BSB151: Business Law and Ethics Case Study

Writing and Analysing Ethical Dilemmas In BSB151

Part 1: Preparing to Start

What is a case study?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a case study as “[a] particular instance of something used or analysed in order to illustrate a thesis or principle.” The lecturer will often provide you with a case study, and you need to analyse it using the course’s content.

This assignment is slightly different in that we provide a range of cases from which to choose – and you can even develop your own. Why? Because to choose a good case, you must show that you know what an ethical dilemma is. This approach to setting the assignment also allows you to demonstrate novelty/innovative thought more easily. Choosing a case that you can analyse well is critical to doing well in the assignment.

Choosing a good case and analysing it well shows you have mastered a complex task – recognising ethically tricky issues and how to resolve them.

Why bother writing an analysis of a case?

Given this is a first-year subject, many students undertaking BSB151 have only written assignments as part of their formal schooling. Consequently, many of you will never have written anything of much substance outside an educational setting. It also means you may think we set this assessment to allow you to demonstrate your knowledge of the topics we cover in weeks 1-4.

While we do use it to assess your understanding of these topics, this emphasis is misplaced.

The point of undertaking a case analysis is to allow you to develop the skills to apply your knowledge in (relatively) realistic situations. It allows you the chance to really consider the materials we cover and formulate your views on what is a complex topic that is foundational to a well-lived life.

Further, you get the chance to develop the skills of organising and communicating your thoughts and insights on a complex, multifaceted problem. Writing is actually a formal form of thinking. Writing exposes what you know and don’t know, where your thinking is incomplete, sloppy or just plain wrong.

If you can’t write well, it’s far less likely you will make the most out of opportunities that life provides you. Almost certainly, you will be less likely to influence others, will be presented with fewer opportunities and will, in general, be substantially less successful than you could be.

Writing helps you remember things while simultaneously teaching you how to think logically and coherently. It develops your understanding of the world in a powerful way.

You might be able to “scrape through” with a less comprehensive approach than presented in this workbook. You might even be able to do “well” (after all, there are no criteria in the assignment for “effort”). But in the end, you will only be cheating yourself.

The University ‘system’ (or game) is only one form of game in the world. Just because you can “win” here with minimum effort does not mean you can transfer your approach to the outside world. Instead, if you practice the skills outlined in this workbook, you should be able to do better than a pass in the assignment and have developed a suite of skills that ARE transferable.

This assessment presents you with one of those times in life when a great opportunity may not be self-evident. Don’t waste this opportunity. Put in the effort.

Getting down to work

Perhaps the biggest struggle for most students is making the most of the time you have to hand in work worthy of your ability. If you are a procrastinator, your own form of “monkey mind” will constantly find things to do. Scrolling “Fit yogi’s” for three hours on Pintrest or seeing how the latest trend in questionable dog grooming is playing out on Instagram will not help you complete this assignment. Neither will re-arranging your socks drawer, cleaning the fridge, nor visiting Aunt Maud.

Don’t let the monkey control your life

Try to get into the habit of doing some work on the assignment every day. The perfect time will never arrive. Instead, start now and chip away. Preferably in the morning when you are fresh and before the rest of life interrupts. Spend 30 minutes on the assignment – or 15 if you can’t make 30 minutes at the moment. Don’t read your twitter/facebook/what’sapp/instagram/snapchat/email/tiktok[insertlatestdigitaldistractionhere]. Turn your phone (and any other devices) onto aeroplane mode. Or better yet, put it/them in another room on silent. Work – and you will be amazed at how, over time, you become better at resisting temptations. If you struggle to concentrate, think about using the pomodora technique.

If you really want to go deep on concentration, you can check out the work of this Hindu Priest, Dandapani on developing concentration.

Similarly, don’t try to do too much in one go. It’s improbable you can work for more than 2-3 hours in a concentrated manner. If you try, you will end up distracted and largely wasting your time. You might as well be at the beach, going to a rave or otherwise enjoying yourself. Do your work first – then go enjoy life. There’s plenty of time if you’re disciplined.

Writing Well

There are hundreds of books on writing well. You should read and apply some of them. But given you have to start this assignment now, here are some tips.

The first is that your assignment should present a coherent, holistic answer to the question/task that has been set. This requires you to work at multiple levels of analysis when you write. You need to make sure:

• The entire piece is coherent and answers the question(s) asked;
• Each paragraph of the piece contains a single, core idea and is placed in the right spot to advance your argument;
• Each sentence contributes to the central idea in the paragraph and is ordered in a way to communicate that idea quickly and clearly; and
• Each word has been selected and ordered to ensure it communicates exactly what you mean.

First, you must present your argument in the right order. This is why virtually all writing advice begins by advising the author to construct an outline. An outline provides the “pathway” that the writer (and hence the reader) will follow. That pathway should lead clearly and convincingly to your conclusion. It should answer the question posed or provide an overarching insight into the topic you have explored.

When you’re organising the whole, you also mustn’t forget that really great essays, cases and documents provide novel and creative insights for the reader – they have value. This is much easier in academic writing – we have provided you with the question (what we are interested in) and even CRA (i.e. how to make sure you have given us what we want). But you can go further – make your points and examples novel. Answer the question in a way that shows you have a deep understanding. Surprise us.

As well as an overarching logical progression, you need to explain each of the key points in your outline. This is generally done at the paragraph level. Each paragraph should contain one core idea. It should begin with a topic sentence – a statement that broadly outlines or summarises the paragraph. So here’s an editing tip: When you finish your assignment, I should be able to read the first sentence of each paragraph and understand your key argument. If I can’t, you likely have poor topic sentences and/or your sequence of paragraphs is wrong (i.e. the outline is wrong). Your ideas need to “link” together. There is an exercise to help you with this later in the workbook.

Each paragraph should be made up of several sentences that relate to one key idea summarised in the topic sentence. When you’re dealing with complex topics there can be a tendency to write paragraphs that contain more than one idea. Battle this tendency, because it makes your work harder to understand. A good rule of thumb is that a paragraph should contain about 100 words. Any more and it’s likely you have more than one idea in the paragraph. If you have far fewer, you might not have much of a point. “Chunk” your ideas.

Of course, these rules can be broken. But be careful – in general, rules are there because they work most of time. Be sure this is the time to break them. (See what I did there?)

Within each paragraph you need to construct a series of sentences. Each sentence should contain a clearly identifiable point that adds to the readers understanding of the over-arching idea in the paragraph. Thus, the key point of each sentence should be different but related to the other sentences in the paragraph. The sentences also need to be in the correct sequence. They need to be grammatically correct with the right words in the right order. Errors of sequencing, grammar and word order will change the meaning of your writing.

Finally, at the lowest level, you must select the correct word that best reflects what you mean. Do not underestimate the profound changes in meaning that you can convey with a subtle word change.

An essay/case presentation that works across these levels simultaneously will be outstanding.

Part 2: Writing you Case Analysis

Step 1: Identify and select your case

The first step involves selecting a case for the analysis. You can choose either:

• your own dilemma; or
• one of the three that we provide.

If you are inclined to use your own dilemma, read the newspapers. I know they are online, but you can also get them in the library in hard copy and the advantage of hard copy is that you will run across articles that might not come up in your newsfeed. If you do read online, make sure you dig into the content more than you ordinarily would to overcome this problem.

Pay particular attention to the business pages – are there issues where people are doing the “wrong” thing? Are there topics where people have quite different perspectives or views (e.g. lots of people commenting or disagreeing with the author)? These two issues (particularly disparate views on the conduct) are good indications there is an ETHICAL issue behind the news story.

If you choose one of the topics we provide, be clear on why it is an ETHICAL issue.

Now you need to make sure you identify something that is an ethical DILEMMA. That means if there is a clear, ethical course of action with which everyone agrees, you have not isolated a dilemma. Someone doing something wrong either generally (e.g. assault or murder) or in business (e.g. cheating others) is rarely an ethical dilemma – it’s often just someone doing the wrong thing.

If you have just identified an unethical act, you are unlikely to do well in this assessment piece, because (a) you have failed to identify a dilemma and (b) you are less likely to be able provide a compelling analysis to demonstrate your knowledge.

Similarly, if you think one of the scenarios we provide has only one ethical “solution” or course of action, then you again are unlikely to do well – for exactly the same reasons. You are unlikely to be able to explain why it is a dilemma and you are less likely to provide a good analysis that demonstrates you understand multiple ethical theories.

Write your possible ethical dilemma for the paper here or the dilemmas that we provide. Remember you can use the three scenarios we provide when coming up with your scenario options:

• Greenwashing
• Overworked of new hire
• Use of fund in social activities by non-profit organization

Now, go to the first option.

Explain why this is an ethical dilemma and not some other form of question/dilemma:

Ethical dilemma is defined as kind of ethical challenges that arises at the time of accessible obligations and choices in particular circumstances which do not allow for ethical results. Ethical dilemma has significant impact on the overall process and operation of business because it violates standards which lead to disciplinary sanctions. In present time, most of companies are engaging in ethical dilemma which directly impacts its overall performance and operation as well as attraction of investors (de Freitas Netto et al, 2020). Start-up is creating eco-friendly packaging solutions in order to protect the environment and protect the health and well-being of people. Dodgy Inc., acquired this company for the growth and development. But acquiring company found that start-up engaged in unethical practices such as poor labour conditions and environmental violations. This organization also engaged in ethical dilemma i.e. greenwashing which restricts the investors to invest their funds that leads to financial stress and insolvency that leads to job losses of team members and reduce profitability.

 Along with this, greenwashing is one of the common ethical issues because it misleads consumers and investors who are likely to make investment and purchase products from environmentally friendly companies. In the context of scenario due to greenwashing the investors denies to accept the funding from the companies which negatively impacts on their growth and innovation (Yang et al, 2020). In addition to this, greenwashing, environmental violations and poor labour conditions are ethical dilemma because it misleading the consumers by with overstated and false environmental claims. From the chosen ethical dilemma, the company erode the trust of consumers and weaken creditability of legitimate sustainability efforts (Seele and Schultz, 2022). Apart from this, overworked of new hires and use of funds by non-profit organization to improve existing programs in underserved area are not ethical issues or dilemma. Alex faced high level of stress so providing them to break is not ethical dilemma because he is working for launching of new project successfully.

Along with this, CEO of non-profit organization is using funds in supporting existing program rather than development of new state-of- the art learning centre in well off-sunburn area is not ethical dilemma. This is not ethical issue because organization uses the funds ethically and for the benefits of poor people. On the other hand, in the context of business, the decision-makers have significant impact on the process of decision-making because they assess collected information and data whether it will comply with developed values and regulations or not. Engaging in process of ethical decision making is beneficial for the companies because it helps in minimizing risks of financial and legal consequences of ethical decisions.

To reiterate: make sure you can explain why it is an ethical dilemma and not something else. If it helps, explain why it is NOT:

• An issue of etiquette;
• A religious issue;
• Just a sucky business decision that needs to be made (e.g. we need to close the factory because we are no longer profitable).

Now, repeat for options 2-5. Here’s a table that might help you:

#	Scenario	Why is this an ethical issue?	Why is the issue an ethical dilemma?
1	Greenwashing	It is ethical issues because it misleads customers and investors for their investments.	It is ethical dilemma because the company erode the trust of consumers and weaken creditability of legitimate sustainability efforts
2	Overworked of new hires	Providing break to Alex is not ethical issue because he working ethically for successful launching of project.	It is not ethical dilemma because he worked ethically and morally.
3	Use of funds by non-profit organization	Use of funds in supporting existing program rather than development of new is not ethical issues because it provides welfare to poorer people.	It is not ethical dilemma because it helps in improving welfare of people ethically.
4
5

Which one is clearest to you- which is the one that you can justify as being an ethical dilemma easiest or most clearly? Choose that one.

Now you need to think about whether it is a good business ethical dilemma. With your chosen dilemma, outline what is it about the context of the decision or action that make this more difficult? How does it being a business ethical dilemma make it more difficult or complex?

Greenwashing or environmental violation is not good business ethical dilemma. This ethical issue make actions and decisions more complex because of financial stress, job losses etc., which directly impacts overall process and functions.

Does your answer link to the materials we covered in week 1? Can you demonstrate this easily? If not, maybe go back and choose your second best option from the first exercise. Can you explain why being part of business makes this more of a dilemma easily with this case? If so, think about choosing that one. Repeat until you can:

• Clearly outline what the dilemma is;
• Clearly articulate why it is an ethical dilemma;
• Clearly articulate what about the context of business makes this a more difficult ethical dilemma.

Step 2: Review the match between your ethical dilemma and the frameworks you need to use in this assignment

We cover many different frameworks for analysing an ethical dilemma. You are asked to analyse your dilemma with Utilitarian, Kantian and Virtue ethics. Here is a table to help you think about the theories we cover in the subject.

Week	Framework	Type	Level of analysis	Difficulty
2	Ethical egoism	Normative	Individual	Simple
2*	Utilitarian	Normative	Individual	Medium
2*	Kant	Normative	Individual	Complex
2	Moral rights	Normative	Individual	Simple
2*	Virtue ethics	Normative	Individual	Complex
2	Ethics of Care	Normative	Individual	Medium

Now you need to think about how you will use the relevant frameworks for the dilemma you have chosen:

My dilemma is: ______Green washing ___________________________________________________________

The frameworks we require you to use in the assessment piece are:

1. Utilitarian
2. Kantian
3. Virtue ethics (Aristotle)

 Double check there is a match between the dilemma, the level of analysis, your grade expectations and the CRA.

Step 3: Undertake the analysis

I would recommend you think about the application of each framework to each dilemma you have identified. Yes, that’s right – I would undertake 15 quick analyses (5 topics x 3 frameworks). You don’t need detailed or extensive writing here, just a quick series of dot points and insights. If you know each of the 3 frameworks you are using, this should take about 2-3 min each framework. So that’s a total of 35 – 50 min. At worst, make sure you apply the frameworks to 2 or 3 dilemmas. If you don’t do that, you may miss the opportunity to select a better topic for the assessment piece.

There are three reasons to undertake this step: It will help you learn the content. Perhaps more importantly, it will radically improve the chances that you identify and can explain why your case is an ETHICAL dilemma and that you can apply the frameworks correctly. If your rough analysis for a dilemma does not provide conflicting answers (i.e. the answers from all frameworks suggest the same action) then I would suggest you revisit step 1 – because it looks like you haven’t got a dilemma. Either that, or you are likely not applying the framework(s) correctly. This step should help you identify flaws in your analysis. The best way to do this is to discuss your approach with someone else, so you should feel free to discuss your analysis (remember: this isn’t the end assignment yet) with a colleague, and you do the same for them. That way you get feedback on the core of the assignment – undertaking the analysis. Have them review your application of the framework against the criteria and, hopefully, identify what you have done or not done well enough (yet).

Framework 1: Utilitarian ethic theory

• Dilemma 1: Green washing

Greenwashing significantly impacted happiness and actions of investors from which they denies to accept and invest the funds in the company. For solving the ethical issue, start-up implements utilitarian ethic theory that helps in increase engaging and connection of investors with them. This theory also helps the companies to make informed decisions (Savulescu, Persson and Wilkinson, 2020).

• Dilemma 2: Overworked of new hire

According to given scenario, Alex feel stressed and overwhelmed so application of utilitarian ethical theory is beneficial for the company because it helps in increase their happiness over actions.

• Dilemma 3: Use of fund in social activities by non-profit organization

Adoption of utilitarian theory is beneficial for non-profit organization because it helps them to make moral decisions whether funds are using in support existing program or develop new art learning centre.

Framework 2: Kantian Ethic

• Dilemma 1: Greenwashing

Implementing Kantian ethic theory is beneficial for start-up in order to mitigate ethical dilemma of environmental violation because it helps in increase the awareness of people and making morale decisions (Rostbøll, 2021).

• Dilemma 2: Overworked of new hire

Adoption of Kantian ethical theory is beneficial for the company in order to reduce burnout of the employees. This theory encourages employers to make moral decisions regarding providing flexibility to the employees for successful launching.

• Dilemma 3: Use of funds in social activities by non-profit organization

Kantian ethical theory helps in providing direction for the social activities by focusing on intrinsic values of people and fostering action relied on rationality.

Framework 3: virtue ethics

• Dilemma 1: Greenwashing

Virtue ethics theory helps in reducing impact of greenwashing because it wonder towards nature, restraint concerning utilisation of natural resources which helps in eliminate environmental violations (Slote, 2023). 

• Dilemma 2: Overworked of new hire

Virtue ethic helps in encouraging Alex to work ethically with honesty, responsibility, due diligence and compassion in the work.

• Dilemma 3: Use of funds in social activities

Virtue ethical theory helps in making the effective moral decisions in related to use of funds ethically for the welfare of the people.

Step 4: Deepen your analysis and ensure your case meets the criteria

By now, you should have your final dilemma and an initial analysis based on the three frameworks (Utilitarian, Kant and Virtue ethics approaches). Go ahead and analyse the dilemma with each framework – it should take 30 – 60 min for each one.

My dilemma is: ______Greenwashing_____________________________________

• Framework 1: Utilitarian Ethic theory

Notes:

Utilitarian is considered as one of the significant theory of ethics that are adopted by the companies that are involve or engaged in ethical practices or dilemma. It is normative theory and simple to use for the companies which are involve in the ethical issues. This theory of ethics advocates the activities that promote happiness and oppose actions that cause despondency. From the chosen scenario it has been identified that, start-up also engaged in ethical dilemma i.e. greenwashing or environmental violation. To solve the ethical practice, start-up is also emphasis on adopting utilitarian theory of ethics. Adoption of this theory is beneficial because it facilitates clarity and simplicity, acceptability and breadth. Along with this, utilitarian ethic theory is based on three principles such as only happiness and pleasure have intrinsic values, crucial to have right actions to foster happiness otherwise it promotes unhappiness and last one, happiness of everyone counts equally (Tseng and Wang, 2021). Additionally, for the environmental ethics like greenwashing adoption of this ethic theory is useful because it aids in considering values species and legal rights as well as eco-systems. Execution of this theory is useful for the companies which are engaged in environmental violations because it aids in fostering the practices of sustainability and increase awareness of the people regarding influence of their actions on environment as well as health.

In today’s business context, utilitarian suggests obligations for the companies to do what they can do to maximize the happiness of the people and reduces suffering. This ethical framework offers a foundation for criticizing unethical behaviours of the business cause harm to people which are included. By implementing this theory, start-up is increasing the happiness of the investors who denies investing and accepting the funds.

• Framework 2: Kantian ethic theory

Notes:

Kantian is recognized as one of significant ethical theory that is adopted by the organizations which are included in ethical dilemma or issue. Kantian ethics are set of universal moral principles that implement to all human-beings irrespective of circumstance. If the companies are engaged in the ethical dilemma then its human beings are majorly impacted such as employees, investors etc. (Camenzind, 2021). At the time when start-up engaged in ethical dilemma i.e. greenwashing or environmental violations, investors were deny to invest and accept the funds from them which directly impacts the overall operation and functions. For mitigating the ethical dilemma, Start-up Company also adopted Kantian ethics. Adoption of this ethical theory is beneficial for the star up in order to overcome the impact of greenwashing on its human-beings. Additionally, this ethical theory is focuses on universal principles that nurture steadiness and impartiality in order to make moral judgements.

In addition, this theory of ethics is upholding the intrinsic value of people from which they remain connected with the companies after engaging in ethical issues. Adoption of this ethical framework is useful for the companies which are included in principled activities because it offers rational method to assess the morality of actions which are relied on principles instead of outcome (Fisher and Dimmock, 2022) Kantian ethics compliments the moral agency of the people and fosters action based on rationality instead of external impacts and emotions. Moreover, categorical imperative is considered as one of the critical principle of Kantian ethical theory because it moral laws and commands all the people to follow ethical practices in despite of their desires. In the context of environmental violations, kant’s ethic theory is providing strong reason to preserve and protect the environment and people who are affected by it. 

• Framework 3: Virtue ethics theory

Notes:

Virtue ethics is regard as one of the significant theory and it is established by Aristotle. Currently, this theory is considered as one of the three major approaches within normative ethics. For mitigating the ethical issue i.e. greenwashing start-up also implemented virtue ethics theory. It is recognized as one of the good morale theories for the companies because it allows them to make ethics decisions and reaches to full potential. Along with this, self-centeredness, action guiding and moral luck are key objectives of virtue ethics. Adoption of this theory is beneficial for start-up because it allows them to reach its potential and provide the effective guidance. Additionally, by implementing this theory, start-up can make the moral decisions which eventually positively influence on the engagement of investors. Due to ethical dilemma, start-up faced issues of financial stress, job loss and potential poor conditions so this theory helps in making the informed and moral decisions. This virtue ethic theory helps in recognizing individuality and fosters optimism. Furthermore, golden mean and imagination are considered as two significant principles of virtue ethics that encourages organizations to use in ethical dilemmas (Garcia, 2020). To solve ethical issue of environmental violation, start-up focused on both principles. Moreover, golden mean is significant approach of ethics that focuses on determining suitable medium or middle ground between extremes. On the other hand, in the context of virtue ethics, moral imagination is foreseeing the various possibilities in specific circumstances in order to solve the issues.

After you’ve finished, find a colleague. Outline your analysis to them. Did you do it correctly? What is missing? Do you have the insights required by the CRA for the grade you are after? If not, what’s missing?

Don’t be afraid to re-think your dilemma and analyses at this point.

Step 5: Consider the case, and draw your conclusions

Ok, so you have a correctly analysed ethical dilemma. The final step prior to writing is to draw your conclusion. Have a good look at the CRA here. It’s more than saying “I would recommend doing X”. Yes, you need to do that (provide a clear conclusion). But your final position and/or recommendations need to be persuasive and logically derived from the analysis that comes before. That tight linkage is what separates the Credits (5) from the High Distinctions (7).

My clear conclusion is greenwashing is considered as one of the common ethical dilemma in which start up engaged. This ethical dilemma leads to financial stress due to deny of accepting funds, financial stress and job losses. Utilitarian, Kantian and virtue ethics are significant frameworks that helps in overcome the impact of ethical issue on business. and I would recommend that to avoid the greenwashing start-up need to be honest with audience and set realistic goals. Adoption of these strategies are beneficial because it helps in attracting customers towards the eco-friendly products and report to eliminate under-delivering ambitious initiatives

Step 6: Outline your paper

If you’ve selected your dilemma, undertaken three analyses and considered what you are going to recommend, you are ready to begin drafting your case study. A rough rule of thumb is that you should write around 25-50% more in the first draft than you do in the final draft. In the final stage (refining your paper) you’re going to edit – which means throwing away the stuff that is bad or doesn’t make sense. That means it is easier if you begin with more than you need.

For this piece, you have 1,500 words (around 6 pages double-spaced 12 point font) so you should plan on writing 2,000 – 2,400 words in your first rough draft (around 8-10 pages).

The first draft involves the most difficult part of writing – organising your work to date into an overall structure or outline. To keep this under control, you should have an outline of around 10-12 points. Any more and it is likely you are working at the wrong level of analysis here.

Here’s an example of a first draft outline from an entirely different field.

Imagine I had been asked to use two Strategic Analysis tools to analyse a business. There is a 1,000 word limit for the piece and the CRA for this topic provides 60 marks divided as follows

• 10 marks for explaining and justifying the choice of business;
• 15 marks for each framework (total 30 marks);
• 20 marks for identification of actions and conclusions.

I’ve decided on my case (Circ de Solei) and my frameworks (Porter’s five forces and the Resource Based View (RBV) of the Firm). Here is my first cut of the outline, where I’m aiming to get an outline point for each 200 words of the essay:

Case Analysis: Application of two strategic analysis tools to Cirque du Soleil.

• What is Cirque du Soleil (CdS)?
• Why did I choose it?
• Framework 1: What is Porter’s five forces?
• What insights does Porter’s five forces provide to CdS
• Framework 2: What is the Resource Based View (RBV) of the firm?
• What insights does the RBV provide to CdS?
• Synthesis of analysis – key insights put together
• Resulting actions for CdS.
• Conclusion – what Circ de Solei should do based on analysis

In the next stage, I’m going to decide how much space I have for each section and begin to flesh out the outline. To do that, I need to understand the CRA – so look at the emphasis in the application of the marks outlined above. Most of the marks (20) are about the conclusions and actions. There aren’t many marks (10) for explaining and justifying the case. Also, the CRA will emphasise that more marks in any area are given for deeper or more novel analysis compared with regurgitation. That means the CRA will likely say that. I get more marks for justifying the choice of case rather than describing it.

So now my second outline becomes:

• The case
  • What is Cirque du Soleil? (4 marks)
  • Why did I choose it? (6 marks)
• Framework 1:
  • What is Porter’s five forces? (5 marks)
  • What insights does Porter’s five forces provide to CdS (10 marks)
    • Application of framework
    • Implications for CdS
  • Framework 2:
    • What is the Resource Based View (RBV) of the firm? (5 marks)
    • What insights does the RBV provide to CdS? (10 marks)
      • Application of framework
      • Implications for CdS
    • Implications
      • Synthesis of analysis – key insights put together (8 marks)
        • Similar insights
        • Different insights
        • Overall synthesis
      • Resulting actions for CdS. (8 marks)
        • Actions arising from insight 1
        • Actions arising from insight 2
      • Conclusion (4 marks)

Changing this to words so that I can get the balance of the assignment right, the outline becomes (assuming around 100 words per paragraph):

• The case (200 words)
  • What is Cirque du Soleil (1 paragraph)
  • Why did I choose it? (1 paragraph)
• Framework 1 (350 words):
  • What is Porter’s five forces? (1 paragraph)
  • What insights does Porter’s five forces provide to CdS (3 paragraphs)
    • Application of framework
    • Implications for CdS
  • Framework 2 (350 words):
    • What is the Resource Based View (RBV) of the firm? (1 paragraph)
    • What insights does the RBV provide to CdS? (3 paragraphs)
      • Application of framework
      • Implications for CdS
    • Implications (400 words)
      • Synthesis of analysis – key insights put together (2 paragraphs)
        • Similar insights
        • Different insights
        • Overall synthesis
      • Resulting actions for CdS. (200 words)
        • Actions arising from insight 1
        • Actions arising from insight 2
      • Conclusion (1 paragraph)

Note: I understand that this is 1,300 words – but that is around 25% over the word limit which was my aim.

Ok, so now it’s your turn. Write around 10-12 topic sentences for your outline

Step 7: Drafting

7(a) First draft

If you’ve selected your topic, done your analysis, considered the implications and developed an outline, you’re now in a position to begin writing based on the notes you have been making as you have carried out the previous steps.

You are beginning with a series of topic sentences that you can develop into paragraphs. As you commence writing, you might decide that you need to add to or re-arrange topics from the outline. You might also find it useful to add more subdivisions or dot points to outline what you are going to say in each paragraph. But just start writing.

If you’ve done the hard work of analysis and planning, this should be relatively easy. Don’t worry too much about formatting, spelling or grammar at this stage. For most people, its best just to get a first rough draft down. You might even find it easier if you set yourself a goal – writing 250 words in 30 mins, say. If you get stuck on a point, move on and circle back later. Within about 3-4 hours of solid work you should have the first rough cut of the assessment.

7(b) Second Draft

Now, the real work begins – editing and refining your ideas. Here is a technique that, although it sounds laborious, works. Copy your first paragraph here:

Your First Paragraph........

I’m going to play along, so you can see the technique. Here’s a paragraph from a website on critical thinking (http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/critical-thinking-identifying-the-targets/486) :

The goal of this chapter is to set out clearly what critical thinking is in general and how it plays itself out in a variety of domains: in reading, in writing, in studying academic subjects, and on the job. Richard Paul and Jane Willsen provide down-to-earth examples that enable the reader to appreciate both the most general characteristics of critical thinking and their specific manifestations on the concrete level. It is essential, of course, that the reader becomes clear about the concept, including its translation into cases, for otherwise she is apt to mis-translate the concept or fail to see its relevance in a wide variety of circumstances.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now put carriage return between each sentence. Here is the technique applied to my paragraph.

The goal of this chapter is to set out clearly what critical thinking is in general and how it plays itself out in a variety of domains: in reading, in writing, in studying academic subjects, and on the job.

Richard Paul and Jane Willsen provide down-to-earth examples that enable the reader to appreciate both the most general characteristics of critical thinking and their specific manifestations on the concrete level.

It is essential, of course, that the reader becomes clear about the concept, including its translation into cases, for otherwise she is apt to mis-translate the concept or fail to see its relevance in a wide variety of circumstances.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, write another version of your sentence underneath each sentence.

The goal of this chapter is to set out clearly what critical thinking is in general and how it plays itself out in a variety of domains: in reading, in writing, in studying academic subjects, and on the job.

This chapter aims to define what we mean by critical thinking and how it applies across a variety of domains, namely reading, writing, academic study and at work.

Richard Paul and Jane Willsen provide down-to-earth examples that enable the reader to appreciate both the most general characteristics of critical thinking and their specific manifestations on the concrete level.

The authors provide practical examples that allow the reader to understand both the general characteristics of critical thinking and how it is applied in real life.

It is essential, of course, that the reader becomes clear about the concept, including its translation into cases, for otherwise she is apt to mis-translate the concept or fail to see its relevance in a wide variety of circumstances.

Clarity around the concept of critical thinking and its application ensures the reader is less likely to misunderstand the concept and/or underappreciate the variety of possible applications.

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Now compare:

The goal of this chapter is to set out clearly what critical thinking is in general and how it plays itself out in a variety of domains: in reading, in writing, in studying academic subjects, and on the job. Richard Paul and Jane Willsen provide down-to-earth examples that enable the reader to appreciate both the most general characteristics of critical thinking and their specific manifestations on the concrete level. It is essential, of course, that the reader becomes clear about the concept, including its translation into cases, for otherwise she is apt to mis-translate the concept or fail to see its relevance in a wide variety of circumstances. [108 words]

This chapter aims to define what we mean by critical thinking and how it applies across a variety of domains, namely reading, writing, academic study and at work. The authors provide practical examples that allow the reader to understand both the general characteristics of critical thinking and how it is applied in real life. Clarity around the concept of critical thinking and its application ensures the reader is less likely to misunderstand the concept and/or underappreciate the variety of possible applications. [81 words]

Notice how much shorter and clearer the second paragraph is? It’s reduced by around 25%. Notice how each word is trying to be more precise and target what the writer was saying. It is far harder to use simple language to clearly convey your meaning than to use a thesaurus to try and impress the reader.

So the overall aim of this exercise is to make your sentences (and so paragraphs):

• Shorter
• Simpler
• More precise

If in doubt, read your writing aloud. If it doesn’t sound correct, it probably isn’t. Re-write it.

If you are dedicated, undertake this process one or two more times.

7(c) Revise the structure

Ok, so you’re on your third or fourth draft and things are looking good. Now, look at the order of the paragraphs you have. Given the editing, things might be out of kilter. Re-order to make sure that your argument makes sense.

Step 8: Refine your paper

Don’t congratulate yourself yet. You’re not finished if you want a GREAT paper because there’s one more step you could take.

Without looking at your paper, draft down a new outline – the 10-12 points setting out your key argument. Insert them here:

Can you cut and paste your essay into this structure? What’s missing? What’s superfluous? Make the changes necessary and go back to step 7 with the latest version to tidy up any disconnects.

You should be looking pretty good here.

Step 9: Re-boot

If you really want to refine your essay: Repeat Step 8, preferably after a few days.

Step 10: Proof read and citations

Use spellcheck. Read the paper aloud. Have someone else (not another student) proof read it. Use the cite-write guidance to construct your reference list.

You’re done.

Congratulations.

References:

1. Camenzind, S. (2021). Kantian Ethics and the Animal Turn. On the Contemporary Defence of Kant’s Indirect Duty View. Animals, 11(2), 512.
2. de Freitas Netto, S. V., Sobral, M. F. F., Ribeiro, A. R. B., & Soares, G. R. D. L. (2020). Concepts and forms of greenwashing: A systematic review. Environmental Sciences Europe, 32, 1-12.
3. Garcia, J. L. (2020, July). Virtues and principles in biomedical ethics. In The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy: A Forum for Bioethics and Philosophy of Medicine (Vol. 45, No. 4-5, pp. 471-503). US: Oxford University Press.
4. Rostbøll, C. F. (2021). Kant and the critique of the ethics-first approach to politics. In Facts & Norms (pp. 55-70). Routledge.
5. Savulescu, J., Persson, I., & Wilkinson, D. (2020). Utilitarianism and the pandemic. Bioethics, 34(6), 620-632.
6. Seele, P., & Schultz, M. D. (2022). From greenwashing to machinewashing: a model and future directions derived from reasoning by analogy. Journal of Business Ethics, 178(4), 1063-1089.
7. Slote, M. (2023). Agent-based virtue ethics. In Philosophical Essays East and West: Agent-Based Virtue Ethics and other topics at the intersection of Chinese thought and Western analytic philosophy (pp. 83-95). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.
8. Tseng, P. E., & Wang, Y. H. (2021). Deontological or utilitarian? An eternal ethical dilemma in outbreak. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(16), 8565.
9. Yang, Z., Nguyen, T. T. H., Nguyen, H. N., Nguyen, T. T. N., & Cao, T. T. (2020). Greenwashing behaviours: Causes, taxonomy and consequences based on a systematic literature review. Journal of business economics and management, 21(5), 1486-1507.

Online

Fisher, A., and Dimmock, M., 2022. Kantian ethic theory. Online. Available through: < https://open.library.okstate.edu/introphilosophy/chapter/kantian-ethics/>

[1] If you are wondering why the University policy is Word limit +10%, rest assured it mystifies me too. It means the real word limit is (obviously) 1815 words.

[2] Again, why the University has a policy of a “no application required” 48 hour extension is beyond my understanding. It means the real deadline for a no-penalty assessment is Thursday, 22 August.