Grade:
8-12
Suggested
Curriculum Areas: Business, Marketing,
Social Studies, Economics
Goals:
After completing this Lesson, you’ll be able
to:
•Define social
responsibility.
•Describe examples
of social responsibilities businesses have to society.
Objectives:
Describe how social, cultural, and economic factors
impact the international business environment
Analyze special challenges
in operations, production and human resource management in international
business
Identify entrepreneurial
opportunities available in international business
Background information
for teachers:
There is an assumption
that students will have prior knowledge of leading economic indicators
like gross national product and understand social responsibility as
it relates to business decisions. This lesson would be best after initial
instruction on business ethics and social responsibility has occurred.
Gross national product
(GNP) per capita is the dollar value of a country’s final output
of goods and services in a year, divided by its population. It reflects
the average income of a country’s citizens. Countries with low
GNP per capita tend to be located in Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of
Asia. Countries with high GNP per capita tend to be located in Europe,
North America and parts of Asia.
GNP per capita shows
what part of a country’s GNP each person would have if this GNP
were divided equally. Knowing a country’s GNP per capita is a
good first step toward understanding the country’s economic strengths
and needs, as well as the general standard of living enjoyed by the
average citizen. A country’s GNP per capita tends to be closely
linked with other indicators that measure the social, economic, and
environmental well-being of the country and its people. For example,
generally people living in countries with higher GNP per capita tend
to have longer life expectancies, higher literacy rates, better access
to safe water, and lower infant mortality rates.
Social responsibility
in business is the practice of placing the good of society before the
return of profit. Socially responsible actions can fall into one or
more of the following categories:
- Providing a safe product
- Creating jobs
- Protecting the environment
- Creating a better standard of living for all
Lesson Outline
Background for
students:
You have already learned about social responsibility
and business. Remember that there are many examples of times when businesses
fail to make decisions that are socially responsible and then government
creates laws that require a business to address an issue by complying.
Socially responsible activities that a business engages in will usually
fall into one of the following categories:
· Provide safe products
· Create jobs
· Protect the environment
· Create a better standard of living for all
Activities:
Read the following case
study and answer or discuss the questions that follow the study.
Time Required: 30-50
minutes
Materials list: Copies
of case study for all
Assessment ideas, if
applicable
Additional resources
for teachers: Photos of CCD entrepreneurs
Connections
to Standards:
| A.4.10 |
Follow
oral directions (see LA C.4.2)
|
| A.4.11 |
Demonstrate
the ability to listen for meaning (see LA C.4.2)
|
| A.8.6 |
Present brief
impromptu remarks pertaining to topics of current or general interest
(see LA C.8.1)
|
| A.8.8 |
Ask appropriate
questions when more information is needed (see LA C.8.3)
|
| A.8.10 |
Demonstrate
respect for differences in regional and multicultural communication
(see LA C.8.1, D.8.2)
|
| A.12.4 |
Analyze and
respond in writing to business situations (both individually and collaboratively)
(see LA B.12.1, F.12.1)
|
| A.12.5 |
Participate
in group discussions for problem resolution (see LA C.12.13)
|
| A.12.6 |
Organize and
lead discussions; participate in meetings; answer questions in formal
and informal situations (see LA C.12.13)
|
| A.12.10 |
Demonstrate
interactive listening techniques (see LA C.12.3)
|
| A.BS.2 |
Analyze and
respond to complex business case studies
|
A.BS.6
|
Present point
of view on a current business issue
|
| J.4.6 |
Respect the
rights and feelings of others
|
| J.4.8 |
Discuss the
importance of being able to work together with people who are different
from oneself
|
| J.8.6 |
Describe different
cultural behaviors and expectations (see SS E.8.10)
|
| J.12.2 |
Identify stereotypes
and discriminatory behaviors that could impact personal and organizational
success
|
| J.12.5 |
Organize and
participate in a discussion (see LA C.8.3, C.12.3)
|
| J.12.6 |
Demonstrate
courteous attention to speakers
|
| J.12.11 |
Define ethics
|
| J.12.14 |
Explain the
importance of consumer trust for the successful conduct of business
|
| J.BS.3 |
Demonstrate
an acceptance of different cultural beliefs and practices
|
| J.BS.4 |
Demonstrate
successful listening techniques
|
| K.12.11 |
Discuss social
and ethical standards of the workplace
|
| D.4.1 |
Understand
that productive resources are limited and that people cannot have
all the goods and services they want; as a result they must choose
some things and give up others. Identify the opportunity cost of a
decision when one alternative is chosen (see SS D.4.1, D.4.2, D.4.7)
|
| D.BS.5 |
Explain the
concepts of inflation, unemployment, Gross Domestic Product and Gross
National Product and describe how they are measured
|
| I.8.1 |
Explain why
laws are made
|
I.12.1 |
Interpret and
apply legal principles to business and personal situations
|
| E.8.2 |
Recognize
opportunities that would lead to a successful business
|
| E.8.3 |
Give examples
of how businesses meet societal needs
|
| E.BS.9 |
Describe practices
associated with cultural diversity that would impact a business moving
from the national to the international marketplace
|
| G.12.2 |
Explain the
difference between a domestic and international company
|
| G.BS.5 |
Explain the
role of international business at local, regional, and national levels
|
| G.BS.12 |
Explain appropriate
business protocol in international business situations
|
| G.BS.17 |
Identify potential
problems or “hurdles” of doing business in foreign countries
|
| H.8.1 |
Identify why
business decisions need to be made
|
| H.BS.1 |
Analyze the
pros and cons of different management decisions
|
| H.BS.3 |
Describe how
the organization provides for accountability through authority and
responsibility
|
Questions for discussion or completion:
1.
Before receiving her loan, how did Suja and her husband support
their family?
[They worked on their land. They were tied to the growing seasons.]
2. What did Suja use her Your Share
loan for?
[She bought a cow and a goat.]
3. Aside
from giving some additional income, how did Suja’s investment
add to the financial stability of the family? [It helped
to ensure that the family had income throughout the year, not just at
planting and harvest times.]
4. Why
didn’t Suja use the money she borrowed from Your Share to pay
for the roof and her children’s shoes?
[By investing in the
cow and goat, she could ensure that she would have profits for years
to come, which she could use to pay back the loan as well as buy things
her family needed. If she had used the money to buy shoes and a roof
at the beginning, she would have had no means of paying the money
back, nor would she have been able to buy other things for her family
later on.]
5. Who
are the clients served by the Your Share loan program?
[The clients of the Your Share program are poor
women in developing countries who would otherwise have no access to
credit to develop their businesses.]
6. How
does microfinance work?
[People who cannot get regular loans because they are
poor credit risks are able to come together and borrow money as a
group. They take joint responsibility for the repayment of their loan.
The recipients of the loans invest the money in their businesses--for
example by buying new equipment, farm animals, or seed, or by hiring
additional employees--in order to make their businesses grow at a
faster rate and make greater profits. Studies show that the money
made from the investment usually goes toward food, shelter, clothing,
or education for the family, thus increasing the chance that the generations
that follow will be healthier and more financially secure than their
parents.]
7. How can microfinance, which works
on a small, individual level, affect the larger economy?
[By lending money to poor people to start their
own businesses, microfinancing helps to improve individual standards
of living. Beyond that, recipients of microfinance loans contribute
to the national economy by producing more goods and services and often
hiring others to work for them. And with the additional money they
earn, they can buy more goods and services, again adding to the national
economy. In addition, microfinancing can help more people move from
the informal economy to the formal.]
8. Why do local managers for Your Corp.
in Tamil Nadu think it’s a good idea for the company to invest
in Your Share?
[Answers will vary but should include ideas like a healthier
economy controlled and driven by local residents will increase the
overall quality of life for everyone, the rights and responsibilities
to local resources should remain in the control of local residents
and that often requires financial investment which struggling residents
can’t provide, etc.]
9. This case study shows how microfinancing
works in developing economies. Would industrial economies be able
to benefit from a similar system? Explain your answer.
[Answers will vary.]
10. How do
people get small business loans where you live? How well does the system
work? Explain your answer.
[Answers will vary.]