Assignment

Purpose of the Assignment

Managing today's organizations in an ethical and socially responsible manner is an important goal, but is not always straightforward or easy. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives are wide-spread in many modern organizations. This assignment requires student groups (three students) to identify and discuss the CSR initiatives or programs that two organizations have implemented.

In completing the CSR assignment, students will increase their skills and ability to:

• Locate secondary sources of information, notably business periodicals and publications about two organizations and their CSR initiatives
• Critically analyze material in secondary sources of information
• Apply APA formatting standards
• Organize and write an evidence- informed business paper
• Follow instructions
• Be an effective team member by planning and completing work in a quality and timely manner

Overview of the Assignment

Planning and Assigning Work - Each student group will collaboratively determine how they will divide and complete the work of the assignment including:

• selecting two organizations (Toms and Sketchers)
• locating the secondary sources of information about the organizations (minimum of two sources for each organization)
• critically reviewing and analyzing the secondary sources of information
• critically reviewing the paper to confirm that all required components are included
• editing the paper, notably with respect to clarity, spelling, grammar, punctuation and length and appropriate choice of secondary sources of information
• formatting the paper to comply with APA standards (the reference list and citing sources in the paper)
• formatting the writing style of the paper to comply with requirements of the assignment with respect to the use of headings, length of the different sections and correctness of spelling, grammar and punctuation

Secondary Sources of Information - Students should focus their research on business periodicals, magazines or publications such as:

• Canadian Business
• Fast Company
• Harvard Business Review
• Report on Business
• Bloomberg Businessweek
• The Economist
• Forbes

Note - Information from the websites of the two organizations is not considered an acceptable source of information.

Length of the Paper - The length of the paper must be 5.5-6 pages (double-spaced and not including the reference list)

Compliance with APA Formatting Standards

Student groups should follow the rules of the 6th Edition of APA format for the paper (1 inch margins, double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font, pagination and top of the page headers for the title page and pages in the paper). Secondary sources of information must be referenced according to APA standards in the paper and in the reference list.

An APA formatted Word template is available on Blackboard. The title page should include the name and section of the course, title of the paper, professor's name, student names, and the submission date.

Writing Style

The paper must be written in a professional business style. Student groups should use language and a writing style that are appropriate for a business audience (e.g., no contractions and correct grammar, punctuation and spelling). In general, students should not:

• Repeat information covered in earlier sections of the paper
• Include irrelevant information

Organization of the Paper

Headings help students ensure that all required components of a written assignment are included. Student groups should use the following headings in their paper.

Body of the Paper (approximately 2.5-3 pages)

Students must include the following two headings and information.

CSR Initiatives at (state the name of the first organization)

• A description of the CSR initiatives (goals of the CSR, activities, stakeholders and how they benefit) used by the first organization with information drawn from a minimum of two secondary sources of CSR Initiatives at (state the name of the second organization)

• A description of the CSR initiatives (goals of the CSR, activities, stakeholders and how they benefit) of the second organization with information drawn from a minimum of two secondary sources of information - i.e., business periodicals or publications for each organization.

Note - sources of information in the body of the paper (and in the reference list) must be cited in keeping with APA formatting standards

Discussion and Analysis (approximately 2 pages)

Students must include the following four headings and information.

Challenge that could Impact the Success of the CSR Initiatives at (state the name of the first organization)

• A description of one challenge or factor that has or could impact the success of the CSR initiatives in the first organization and an action that the company could implement to effectively address this challenge

Stakeholder Group that may not Support the CSR Initiatives of (state the name of the first organization)

• One stakeholder group that may not support the CSR initiatives of the first organization and a strategy that the organization could use to persuade this stakeholder group to change their opinion about the CSR initiative

Challenge that could Impact the Success of the CSR Initiatives at (state the name of the second organization)

• A description of one challenge or factor that has or could impact the success of the CSR initiatives in the second organization and an action that the company could implement to effectively address this challenge

Stakeholder Group that may not Support the CSR Initiatives of (state the name of the second organization)

• One stakeholder group that may not support the CSR initiatives in the second organization and a strategy that the organization could use to persuade this stakeholder group to change their opinion about the CSR initiative

Note - the discussion and analysis section should reflect the group's perspective based on their collective knowledge of CSR and information from the business periodicals

Conclusion (approximately.5 page)

Students must include:

• The group's perspective as to which organization had the most effective CSR initiatives and the rationale

References (APA formatted)

Appendix (first page of each secondary source of information).