Debates



Issues in Business and Society

AS/SOSC 4040 9.0A

Course Director: Richard Wellen

SEMINAR ASSIGNMENTS

Each student has now been signed up for two seminar assignments. Please remember that the first is a reading analysis assignment, which will involve a 10-15 minute presentation in class as well as the submission of an outline or one-page summary of your analysis. The second assignment involves participation in a debate on one of the issues or questions presented on the next page. The debates should not exceed 30 minutes (to allow extra time for class discussion). Every effort has been made to honour your preferences, but the final schedule was also influenced by (1) the different popularity of the various topics and (2) the effort to avoid placing students’ presentations very close together in the schedule.

FIRST TERM

September 30

• Chang (ch. 4) [SABREENA]

• Dore [NADIA]

October 7

• Clement & Williams [MONICA]

• Watkins [NABIL]

• Does the perspective of economic nationalists have any relevance in the wake of the last few decades of continental integration (North American free trade, etc..)?

[KEVIN and GAVIN]

October 14

• Coase [AHAD]

• Boatright [JOHANNA]

October 21

• Charkham [HAMMAD]

• Tricker [NEWTON]

• Economist [MARLIN]

October 28

• Isbister [ANDREW]

• Miles [TERRI]

• Has Solomon really presented ‘a better way to think about business’?

[NABIL and NICOLE]

November 4

• Schumpeter (pp. 122-30) [JASON R.]

• Schumpeter (pp. 131-41) [DAVID]

• Chandler & Hikino [CAROLYN]

November 11

• Rosenbaum [JOHN]

• When Microsoft was charged with violating anti-trust laws many people said they were being unfairly and inappropriately asked to pay a penalty for their success. What do you think?

[SELO and CHERYL]

November 18

• Hospers [JASON P.]

• If the process of innovation and ‘creative destruction’ is socially risky, and if only some groups are well placed to take advantage of it, is it worth the price?

[AMELIA and ANNA]

SECOND TERM

January 6

• Swift [AMELIA]

• Reich (pp. 236-45) [ANNA]

• Reich (pp. 246-56) [ARIE]

January 13

• Drache & Glasbeek [CHERYL]

• Are labour unions relevant, constructive and important in today’s economy?

[MONICA and NEWTON]

• In an era of free trade and globalization some people think that realism requires us to let markets dictate winners and losers in the labour market, like in any other market. Others believe that the most pressing need is for active measures to avoid a ‘race to the bottom’. Is the ‘high road’ (mentioned in Betcherman) approach both possible and desirable?

[SABREENA and DAVID]

January 20

• Do you think that worker cooperatives like Mondragon are a good response to the supposed problems of capitalism?

[JASON R. and JASON P.]

• How would you respond to the following statement: Open Source software advocates are rather idealistic. In the end, very few people are likely to be successfully served or rewarded by this model of product development and distribution.

[ARIE and JOHN]

January 27

• Can business be both ‘green’ and ‘competitive’ in the absence of strict regulations by government? If government is involved, is it better that it uses regulations or incentives?

[MARLIN and TERRI]

February 2

• Who is right in the dispute between Baghwati and Daly on the environmental implications of free trade?

[HAMMAD and NARESH]

February 9

• Conca [GAVIN]

• Schor [NICOLE]

February 23

• Helleiner [KEVIN]

• Nelkin [SELO]

March 1

• Critics of advertising have often described it as socially and economically wasteful, and even manipulative. On the other hand, defenders have seen it as a socially beneficial and necessary way to bring value to consumers and drive change and innovation. Where do you stand on this issue?

[CAROLYN and AHAD]

• Everyone knows that advertising is one of the main sources of support for the media. Is there anything wrong with this? Be sure your analysis takes account of possible alternatives to advertising supported media.

[NADIA and ANDREW]

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