PART ONE
Topic: Ethical consumption: comparing products, comparing ratings.
For this part of the assignment, you will explore “civil regulation” of CSR in practice. Your task is to choose two branded products and see how “ethical” they are according to the ratings provided by following sites:
Ethical Shopping Guide https://thegoodshoppingguide.com/
Good on You Ethical ratings on fashion and apparel https://goodonyou.eco/
Shop Ethical https://www.ethical.org.au/theguide/
Choose two items that are each rated by at least 2 of the 3 of the sites. If a product you are considering is not rated by any of the sites or only by one site, choose another product. You should avoid products used as examples when we discussed the rating sites in class (see lecture 13 slides). The assignment will be more relevant and fun if you choose products that you own or have considered buying, but this is not necessary.
Compare how the different sites rate each item. Explain why each item (brand) gets the rating it does in terms of the criteria used by each site. If one site gives a brand a higher or lower ranking than the other(s), explain the difference with reference to the differences in the criteria, weightings etc. used by the different sites. Which ranking do you find most defensible, and why?
To help you think about the practical and conceptual challenges of coming up with a single number that reflects the social responsibility of a firm (or in the case of our assignment, a product or brand), we recommend the following article:
- Norman and C. MacDonald. 2004. “Getting to the Bottom of ‘Triple Bottom Line,'” Business Ethics Quarterly 14(2) (April): 243-62.
This section of the assignment does not need to argue a thesis. The grade will be based on how thoughtful, cogent and clearly written it is.
PART TWO
Topic: Law and CSR codes in global supply chains.
In this section you will compare and assess two proposed Canadian laws: Bills C-378 (2011) and C-423 (2018). Both of these proposed laws, which are discussed in lecture 19, are intended to address labour exploitation in the supply chains of Canadian companies. Both were private member’s bills (i.e., introduced by MPs who were not cabinet ministers at the time), and neither bill has been passed into law.
In comparing and assessing these bills, you should consider what the two bills aim to achieve and by what means. The paper should defend a thesis about which (if either, or both) of these proposed laws Canada ought to adopt and why. In doing so, your paper should address the challenges in implementing labour codes through supply chains, the role and limitations of auditing, and the normative arguments for and against rules prohibiting the use of child labour or requiring workers to be paid a “living wage” even if that is higher than the local market wage. You will need to consider how these laws, if enacted, would interact with voluntary codes and multi-stakeholder initiatives driven by “civil regulation” efforts of NGOs and international human rights bodies, and the brand reputation concerns of firms.
The texts of the two bills, and several supplemental sources containing background information and a range of opinions on Bill C-423 are linked below:
BILL C-378 (2011) “An Act to prohibit sweatshop labour goods”
BILL C-423 (2018) An Act respecting the fight against certain forms of modern slavery through the imposition of certain measures and amending the Customs Tariff
Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development (2018) “A call to action: ending the use of all forms of child labour in supply chains” esp. pp. 23-44
- McKay MP (2019) “Creating Canada’s modern slavery bill”
C, Glbert and B Wray (2018) “Modern slavery legislation—Canada may follow the global trend”
- Lau (2018) “MPs want to help stop ‘slavery.’ They’ll end up hurting people instead” Financial Post
Emilie de Haas (2019) “Keeping Up with the Times: Why Canada Should Enact a Modern Slavery Act”
Human Rights Watch (2019) “Consensus Starting Points: Framing a Canadian Discussion on Human Rights in the Global Operations and Supply Chains of Canadian Companies”
In addition to the sources linked above, you are expected to make use of any assigned course readings that are relevant to the points you are making. The readings assigned for lectures 15-19 will be most directly applicable. Since Bill C-423 would mainly impose reporting requirements, the concepts from lecture 13 are relevant to Part II as well as Part I of the assignment. Skilfully incorporating concepts from other units of the course (such as those relevant to the first assignment, and on normative CSR debates) is a plus, but avoid padding the paper with irrelevant, tangential, undigested or weakly integrated material.
| Grading Rubric | ||||||||||
| Criteria of Evaluation | Needs
work |
Satisfactory | Good | Excellent | N/A | |||||
| CONTENT | ||||||||||
| *Essay answers assignment question | ||||||||||
| *Comprehension of relevant theories/concepts from the course; clear understanding of how to use the theories/concepts to analyze/explain your subject | ||||||||||
| *Critical thinking about the concepts; some level of abstract thought | ||||||||||
| *Development of a coherent argument that supports thesis throughout the essay and is consistent, logical, coherent, and persuasive; argument distinguishes between major and subordinate points | ||||||||||
| *Development of comprehensive argument; consideration of strengths and weakness; consideration of and responses to objections or counter-arguments to your position | ||||||||||
| *Support argument with relevant evidence from the texts | ||||||||||
| THESIS FOCUS | ||||||||||
| *Introduction includes a concise, clear statement
that formulates your central argument |
||||||||||
| STRUCTURE | ||||||||||
| *Introduction: presents your topic and thesis | ||||||||||
| *Body of Essay: coherent organization of ideas; continuity and logical transitions between paragraphs | ||||||||||
| *Paragraphs: each paragraph deals with only one idea or point; clear identification of theme of paragraph in a topic sentence; develops evidence to support your argument; links to the thesis | ||||||||||
| GRAMMAR, STYLE, MECHANICS | ||||||||||
| *Clarity and readability; concision (avoiding clutter) | ||||||||||
| *Spelling, punctuation, proper referencing, proofreading | ||||||||||
| OVERALL COMMENTS: | ||||||||||
| GRADE: | ||||||||||
