Global Learning Assignment

Global Learning Assignment

Background

Now more than ever, business is global. Businesses that once manufactured and sold their products from a single factory, now have a supply chain that reaches countries all over the world. As globalization expanded, businesses became concerned for the profits of their shareholders. Becoming global was an expensive endeavor, so they targeted countries that offered the most productivity for the least amount of money. Developing nations welcomed American businesses in hopes that it would benefit their own economy. With very few regulations in the labor policies of these foreign nations, these partnerships seemed mutually beneficial. In the 1990’s many of these businesses came under the heat of the public eye for human rights violations, particularly in sweatshops. Sweatshops, generally overwork employees for very little pay in unsafe conditions. Today, these exploitative work environments continue to be utilized by many big companies, including Nike. Long standing debate continues amongst economist about whether sweatshops are needed for the economic development of these impoverished countries. Read more here.

Instructions

The purpose of this assignment is for you to research, consider and present the local and global implications of sweatshops from the perspective of a Corporate Responsibility Manager for Nike.

Part I – Preliminary Research (Written)

Your answer should be a minimum of 250 to 300 words. Please back-up your work and post it to ePortfolio. Focusing on Nike and the Hansae, Vietnam sweatshops as your main source, write three paragraphs addressing the following:

• Discuss your understanding of what is meant by a sweatshop.
• What are the benefits for Nike to use sweatshops for manufacturing, and what are the potential problems? Please explain.
• What are the potential benefits to an employee working at a sweatshop, and what are the potential problems? Please explain.
• Whose responsibility do you believe it is to ensure the supply chain is free of exploitative practices? Consumers? Businesses? Government?
• What are the implications of your answer?

You must read the resources below but you may add to them. Be sure to cite if you do so.

Resources:

http://www.independent.org/publications/article.asp?id=1369

Benjamin Powell, David B. Skarbek. 2004. Sweatshops and Third World Living Standards: Are the Jobs Worth the Sweat?

• http://www.labornotes.org/2017/08/nike-old-tricks-students-and-workers-launch-global-protests

August, 2017. New reports on Nike suggest they continue to violate and avoid labor laws and Corporate Social Responsibility standards, despite it commitment to change.

https://qz.com/1042298/nike-is-facing-a-new-wave-of-anti-sweatshop-protests/

August, 2017. Nike is facing a new wave of anti-sweatshop protests

• http://scienceblogs.com/thepumphandle/2016/12/13/hansae-vietnam-case-study-of-hazardous-working-conditions-and-the-failure-of-corporate-social-responsibility-audits-to-fix-the-hazards/

December, 2016. Some background of on the Hansae sweatshops and the failure of Corporate Social Responsibility efforts to prevent ongoing abuses.

• http://www.globalethicsnetwork.org/profiles/blogs/two-faces-of-economic-development-the-ethical-controversy

May, 2013. Outlines the ethical issues that come up with sweatshops explaining both business and economic considerations.

• https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/what-does-a-corporate-responsibility-manager-do/

August, 1025. What Does a Corporate Responsibility Manager Do?

• YouTube videos:
  • Fashion Factory undercover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHw4HEzzsyc
  • Undercover in a Bangladesh clothing factory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1mvcFuiTts

Part II – Digital Communication – Photo

Photo Prompt – Select one or two photos that capture the ethical issues of the Nike/Sweatshop problem.

Part III – Digital Communication – Video  and written 

You are the Corporate Responsibility Manager (click here for a job description) reporting at an annual Nike board meeting to which spokespeople for the protesters were invited. You are asked to present your research without bias favoring Nike, meaning you will not be fired for telling Nike something is wrong or something should change. Assume that Nike board members know very little about the recent Nike protests and about the impact of sweatshops.

Make a video recording of at least 90 seconds 3 Minutes Minimum     4-5 Minutes Max  introduce yourself to viewers as a Corporate Responsibility Manager at Nike and share the topic of your assignment. In your video recording, be sure to discuss the objectives of the paper and highlight the key aspects to demonstrate the issue and the ethical concern.

The point of your presentation to the board is to:

1.     Inform Nike of the issues sweatshops will cause the Business
2.     Inform Nike of who the protestors are, what they are asking for?
3.     Explain the ethical dilemma (why can’t Nike just close its factories?)
4.     Make a suggestion to the board about what they can do to solve the problem.

• Please ensure to address both sides of the issue.
• Upload your video recording onto YouTube.
• Please try to minimize any background noise in your recording.   please just type out all the information that i have to say during my speech as mentioned above BE SPECIFIC

The assignment conforms to the requirements for the core competencies (Global Learning) against the abilities (Written, Oral and Digital).

Definitions of LaGuardia Community College Core Competencies

Inquiry & Problem Solving — refers to the ability to design, evaluate, and implement a strategy or strategies to answer an open-ended question or achieve a desired goal.

Global Learning — is a critical analysis of and an engagement with complex, interdependent global systems and legacies (such as natural, physical, social, cultural, economic, and political) and their implications for people’s lives and the earth’s sustainability.

Integrative Learning — is an understanding & a disposition that a student builds across the curriculum & co-curriculum, from making simple connections among ideas & experiences to synthesizing & transferring learning to new, complex situations within & beyond the campus.

Our new Core Competencies are communicated via three abilities:

Written — is the development and expression of ideas in writing. Written communication involves learning to work in many genres and styles. It can involve working with many different writing technologies, and mixing texts, data, and images.

Oral — serves to negotiate meaning with others, impart knowledge clearly, foster understanding, and/or influence opinion.

Digital — is the ability to employ multimodal composition with appropriately selected digital tools and platforms. It also employs holistic design, effectively integrating text, image, video and other elements to communicate unified content and purpose.