Critical analysis of corporate social responsibility

Assignment 4 is a critical analysis assignment. For this assignment, we are assigning the company W.L. Gore and asking that you think of, research and consider a"Corporate Social Responsibility" ("CSR") problem or opportunity facing W.L Gore.

Exactly what corporate social responsibility is, is not 100% clear and is the subject of some controversy. Some research on this topic at the outset might help. However, the most common definitions of CSR define CSR as a responsibility of businesses to behave ethically and contribute to economic development of the business while also improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the community and society as a whole. There are some "laissez faire" capitalists who will say that there's no such thing as corporate social responsibility and that the responsibility of a business is to maximize profits for its shareholder. For our purposes, we're assuming that there is at least some level of corporate social responsibility. The extent to which you think there ought to be such responsibility can (and probably will anyway) influence your analysis.

First, you will need a research basis for your essay. NPC is providing you with 2 sources to start you off:

1. Innovation: The Classic Traps

Author: Kanter

2. W. L. Gore – Culture of Innovation case

Author: Rao

Both resources can be accessed from the "slides and documents" page for this course on the NPC student website.

You may find and use any additional academically reliable resources you like. The NPC virtual library can be used to gather additional research material. The precise amount of research and the extent to which you use additional outside sources (other than the above two) is left to your discretion. A good paper can be written with just the 2 sources above, but additional sources may be helpful.

Once you've done your research, the next step is to write your paper. The over-all goal of your paper is to present the corporate social responsibility problem or opportunity. (This can be one you think of by yourself or one that you read about, though remember that citations are necessary whenever quoting another source.)