ESSAY 1 - TRADE (500 words)
What is protectionism? Is it a good thing? Why / why not?
How do governments implement protectionist policies?
Who benefits and who loses in countries with protectionist policies?
The key to ESSAY 1 is to start by providing a comprehensive definition of protectionism and then discuss how protectionism distorts supply/demand equilibria.
ESSAY 2 - CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (500 words)
During our class discussions of the AIDS in Africa and the NIKE cases, we sought to define actionable principled arguments in favor of "doing the right thing", whether ethical sourcing in Bangladesh and indonesia, or addressing the AIDS crisis in Africa.
We'll have more discussions on fair trade, sustainability and climate change.
How can we reconcile the freedoms necessary for a vibrant, enterprising economy that can provide for the needs and wants of an ever growing world population, with the understable desire that is also be fair, just and sustainable?
What are the key challenges to reconciling the conflicting interests of the various stakeholders?
Who should decide? can this be done democratically?
The key to ESSAY 2 is to acknowledge that you cannot possibly tackle all these issues in 500 words (nor does anyone have the right answer yet ...). As a result identifying the key stakeholders, and the key conflicting interests (and principles) to be resolved.
Some of the guiding principles of CSR and sustainability have been stated by the United Nations and by other international organizations - but they are not binding, and many proclamations remain just that: proclamations.
Will the drive to implementation flow top down, through government policy, or will it be bottom up from the collective will of citizens worldwide?
For both essays plan before you start writing, be mindful of your sources !! don't pick the first thing that pops up on Google.
Do not use Wikipedia, Investopedia or other online 'dictionaries' for definitions. Do not cite the textbook.
Finally, especially in the second essay, you can advocate for one particular approach but please show critical judgement when assessing its effectiveness.
Be mindful of the biggest problems I noticed in many of your midterms (what popped in my mind in paranthesis)
1. Too many sentences that didn't really mean anything ("What are you saying?")
2. Too many sentences that lacked a clear subject or purpose.("Why are you saying this?")
3. Too many random transitions ("Where does this come from?")
4. Too many words used incorrectly, without knowing their meaning ("What does this mean?")
5. Too many random sources for topics that I have hard-boiled in class ("where you in my class at all?")
Planning before you write should help you avoid most of these pitfalls.