ACCT19083 Final Assignment - Ethical Dilemma and Social Responsibility

ACCT19083 Final Assignment
Term 3, 2017
Student ID:..................................... Student name..............................................................
Marker’s overall comments: The markers may include any
final comments here.
Overall Mark (Total) out of 40:
0

Part A Question 1:
What is a socially responsible business? Explain with examples.
A socially responsible business, in general, is the for-profit ventures, which attempt to leverage the business
for a more sustainable or a just world. The socially responsible businesses aim at maximizing the profits of the
company for the different stakeholders, particularly the shareholders, along with making positive changes and
valuable contribution to stakeholders like staff, consumers, and the local community. So, these organizations are
both socially responsible and profit oriented, bringing in the best of both worlds (Spence, Frynas, Muthuri &
Navare, 2018).
There are a number of examples of socially responsible businesses and the leading one in this regard is the
partnership which took place between the Environmental Protection Agency and Motorola. Through this
partnership, Motorola voluntarily participated in EPA WasteWise project, which had three key areas, i.e.,
manufacturing recycled products, waste reduction and recycling. Motorola presented clear objectives where the
goal was stated as reducing the waste during five year period. The company thus contributed significantly and

positively towards the society (Kotler et al. 2010).
References:
Kotler, P., Lee, N., Farris, P. W., Bendle, N., Pfeifer, P., Reibstein, D., Light, L., Kiddon, J., & Reece, M. (2010). Marketing Strategy from
the Masters (Collection). New Jersey: FT Press.
Spence, L. J., Frynas, J. G., Muthuri, J. N., & Navare, J. (Eds.). (2018). Research Handbook on Small Business Social Responsibility:
Global Perspectives. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Marker’s Comments: The marker will provide feedback here. Mark (5):
0
Exceeds Expectations
(High Distinction) 85-100%
Exceeds Expectations (Distinction) 75
- 84%
Meets Expectations
(Credit) 65 – 74%
Meets Expectations
(Pass) 50 – 64%
Below Expectations
(Fail) below 50%
Demonstrates a balanced and very
high level of detailed knowledge of
core concepts by providing a very high
level of analysis. Utilises current,
appropriate and credible sources.
Demonstrates a balanced and high
level of knowledge of core concepts
by providing a high level of analysis.
Utilises mostly current, appropriate
and credible sources.
Demonstrates a good level of
knowledge of some of the core
concepts by providing some level of
analysis. Utilises some current,
appropriate and credible sources.
Demonstrates limited knowledge of
core concepts by providing a limited
level of analysis. Utilises few current,
appropriate and credible sources.
Demonstrates little, if any, knowledge
of the core concepts with extremely
limited, if any, analysis. Utilises little,
if any, current, appropriate and
credible sources.
Quality of writing at a very high
standard. Paragraphs are coherently
connected to each other. Correct
grammar, spelling and punctuation.
Quality of writing is of a high
standard. Paragraphs are mostly well
structured. Few grammar, spelling
and punctuation mistakes.
Quality of writing is of a good
standard. Few grammar, spelling and
punctuation mistakes.
Some problems with sentence
structure and presentation Frequent
grammar, punctuation and spelling
mistakes. Use of inappropriate
language.
Quality of writing is at a very poor
standard so barely understandable.
Many spelling mistakes. Little or no
evidence of proof reading.
The assessment presents a detailed
and focused summary of the ideas
presented; drawing clear and well
thought-out conclusions.
The assessment presents a fairly
detailed and focused summary of the
ideas presented; drawing fairly clear
and well thought-out conclusions.
The assessment presents a somewhat
detailed and focused summary of the
ideas presented; providing some
evidence of conclusions.
The assessment provides limited
detail with no clear summary of the
ideas presented; drawing limited
conclusions.
The assessment fails to provide any
clear evidence of the ideas presented;
drawing no clear conclusions.

Part A Question 2:
Explain whether or not Grameen Bank is a socially responsible business enterprise.
As highlighted in the previous segment, socially responsible businesses are the ones which earn profits for
the shareholders and also contribute towards the other stakeholders (Spence, Frynas, Muthuri & Navare, 2018).
Grammen Bank, located in Bangladesh was formed with the objective of providing micro credits to the poorest of
the poor in Bangladesh. The governance and the banking system of this bank were such that poor individuals who
were illiterate and who had taken the loan got a major share in the bank, along with in its governance system.
With this happening, the social requirements of the Grameen Bank were fulfilled, thus making it a social
bank; however, when the commercial aspect is looked at, the statement provided under the case study in terms
of Grameen Bank being socially responsible business one proves to be wrong. This is due to the fact that Grameen
Bank was not working towards earning profits, but simply towards bettering of society. This made it a not-for-
profit organization, which the socially responsible businesses are not. So, even though Grameen Bank was being
deemed as a socially responsible business as per the case study, in reality, it was merely a social bank.
References: