was great, the First World War helped transform Canada into a modern industrial nation with international standing. So, in order to assess and explain the Political, Economic, Social and Cultural changes to Canada, from the outset to the end of the First World War, I`d like you to answer the following question:

What effect did Canada’s participation in the First World War have on Canadian society and its status as a nation? 

Think about:
Role of women
National unity
Independence from Britain
Technology
Changing ideas about war
Economy (Canada becomes industrial)

FMI on Versailles:
BBC History: The Ending of World War One
UK History Site Treaty of Versailles
First World War dot com Treaty of Versailles
You Tube video on Treaty of Versailles
BBC World War One Treaty of Versailles

And on this day William George "Billy" Barker, the most decorated serviceman in the history of Canada and the British Empire, was born in 1894, he is one of Canada’s most renowned First World War heroes.

In October 1918, Barker was attached to the 201 Squadron of the Royal Air Force. Flying a solo excursion over the Forêt de Mormal in France, he encountered a formation of Fokker D.VIIs from Jagdgruppe 12. In the ensuing battle, which took place immediately above Canadian lines, Barker shot down four enemy aircraft before crash-landing inside Allied lines. He was severely wounded. However, by March 1919, Barker had recovered just enough to walk a few paces at his Victoria Cross investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace. After the war, Barker and William Avery "Billy" Bishop, another Canadian flying hero, founded an airline in Toronto. In 1924 Barker was appointed a senior officer in the fledgling Canadian Air Force. He subsequently became the first president of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

A Block Geography 12 - Today we look at stream profiles, deltas, and floodplains. We are focusing on the erosive action of rivers along with the land forms that they create. You will need to copy a meandering stream profile (figure 14.15 on p.460 in the Geosystems text) and a diagram on oxbow lake formation (figure 14.16 on p.461 in the Geosystems text). Your homework is questions 17, 20, 21 & 22 from page 482 in your Geosystems text.

Diagram from William Galloway of the University of Texas