MBA 652 - SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND
ETHICAL DIMENSIONS OF MANAGEMENT
Summer, 2007
Lawrence P. Ulrich, Ph.D.
Lawrence.Ulrich@notes.udayton.edu

INDEPENDENT

THREADED DISCUSSIONS

 

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

Click on the Website below and click on the "Getting to Know You" tab. To make your contribution, follow the guidelines found in the box as you scroll down this page


#1: FRIDAY, JUNE 8 - FRIDAY, JUNE 15
#2: MONDAY, JUNE 25 - MONDAY, JULY 2
#3: FRIDAY, JULY 20 - FRIDAY, JULY 27



General Homepage

Course Homepage

Course Description for Registration

Syllabus & Requirements

Objectives

Course Outline & Schedule

Reading Assignments & Schedule

Exam 1: 2 Essays

Exam 2: 2 Essays

Exam 3: 2 Essays

Collaborative Writing Project

Independent Threaded Discussions

Threaded Discussions Attached to Exams

Chat Rooms

Readings

Links

Q & A

DATES TO REMEMBER


BUSINESS ETHICS LIBRARY


COURSE EVALUATION FORM


 

THE NATURE OF A THREADED DISCUSSION.

This task will involve a threaded discussion on a case or topic assigned to your group. [Scroll down to see your group assignment.] A threaded discussion is a computer registered discussion, which allows students to make contributions to the task assigned to the group. It is somewhat like a "chat room" except that the participants do not have to be on line at the same time. You can either make a comment which starts a new thread or you can reply to a previous comment that continues the thread. The purpose of a threaded discussion is to keep the issues discussed in the course material before the minds of the students and to develop new insights and skills of reflective analysis related to the issues discussed in class.


GENERAL EXPECTATIONS OF THE THREADED DISCUSSION.

1. Students will will be automatically identified when they make their contribution to the discussion.
2. Comments need not be lengthy but they should be substantive. "I agree with X." is not a very helpful comment unless some explanation of the reason for the agreement is given.
3. Students will contribute only to the group to which they are assigned. See below for group assignments.
4. Please note that the discussions are time-limited; this means that you may contribute to the discussion only during the time period designated for the discussion.
5. Students will be expected to make five comments to each threaded discussion. Each contribution is worth 3 points with a total of 15 points for each threaded discussion.
6. Remember that even though this assignment is password protected, hackers are always a possibility and they might be able to what you say. This includes someone from Bangladesh, or the Vatican, or your parents, or your physician, or your boss, or your sixth grade teacher. Speak honestly but not offensively.
7. Contributions will be judged on the quality of the comments and the way they help to move the discussion forward.
8. In working with your cases or assignments, you will want to incorporate the topics, which we are discussing in the class periods into the discussion of the case or assignment on an on-going basis.
9. Remember that this is supposed to be a discussion. This means that there should be some interaction among the participants. Do not just sit in front of you computer and make 5 comments in a row --- this does not constitute participation in a discussion.
10. Be challenging to everyone in the group --- as well as to me!

Let me know immediately if you have any problems making contributions to the threaded discussions.



THE TOOL BEING USED FOR THREADED DISCUSSIONS IN THIS COURSE IS "QUICKPLACE." THE ADDRESS IS <http://quickplace.udayton.edu/QuickPlace/mba652_ulrich/Main.nsf>  THIS TOOL DOES NOT WORK WITH MAC COMPUTERS AND REQUIRES MS INTERNET EXPLORER FOR A BROWSER.

QUICKPLACE NOW USES YOUR LDAP USERNAME AND PASSWORD. THE LDAP USERNAME MAY BE THE SAME AS THE USERNAME FOR LOTUS NOTES. HOWEVER, THE PASSWORD FOR LDAP MAY BE DIFFERENT. IF YOU NEED HELP IN REMEMBERING THEM, CALL THE HELP DESK AT 229-3888.

GUIDELINES FOR MAKING A CONTRIBUTION TO THE THREADED DISCUSSION.

DIRECTIONS:
1. Go to 
<http://quickplace.udayton.edu/QuickPlace/mba652_ulrich/Main.nsf>
2. Click on your "Case Discussion - 
Team and number."
3. Click on your "Case Discussion - 
Team and number."
4. To enter a new comment, click on 
"new," select "Page" and click "next."
5. Enter a brief title in # 1 and type your comment(s) in #2 and then click 
"publish".
6. If you wish to respond to a previous 
comment, click on "respond" or point to and click on the title of the previous 
comment or previous response, which 
you wish to address.
7. Click on "respond" and enter your 
comment in the contents box --- the title will already be filled in for you, then click "publish."
8. Click on "refresh" at the top of the 
screen or discussion on the left of your 
screen to see your comment.
9. The QuickPlace program only prints 
the first 30 words of a comment on the 
threaded discussion page. To view a full comment, click on the title of the 
comment and the full comment will 
appear. This is the same procedure you use to respond to a comment (see # 6 above).



GROUP ASSIGNMENTS.

There will be three rounds of threaded discussions throughout the summer. Each threaded discussion will be worth a maximum of  fifteen (15) points --- three (3) points for each contribution. To contribute to your group's threaded discussion, consult the table below to find your group assignment. Then CLICK HERE to go to quickplace to make your contribution after you have read the guidelines in the table above for accessing the appropriate group's page.

All cases are to be found in Newton and Schmidt, Wake Up Calls: Classic Cases in Business Ethics.

Please note that the composition of the groups changes with each round of threaded discussions. [Membership in the groups is the result of random selection.]
Links to the discussion groups will be connected (and disconnected) at the appropriate times.
 
 

Group 1

PRODUCT SAFETY: THE PINTO AND THE TIRES

"How Shall We Know If Our Products are Safe? Diverse Perspectives on Tires and Automobiles." WUC, page 111.

D'Amico, Morgan, Niedenthal, Reed, Singleton, Spisak

[Discussion runs from 6/8 through 6/15]

Group 2

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY: CLEANING UP POLLUTION

"Who Should Clean Up the Mess" Love Canal and Corporate Responsibility for Old Pollution." WUC, page 129.

Bernhold, Brooks, Brownlee, Fleming, Glaser, Martin, Maynor

 [Discussion runs from 6/8  though 6/15]

Group 3

CORPORATE VS. GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITY

"Whose Job is It to Protect Consumer Health? Tobacco's Last Stand" WUC, page 87.

Brownlee, D'Amico, Martin, Maynor, Singleton, Spisak

 [Discussion runs from 6/25 through 7/2]

Group 4

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY IN THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE

What Responsibilities Do We Have for Foreign Management? Union Carbide and the Disaster at Bhopal" WUC, page 191.

Bernhold, Brooks, Fleming, Glaser, Morgan, Niedenthal, Reed

[Discussion runs from 6/25 through 7/2]

Group 5

MORALITY AND CAPITALISM

EXAM 3, QUESTION 4

Brownlee, Fleming, Martin, Maynor, Morgan, Reed

[Discussion runs from 7/20 through 7/27]

Group 6

MORALITY AND CAPITALISM

EXAM 3, QUESTION 4

Bernhold, Brooks, D'Amico, Glaser, Niedenthal,. Singleton, Spisak

[Discussion runs from 7/20
 through 7/27]

REMEMBER THAT THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A DISCUSSION SO YOU SHOULD NOT JUST SIT AT YOUR COMPUTER AND MAKE A SERIES OF COMMENTS AT THE SAME TIME. SPACE YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS OVER THE PERIOD OF THE DISCUSSIONS.