Description
All written assignments should be formatted using a standard 12-point font and 1 inch margins, including your full name in a header at the upper right, and using your full name as part of the file name (e.g., “Business&Society_Week 1_MattStatler).
Analytical Reflections
For each class meeting, you will be required to write a 1200 to 1400 word analytical reflection. Each reflection will address the four plenary videos for that unit, analyzing what the speakers said using concepts or information from the readings or other materials for that unit. You must draw on or reference each one of the readings or other materials for that unit at least once. Try to give equal space to each plenary.
The goal of this writing assignment is to give you the opportunity to identify the significance of the material other than the plenaries, to think about the ideas presented in the plenaries, and, quite simply, to do the work required to prepare for class discussion. (“Work,” in this case, means that your job is not only to read or watch the material in advance but to understand and begin to think about the material, in relation to other material we are reading or watching, in relation to what you see in the world, and in relation to what you, yourself, have experienced.)
In these assignments, you need to consider each speaker’s significant arguments and ideas (unless the “speaker” was functioning only as an interviewer or moderator), and reflect and analyze them by 1) considering what they mean in reference to contemporary business practice, 2) considering how the ideas in the other materials support or contradict what the speaker said, and 3) reflecting on what it all means for you and your professional development in business school.
Please note:
1. Thesearenotsummaries.Whileyoumayneedtoexplainparticulararguments or ideas that you are going to analyze, the majority of the written assignment should be comprised of your own thoughts about how the argument works or how sound the idea is, what assumptions the speaker or writer depends upon, what perspective the argument comes from, etc., and then your reflection on those points.
2. Thesearenotevaluationsorreviews.Youshouldnotstatewhetheryou like/dislike, agree/disagree with these texts. It is not opinion that matters here; it is analysis although you may criticize an argument, idea, or assumption.
3. These assignments are NOT group projects. While you may certainly discuss the materials with your peers, these written assignments constitute your preparation for class discussion and, more importantly, represent your own analysis and ideas about the material. As such, you should not use another student’s paper to write your own, nor should you ever give your written work to another student to use.
Some questions you might ask and address:
● How do the ideas in the plenary add to or conflict with the ideas in another plenary or in the other material?
● How might the concepts from the material be illustrated by events in our contemporary world?
● How might you apply the ideas from the readings to experiences in your own life?Some questions you might ask and address:
● How do the ideas in the plenary add to or conflict with the ideas in another plenary or in the other material?
● How might the concepts from the material be illustrated by events in our contemporary world?
● How might you apply the ideas from the readings to experiences in your own life?
Rubric for Analytical Reflection
5 Every reflection demonstrates exceptional thoughtfulness and intellectual understanding of the topic. Demonstrably important ideas are identified from the materials. Analysis or reflections are interesting and compelling, adding significant interpretations of the ideas through specific comparisons to the arguments of other materials or to real-world examples.
4 Reflections demonstrate insightful responses to the content of the materials. Discussions highlight important arguments from the materials. Analysis or reflections reveal careful thought and understanding through specifics.
3 Reflections demonstrate good comprehension of the materials. Analysis or reflections show some thought about the materials, but discussion of the ideas is broad or shallow.
2 Reflections are entirely summary, demonstrating reading or watching the materials but not demonstrating further thought about the material presented.
1 Reflections are predominantly incomplete or incorrect. 0 Failure to turn in the assignment on Brightspace.
Unit 1 Videos
● Introduction to Business and Society, Dr. Matt Statler, Clinical Professor of Business and Society, Richman Family Director of Business Ethics and Social Impact Programming, NYU Stern.
● Amazon and Markets, Professor Aswath Damodaran, Professor of Finance, NYU Stern & Prof. Scott Galloway, Clinical Professor of Marketing, NYU Stern.
● Amazon and Human Rights, Leigh Anne DeWine, Director of Social Responsibility, Amazon, in dialogue with Michael Posner, Director, Center for Business and Human Rights, Jerome Kohlberg Professor of Ethics and Finance, NYU Stern.
● Amazon and Privacy, Charlton McIlwain, Vice Provost for Faculty Engagement and Development; Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication, NYU Steinhardt, in dialogue with Anil Dash
Unit 1 Readings
● Henderson, Rebecca. “Reimagining Capitalism.” MBR Journal, 15 Nov. 2021.
● Excerpts from Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) and An
Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of The Wealth of Nations (1776).
● Wiesenfeld, Professor Batia. “The Three-Sector Model.” Learning Science Lab, 20 Dec. 2017, (video with transcript).
Annotation: Wiesenfeld describes how markets/corporations fit within society. Since this piece is older, note that, (1) you do not have to watch part 2 about Colombia and (2) you can mentally replace references to the course titled, “Business and its Publics” to our current course, “Business & Society,” which you of course are taking in an intensive form.
● Herzog, Lisa. “Markets.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 30 Aug. 2021.
● Kowal, Rachel, 2021, Market Failure Teaching Notes.
● Friedman, Milton. “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its
Profits.” The New York Times Magazine, 13 Sep. 1970.
● Freeman, R. Edward. “Managing for Stakeholders.” Jan. 2007
● “Social Contract Theory.” Ethics Unwrapped.
● Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. “The Social Contract & Discourses by Jean-Jacques
Rousseau.” Project Gutenberg, 19 July 2014.
● Jacoby, James, et al. “Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos”, PBS Frontline, Public Broadcasting Service, 18 Feb. 2020.
Annotation: (~2 hours).
Unformatted Attachment Preview
All written assignments should be formatted using a standard 12-point font and 1 inch
margins, including your full name in a header at the upper right, and using your full
name as part of the file name (e.g., “Business&Society_Week 1_MattStatler).
Analytical Reflections
For each class meeting, you will be required to write a 1200 to 1400 word analytical
reflection. Each reflection will address the four plenary videos for that unit, analyzing
what the speakers said using concepts or information from the readings or other
materials for that unit. You must draw on or reference each one of the readings or other
materials for that unit at least once. Try to give equal space to each plenary.
The goal of this writing assignment is to give you the opportunity to identify the
significance of the material other than the plenaries, to think about the ideas presented
in the plenaries, and, quite simply, to do the work required to prepare for class
discussion. (“Work,” in this case, means that your job is not only to read or watch the
material in advance but to understand and begin to think about the material, in relation
to other material we are reading or watching, in relation to what you see in the world,
and in relation to what you, yourself, have experienced.)
In these assignments, you need to consider each speaker’s significant arguments and
ideas (unless the “speaker” was functioning only as an interviewer or moderator), and
reflect and analyze them by 1) considering what they mean in reference to
contemporary business practice, 2) considering how the ideas in the other materials
support or contradict what the speaker said, and 3) reflecting on what it all means for
you and your professional development in business school.
Please note:
1. These are not summaries. While you may need to explain particular arguments
or ideas that you are going to analyze, the majority of the written assignment
should be comprised of your own thoughts about how the argument works or
how sound the idea is, what assumptions the speaker or writer depends upon,
what perspective the argument comes from, etc., and then your reflection on
those points.
2. These are not evaluations or reviews. You should not state whether you
like/dislike, agree/disagree with these texts. It is not opinion that matters here; it
is analysis although you may criticize an argument, idea, or assumption.
3. These assignments are NOT group projects. While you may certainly discuss
the materials with your peers, these written assignments constitute your
preparation for class discussion and, more importantly, represent your own
analysis and ideas about the material. As such, you should not use another
student’s paper to write your own, nor should you ever give your written work to
another student to use.
Some questions you might ask and address:
● How do the ideas in the plenary add to or conflict with the ideas in another
plenary or in the other material?
● How might the concepts from the material be illustrated by events in our
contemporary world?
● How might you apply the ideas from the readings to experiences in your own life?
Rubric for Analytical Reflection
5
Every reflection demonstrates exceptional thoughtfulness and intellectual
understanding of the topic. Demonstrably important ideas are identified
from the materials. Analysis or reflections are interesting and compelling,
adding significant interpretations of the ideas through specific comparisons
to the arguments of other materials or to real-world examples.
4
Reflections demonstrate insightful responses to the content of the
materials. Discussions highlight important arguments from the materials.
Analysis or reflections reveal careful thought and understanding through
specifics.
Reflections demonstrate good comprehension of the materials. Analysis or
reflections show some thought about the materials, but discussion of the
ideas is broad or shallow.
3
2
1
0
Reflections are entirely summary, demonstrating reading or watching the
materials but not demonstrating further thought about the material
presented.
Reflections are predominantly incomplete or incorrect.
Failure to turn in the assignment on Brightspace.
Unit 1 Videos
● Introduction to Business and Society, Dr. Matt Statler, Clinical Professor of
Business and Society, Richman Family Director of Business Ethics and Social
Impact Programming, NYU Stern.
● Amazon and Markets, Professor Aswath Damodaran, Professor of Finance, NYU
Stern & Prof. Scott Galloway, Clinical Professor of Marketing, NYU Stern.
● Amazon and Human Rights, Leigh Anne DeWine, Director of Social
Responsibility, Amazon, in dialogue with Michael Posner, Director, Center for
Business and Human Rights, Jerome Kohlberg Professor of Ethics and Finance,
NYU Stern.
● Amazon and Privacy, Charlton McIlwain, Vice Provost for Faculty Engagement
and Development; Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication, NYU
Steinhardt, in dialogue with Anil Dash
Unit 1 Readings
● Henderson, Rebecca. “Reimagining Capitalism.” MBR Journal, 15 Nov. 2021.
● Excerpts from Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) and An
Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of The Wealth of Nations (1776).
● Wiesenfeld, Professor Batia. “The Three-Sector Model.” Learning Science Lab,
20 Dec. 2017, (video with transcript).
Annotation: Wiesenfeld describes how markets/corporations fit within society.
Since this piece is older, note that, (1) you do not have to watch part 2 about
Colombia and (2) you can mentally replace references to the course titled,
“Business and its Publics” to our current course, “Business & Society,” which you
of course are taking in an intensive form.
● Herzog, Lisa. “Markets.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford
University, 30 Aug. 2021.
● Kowal, Rachel, 2021, Market Failure Teaching Notes.
● Friedman, Milton. “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its
Profits.” The New York Times Magazine, 13 Sep. 1970.
● Freeman, R. Edward. “Managing for Stakeholders.” Jan. 2007
● “Social Contract Theory.” Ethics Unwrapped.
● Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. “The Social Contract & Discourses by Jean-Jacques
Rousseau.” Project Gutenberg, 19 July 2014.
● Jacoby, James, et al. “Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos”, PBS
Frontline, Public Broadcasting Service, 18 Feb. 2020.
Annotation: (~2 hours).
The plenary video explains the course goal is to get students to gain analytic skills to
truly understand the complex relationship between business and society from different
perspectives.
Analyze the role of business and society from those different perspectives.
Jeff bazos, the richest person on the planet, unveiled his latest invention.
His work with amazon has revolutionized commerce.
Bazos demonstrate that consumerism is an example of how todays society lives better
than past generations. His goal is for future generations to continue to have increasingly
better lifestyles.
Amazon is building all of the invisible infrastructure for our futures
Jeff bazos choose books as the first best product to sell online
Amazon and markets video :
Aswath Damodaran, professor of finance
Scott galloway
Professor Aswath Damodaran, known as Dean of evaluation,
He tries to visualize
He describes evaluation as a bridge between stories and numbers. He gives a simple
example of how he thinks of evaluation, he visualizes something that I think stands in
for the company. Example in Netflix he visualizes a hamster on a wheel , because this
company is caught in a vicious cycle. The market is getting saturated and there’s not
that much room to grow. But this company historically had a simple proposition to push
up their company to grow its market price which is to create content and in fact they
change the content in the entertainment business on its head, traditionally companies
were careful with the content they created. However, Netflix changed that model and
throws a hundred shows on the wall and hopes it sticks, shows with different
languages.There way is creating many shows a day, to get more people to subscribe.
However eventually there is only so much the subscribers can increase. There is a
hamster on a wheel because if subscribers start to decrease they can’t bring down
content cost quickly. Facebook he thinks of a peeping tom, you let people into your
home but then you complain about facebook taking your privacy. You can’t complain
Amazon, the vision he used to get was a field of dreams, builds a field in the middle of
nowhere with two farmers who are neighbors and ask what they’re doing in the middle
of nowhere. “IF YOU BUILD IT THEY WILL COME” , this was amazons model for a long
time, if we build revenue the profits will eventually come. For 13 years he valued them
as a field of dreams company which meant revenue will come first and margins will
come after. About a decade ago he realized they were going through reincarnation, they
were going back to being a young company, they were reinventing themselves as a
disruption machine. What business is it in, whatever business it feels has soft spots.
The day amazon enters a business, example whole foods, other companies lose
money. When amazon enters your business, they might not figure out a way to make
money in that business but they will ensure that you will make less money from this day
on. Amazon to him is the most fascinating business story, it’s a company where its told
the same consistent story for the bulk of its existence, has acted consistently with that
story, not lots of companies do that. If you go on google and see the story Jeff basos
wrote in 1997 on what amazon is doing and it stayed true, this is an example he uses of
why ceos of companies need not to just tell a great story of their company but act
consistently with that story. The source of that power to act consistent with their story he
says is patience. Example : he asks how many people in the audience have prime,
amazon prime was created in 2004, the first 6 years they lost money and people were
asking why is amazon giving away this service its a huge money loss. But they stuck
with it today there are millions of prime members. The benefit for amazon to have these
members is they spend 3x as more on amazon then regular customers. They are
overdependent on the company, we go first to amazon prime we do it because if we
change our mind and we want to return it we can go drop it off a block away and a drop
off. Their disruption machine with an army , the army is amazon prime. Different
bussiness were asking who were their potential competitors, they will say amazon. 47
out of the top 50 companies choose amazon as their biggest competitors.whether we
like it or not , amazon is in every CEO’s head. What could be softer than the
universities. Is coming for universities, will do it in lesser time and less money
Asks Scott galloway what could be wrong with that?
Professor Scott Galloway says amazon trained the marketplace to replace profits with
growth . He now says the number one core competence of any CEO, he or she has to
be a great story teller. Because your ability to outpace the competition enlarged part
comes down to not having a better product, not having better distribution channels but
having access to cheaper capital for longer. Amazon overwhelms the competition with
cheap capital because for a couple decades, the market replaced profits with growth.
The only other company that was able to do that is Netflix. With amazon you have a
company that’s managed to convince the marketplace to replace profits with growth,
has access to cheaper capital so they could push the future forward. More than just a
disruption maching, he says the most impressive thing about amazon is that they’ve
taken their cost and asked what are their bigger cost, they realized there spending alot
of their money on fulfillment and instead of trying to reduce the cost of fulfillment,
created a platform where they started to leasing out our fulfillment other people in and
charging them for it. They took their biggest cost fulfillment into a profit center. Look at
all there bigger costs, invested in it and rented it out to other people. In a couple years
he thinks amazon will go into health care and ask would you like to cut your health
insurance costs in half if yes they’ll tell you about amazon health. The softest tissue in
America is health care which could be best described as expensive but bad. He argues
they would come for health care before education. When something becomes elite or
theres an illusion of scarcity, you develop margin power.
antitrust has been lost in america to breakup companies that have become monopolies
and taken over specific industries.
The arguments against amazon or monopolies right now, whether its google or apple,
that theres a network effects, that they have the capital to make these staggering
investments. All of these arguments were made about at&t back in the eighties, once
they broke up at& t into other smaller companies they found out that fiber data analytics
cells were all lying formant in the bell laboratories because they didn’t want to eat their
young and all of a sudden when these technologies were unleashed and theres more
competition. Those smaller seven companies, each of them within ten years, were more
valuable than the original at&t. We should break up google, most of these companies
should be broken up and regulated. We have found out that the best way to oxygenate
the economy and create jobs growth and create shareholder value is that when a
company is impossible to keep up with and is becoming a monopoly, we break it up.
How do you decide whether a company is a monopoly ?
The problem we have with technology companies is the traditional rule up that
monopolies are bad because they hurt consumers does not work at least in the near
term. If amazon increases amazon prime by a significant amount and if theres no other
company to turn to. In the past they were designed to combat a different kind of
monopolies than the ones we have with the big tech companies. There are companies
on top of the world one day like blackberry and ten years later fall down by a significant
amount. He says a far more effective way in dealing with these companies is letting
their own arrogance be their downfall. There going to overreach
Scott agrees that the antitrust laws go with if the consumer is harmed but it’s harmful to
apply those laws when the products are free. With a company like amazon, the biggest
part of their business is a third party platform where retailers sell their goods on their
platform and have to use their fulfillment and amazon to charge for the marketing and
their fulfillment.
Professor Galloway states A monopoly itself is not illegal, however a monopoly abuse
that is illegal. It’s when you’re in predator pricing when you’re losing so much money
that no one can compete with you, and then you start clearing out companies and
raising prices. Or you acquire companies just to take them off the market.
It’s easy to talk about breaking up these companies but the very actions of actually
doing it will create a major backlash
Let’s say they somehow with antitrust statutes break up amazon are consumers of
amazon prime can be harmed so much they’re going to rise up.
Video 3: Amazon and human rights :
Mike posner – executive director for the center for business and human rights
Leigh Anne dewine: director of social responsibility amazon
As the director of social responsibility at amazon what are your responsibilities in a day
to day basis?
Central team focuses on the entire enterprise of amazon. Social responsibility is how we
do business as a company and understanding what unintended impacts we can have in
the way we’re doing business, how we think about doing business responsibly.
In a practical sense, a big piece of her teams work is responsible sourcing, how do we
procure the goods we are selling and services that are supporting of our enterprise in a
way that is responsible of protecting our human rights of our workers.ensures that they
have high labor standards, ensuring they dont have danerougous working positions.
Human rights due diligence as a company and what that means is how do we broad
perspective what are risks are and build a program that strategies and minimizes those
risks.
Alot of smaller companies dont have the resources to have entire team for social
responsibility. Even for these big companies there is a cost, so we need to recognize,
they need to make those investments its important.
For companies like amazon what are the realistic limits to its abilities to monitor and
impact the sustainability behaviors of supplies ?
Dewine says it’s a challenge we invest a ton of resources in it to be present on the
ground, being in touch with auditing but there’s still more we can do in better
understanding the risks of the factory level. We implemented a voicer works program
where one of the best ways to understand and to get on the ground issues at an early
stage. From the workers themselves who are in those factories, that allow them to raise
those issues, not once a year but everyday we see that as a solution for future issues
across the supply chain. Biggest challenges is beyond the first year factories which is
where most companies are auditing and engaging, the biggest risk are further down the
supply chain, something amazon is investing alot of resources in and creating a lot of
partnerships around solving that problem
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