Research Paper on "Walt Disney"

Quoted Instructions for "Walt Disney" Assignment:

In programmed writing, you are given a required thesis statement and a specific argument that must be used to *****prove***** the thesis. All topics that comprise the argument must be mirrored in your Research Paper in a pre-determined order. Your score on this assignment is based on how completely you have *****proven***** your argument in the required order, how well you have complied with MLA format, and the quality and quantity of your research.

***********THESIS:*********** company is Walt Disney

Required verbatim thesis statement: *****"With respect to its stakeholders, ___(your assigned company)___ acts (or *****"does not act*****") in an ethical and socially responsible manner. Company stakeholders include __(stockholders, consumers, communities and employees MUST be listed; any others are optional)____.*****"

1. Research the background, history and application, over the years, of the concepts of business ethics, corporate social responsibility, and global corporate citizenry (Chapters 3-6 in your textbooks, plus external sources). Begin by providing current definitions for, and then a chronology of how those three concepts in general have evolved over time. Augment the chronology as needed with specific examples, both positive and negative, of various companies having applied those concepts.

2. Evaluate your assigned company*****s CURRENT and/or HISTORICAL commitment to the three concepts IN TERMS OF THE SPECIFIC INTERESTS OF EACH of the following four stakeholders: stockholders (Chapter 15), consumers (Chapter 16), communities (Chapter 17), and employees (Chapter 18). Points will be deducted from your *****CONTENT***** score whenever you ignore the interests of one or more of the required four stakeholders in support of your thesis.

3. Document for the reader all research and analysis done in support of your thesis statement.

Total Points - 200 Points Possible. Overall Criteria: Readability, Quality of Information and Content

Readability - 30 Points Possible. Spelling, grammar, well written and interest-generating topic sentences, transitions between key ideas, clarity, conciseness, compliance with MLA format, an absolute minimum of EIGHT double-spaced pages in total length ��*****" not counting the Works Cited page, title pages, tables of contents, graphs, statistics, maps or illustrations. Within the body of the Research Paper, you must INFORMALLY establish for the reader the credibility and/or bias of each and every source of information that appears on the Works Cited page. For example, you could begin a paragraph with the phrase, *****According to a Harvard professor who often contributes to peer-reviewed professional journals*****¦.***** Such would succinctly and generically establish the author*****s credentials. *****According to an editorial published on an advocacy website*****¦.***** at the beginning of a paragraph would no doubt inform the reader that the source of information may be biased. Both example paragraphs must end with in-text citations. All paraphrasing, direct quotes, indirect quotes, summaries and statistics REQUIRE IN-TEXT CITATIONS.

Alternatively, you may use footnotes to FORMALLY present information about your credibility determinations. This more formal alternative is recommended ��*****" especially for sources with lengthy credentials ��*****" but is not required for the Research Paper. Such footnotes should not be used for:

ï‚· Textbook material, or information of a purely factual nature;

ï‚· Information about a company*****s history, goals, policies, etc. obtained from the company website, where informally noting it as such is preferred;

ï‚· Editorial or advocacy opinion, where informally noting it as such is preferred.

BE CAREFUL WHEN COUNTING YOUR SOURCES OF INFORMATION! At least a total of ten sources MUST be credible! Be sure that each and every source listed on the Works Cited Page, credible or not, is linked to an in-text citation! Non-objective but credible sources of information, such as editorials written by scholars or professionals, can be used as long as their bias is informally noted for the reader. Each will count as one source.

It must be stressed that the Works Cited page of your Research Paper will include sources other than peer-reviewed professional journals. You will, for example, depend on your textbook for some information, as well as newspaper and magazine accounts. Additionally, much of the material about your company will have been obtained from the company*****s website. Here are some important guidelines:

�-� Make sure that all your bibliographic entries conform to MLA format. The content of a Works Cited entry for your textbook differs from that for a newspaper article, as well as from that for a company website. For guidelines and examples of Works Cited content, see HPU*****s Guide to MLA Format.

�-� Your assigned company*****s website will be counted ONLY ONCE towards the required minimum number of credible sources of information, no matter how many articles it contributes to your Research Paper.

�-� Your textbook, textbooks from other courses, all dictionaries and all encyclopedias (including Wikopedia) will NOT count towards the required total of ten credible sources.

�-� Non-authoritative sources of information ��*****" including newspaper and magazine accounts that do not specifically name their sources ��*****" may to be used to provide *****background material***** or *****pertinent facts,***** but will NOT count towards the total of ten sources.

You will not receive a maximum score for a paper based on an absolute minimum number of sources of information!

An Outline that MUST be Used for Your Research Paper

130 of 200 points possible are related to content! The topics required for inclusion in your paper MUST be in the following order:

�-� 5 Points -Brief introduction that generates interest in the concept of ethics, social responsibility, and global corporate citizenship.

�-� 5 Points - Assigned-company named, its product, background and history.

�-� 10 Points - Required thesis statement; all required and optional stakeholders to be considered in terms of the thesis statement are identified.

�-� 20 Points - Definition, background and history of the concept of business ethics; chronology of how this concept has evolved over time.

�-� 20 Points - Definition, background and history of the concept of corporate social responsibility; chronology of how this concept has evolved over time.

�-� 20 Points - Definition, background and history of the concept of global corporate citizenry; chronology of how this concept has evolved over time.

�-� 40 Points - Stakeholder Management at your assigned company, documenting potential or actual impacts resulting from implementation ��*****" or lack thereof - of the three concepts on the interests of ALL FOUR of the following REQUIRED stakeholders:

- (10 points) Stockholders

- (10 points) Consumers

- (10 points) Communities

- (10 points) Employees

- (0 points) Other, optional stakeholders, such as suppliers and the environment.

�-� 10 Points - Summary of arguments and restatement of the thesis.

Any other stakeholders considered other than the required four, such as the environment, are optional. Remember, stakeholders***** interests often conflict! For example, increasing costs associated with a generous employee benefit program may have adversely affected stockholder returns on investment, at least in the short term. No company is *****all bad***** or *****all good!***** Include specifics contrary to your thesis!

Grading Rubric

Criteria

Points Possible

Explanation

Readability

30 points

Spelling, grammar, well written and interest generating topic sentences, transitions between key ideas, clarity, conciseness, and compliance with MLA format - especially in Works Cited. There is an ABSOLUTE MINIMUM of eight double-spaced pages in total length ��*****" not counting the Works Cited page, graphs, statistics, maps, or illustrations (you will NOT receive a maximum score for a paper of minimum length).

Information Quality and Citation

40 points

Paraphrasing, direct and indirect quotes, summaries, restatements and statistics all require IN-TEXT CITATIONS. Works Cited must contain an ABSOLUTE MINIMUM of ten credible sources of information. Your textbook, all dictionaries, and all encyclopedias (including WIKOPEDIA), WILL NOT count towards the minimum number of sources of information. Within the appropriate paragraphs, briefly establish the credibility of each of your sources for your readers (According to*****¦..[summarize credentials]). You will not receive a maximum score for a paper based on a minimum number of sources of information.

The topics required for inclusion in the research paper are, UIN ORDERU:

Introduction

5 points

Generates interest in the concept of ethics, social responsibility, and global corporate citizenry (negative examples serve well for this purpose!)

Company Background

5 points

Company is named; its product(s), background and history are provided.

Thesis Statement

10 points

*****With respect to its stakeholders, ___(pre-approved company)___ acts (or *****does not act*****) in an ethical and socially responsible manner. Company stakeholders include ___(stockholders, consumers, communities, and employees are REQUIRED to be included in the thesis statement; others are optional)___.*****

Business Ethics

20 points

Definition, background and history of the concept of business ethics; chronology of how this concept has evolved over time and how one or more stakeholders have been affected in general. Specific examples from companies other than the one assigned may be used.

Corporate Social Responsibility

20 points

Definition, background and history of the concept of corporate social responsibility; chronology of how this concept has evolved over time and how one or more stakeholders have been affected in general. Specific examples from companies other than the one assigned may be used.

Global Corporate Citizenship

20 points

Definition, background and history of the concept of global corporate citizenship; chronology of how this concept has evolved over time and how one or more stakeholders have been affected in general. Specific examples from companies other than the one assigned may be used.

Applicability of concepts to assigned company

40 points

Assigned company-specific information ��*****" analysis and documentation of potential or actual impacts resulting from implementation of all three concepts ��*****" or lack thereof - on interests of stakeholders listed in the thesis statement:

- (10 points) Stockholders

- (10 points) Consumers

- (10 points) Communities

- (10 points) Employees

- (0 points) Other stakeholders

Summary

10 points

Summarize and restate your thesis.

Total Points 200 points

Warning! A grade of not HIGHER than 100 points is mandated for research papers that:

ï‚· In my opinion, fail to prove their theses, or dwell overly much on the assigned company*****s background and history;

ï‚· Are missing a *****Works Cited***** page;

ï‚· Lack in-text citations for two or more entries on the *****Works Cited***** page;

ï‚· List less than ten CREDIBLE information sources on the *****Works Cited***** page, not counting the textbook, dictionaries and encyclopedias (including Wikopedia);

ï‚· Over-rely on any one specific URL for information, no matter how authoritative (especially the assigned company*****s website!);

ï‚· Are less than eight pages long, NOT counting cover sheets, tables of contents, charts, and the Works Cited page;

ï‚· Substantially disregard MLA format, including page headers and page formatting;

ï‚· Substantially ignore two or more of the required stakeholders;

 Are plagiarized to ANY extent (Even when paraphrasing what you have learned from your textbook ��*****" prefer to cite the source!).