Ethical Communication & Citizenship
ALR276: Assignment 1:
What significant communication and ethical issues surround corporations facing strong public opposition to their activities? Discuss drawing on the BAGAG, WRATD and Cash for Comment case studies (one or more) and at least one major theory studied in this unit. |
The aim of this essay will be to examine how social and cultural changes have forced corporations to re-evaluate many of the principles they work upon, it will open up by looking at a few of the major ethical issues that corporations must deal with when serving the needs of the community. The essay will explore the Werribee Residents Against a Toxic Dump (WRATD) case study and highlight some of the key errors CSR made when handling the debate over the proposed landfill development. It will also suggest that the WRATD case study is a prime example of the reality of Corporate Citizenship and the idea that a business is dependent on its host community (Birch & Glazebrook 2000). The past century has seen corporations expand on a global level, this expansion has been made possible due to a number of contributing factors such as technological developments, stronger education and improved advertising methods. However it is these same factors that have given way to a number of ethical complications that can determine the success of corporations. The same technological advances that have allowed companies to mass produce and communicate with the world have at the same time contributed to environmental issues. Technology has also given the general public easy access to information and resources that were previously unattainable, along with this corporations find themselves faced with a better informed public. Big business is no longer a vacuum imposed upon the general population, but rather the relationship between a company and its customer has taken on a pluralistic nature. This means the company and the consumer are two separate entities, but both have access to
What significant communication and ethical issues surround corporations facing strong public opposition to their activities? Discuss drawing on the BAGAG, WRATD and Cash for Comment case studies (one or more) and at least one major theory studied in this unit. |
The aim of this essay will be to examine how social and cultural changes have forced corporations to re-evaluate many of the principles they work upon, it will open up by looking at a few of the major ethical issues that corporations must deal with when serving the needs of the community. The essay will explore the Werribee Residents Against a Toxic Dump (WRATD) case study and highlight some of the key errors CSR made when handling the debate over the proposed landfill development. It will also suggest that the WRATD case study is a prime example of the reality of Corporate Citizenship and the idea that a business is dependent on its host community (Birch & Glazebrook 2000). The past century has seen corporations expand on a global level, this expansion has been made possible due to a number of contributing factors such as technological developments, stronger education and improved advertising methods. However it is these same factors that have given way to a number of ethical complications that can determine the success of corporations. The same technological advances that have allowed companies to mass produce and communicate with the world have at the same time contributed to environmental issues. Technology has also given the general public easy access to information and resources that were previously unattainable, along with this corporations find themselves faced with a better informed public. Big business is no longer a vacuum imposed upon the general population, but rather the relationship between a company and its customer has taken on a pluralistic nature. This means the company and the consumer are two separate entities, but both have access to