International Corporate Responsibility $-$ Assignment #$1$

We have come to recognize the legal obligation known as the Fiduciary Duty of Directors and

Officers of a Corporation to their immediate stakeholders $($namely $$ the shareholders$).$

Additionally, Directors and Officers direct the activities of a Corporation within the legal

framework within which they operate. Nevertheless, Corporations generally prefer to operate in a

deregulated environment with less, as opposed to more, outside public or governmental scrutiny.

In this Corporate environment, there has very recently and certainly more increasingly,

developed a focus by Corporations to address non$-$economic issues that affect or might affect

stakeholders $$ other than and in addition to a Corporation$$s shareholders. The manifestation of

this focus has been characterized in relatively new terms, such as $$ Corporate Social

Responsibility, Corporate Ethics, and Corporate Code of Conduct.

Include the corporate social responsibility and include real examples.

So $$ as students in Henry Dietrich$$s International Corporate Responsibility class, we should be

asking ourselves:

$1.$ Is what is evolving a good thing?

$2.$ Is this focus on the ethical conversation real or is it self$-$serving?

$3.$ Does it matter as to what the motives of a Corporation are in this regard? Regardless of

motive, what if the initiatives taken are making a positive impact on a broader range of

stakeholders.

$4.$ Why are Corporations choosing to go down this road?

$5.$ Aren$$t Corporations really just trying to protect their brand and their reputation? And, if

so$,$ what$$s wrong with that?

$6.$ Is Business Ethics just an oxymoron?

$7.$ You can add more if you like as there are many ethical issues.

Explore the above conversation in a paper titled $-$ Corporate Ethics or Corporate Marketing.

Your paper will incorporate the issues $1$ to $6$ referred to above. Explore those issues and what we

have canvassed in class to demonstrate that you have a clear understanding of the competing

views. Please express your personal views as well with respect to what is evolving... good or

bad.