Assignment:
1. There are two companies (AGL Energy and Tesla Motors Inc.) that produce social reports and whose values are identified on their websites (that are publicly available).
2. Research each of your companies to determine their company values, their approaches to social responsibility and their reporting of their social performances.
3. As an individual, you are required to submit responses to the following questions:
i. Identify and describe the two companies you have researched; their core business activities and the countries and/or industries in which they operate. (15 marks)
ii. What differences are evident between the two companies in terms of the range of issues dealt with in their social reports and the depth of coverage on specific issues? Please note – this question does not ask for a description or summary of the content of each company’s reports. Instead, you need to analyse the types of information, the major themes, the presentation, formatting and tone of each report – and explain the ways in which the reports are similar to each other and the ways in which they are different. (15 marks)
iii. Discuss which of the Sustainable Development Goals you believe are most relevant to these companies, their industries and the countries in which they operate. Discuss the extent to which these SDGs were addressed, explicitly or implicitly, in the CSR/Sustainability reports of your companies? (15 marks)
iv. Assess the apparent quality of the social accounting approach utilized by each company according to Zadek et al.’s (1997) criteria. (15 marks)
v. Discuss the extent to which the social reports provided by these companies reflect their stated values. (15 marks)
vi. Briefly reflect on your groups’ discussions of these companies. In what ways did the ideas presented by your group confirm your own conclusions, influence your thinking and/or present another perspective to you? (15 marks)
• A score (10 marks) will be allocated for presentation, written expression, spelling, grammar, punctuation and referencing.
Word limit: 2000 words
Referencing: You are required to follow the APA style of referencing for this task. There is no set number of references required. It is recommended, however, that you independently seek out resources in addition to those provided by the lecturer.
Due Date: 8th of January 2019.
Students are required to upload their assignment as a Word doc or PDF (with the FedUni Business School – Assignment Coversheet attached) via the relevant Turnitin link on the course Moodle page, as well as the regular link for assignment submission.
Marking Guide
Name
Responses to questions % Grade
Qi - describe the two companies that have been researched. Responses should:
• clearly identify and describe the two companies being researched
• clearly describe the industries and countries in which these companies operate
• Clearly describe any social reporting/performance issues that may be relevant for these companies. 15%
Qii - What differences are evident between the two companies in terms of the range of social, environmental and economic issues dealt with in their reports and the depth of coverage on specific issues? Responses should:
• compare the style, content and presentation of the social reports provided by each company
• critically analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the approaches to social reporting evident in the reports
• comment on the range of issues covered and the depth of the coverage 15%
Qiii - Discuss which of the Sustainable Development Goals you believe are most relevant to these companies, their industries and the countries in which they operate. Discuss the extent to which these SDGs were addressed, explicitly or implicitly, in the CSR/Sustainability reports of your companies:
• Demonstrate critical thinking and analysis to identify key SDGs and explain why these are particularly relevant to each company
• Describe the extent to which these SDGs have been addressed (explicitly or implicitly) and the effectiveness of this reporting 15%
Qiv- Assess the apparent quality of the social accounting approach utilized by each company according to Zadek et al.’s (1997) criteria. Responses should:
• Provide some brief commentary on the extent to which each of the companies does or does not meet the eight criteria identified by Zadek et al (1997) as the key principles of quality of social reporting, as outlined on P. 216 (Crane & Matten, 2010).
• Identify which key principles are met (and how they are met) by each company’s social reporting
• Identify which principles have not been met 15%
Qv - Discuss the extent to which the social reports reflect the values of your selected companies. Responses should:
• Identify each company’s values (including their Mission Statement, Values, Business Principles etc.) as stated on their websites, reports or in other company documentation
• Critically analyse each company’s social reports in terms of the extent to which their stated values align (or do not align) with their approaches to social responsibility and sustainability (based on the evidence in the reports)
15%
Qvi - Briefly reflect on your groups’ discussions of these companies. In what ways did the ideas presented by your group confirm your own conclusions or present another perspective to you? Responses should:
• Reflect on the group discussions about the social reporting of the two companies selected
• Identify key points of agreement and disagreement with other group members
• Discuss how the different perspectives provided by group members contributed to your own consideration of the performance of these companies 15%
Presentation (expression, structure, referencing, organisation, word count – not including cover sheet and references etc.) 10%