Ashford 6: - Week 5 - Instructor Guidance Source: http://vivatlibertas.blogspot.com/2012/05/anti-consumerism.html SOC 120 Ethics & Social Responsibility Week 5 Guidance Source: http://kelceyxcaulder.wordpress.com/ 2013/02/11/time-warner-as-a-media-conglomerate/ Weekly Activities Here is what you will be doing this week: · Read Chapter 9 in the text: Product Liability and Corporate Responsibility · Post to Discussion Board 1 on Consumerism and Planned Obsolescence (due by Day 3, Thursday) · Post to Discussion Board 2 on Conglomerates and Market Domination (due by Day 3, Thursday) · Respond to two discussion posts by classmates in each discussion (by Day 7, Monday) · Final paper (due by Day 7, Monday) · Have a look at the grading rubric as you write the Final Paper to make sure you are addressing all the areas of concern Consumerism Much as the Globesity festival presents in its visual depiction, the US, along with many countries has an issue with consumerism. Consumerism is seen to be the rise of desire socially and economically to purchase products and services in ever increasing amounts, often far beyond individual need. Many have linked this to the rise in the middle class throughout the 19th and 20th century (Veblen, 1899; Farrell, 2005). The video above by Richard Wolff provides some background on how this issue, along with class, have significantly affected the economy, social systems, and social issues in the US. Consumerism is also linked to consumer activism in regards to environmental waste issues and product liability and design. Many social issues have been linked as an affect of consumerism: environmental waste issues, resource overuse and depletion, obesity and other public health issues, child labor, sweat shops, materialism, cult of celebrity and wealth, increased personal financial and mental health issues, planned design obsolescence, corporate and media influence, and increasing deviant behavior and consumption (pornography, prostitution, substance abuse) to name a few (Farrell, 2005). The ethical dilemmas of consumerism lay in the questions of: why do we design goods to fail?, why do we need and use so much?, and what impact does our over-need and over-use have on the environment, society and culture. To help explain Consumerism, here are some videos which may also be helpful in the discussions... Corporations In school, including college, you spend a lot of time learning about the structure and function of government―how the U.S. government is organized, what each of the three branches does, and even how your state and local governments function. You study how laws are created and how policies have affected your life. Interestingly, much less attention is paid to another large bureaucratic organization that today is in many ways as dominant as government, perhaps even more so in some cases. Unless you are a business major, you probably were never taught about the structure and function of large.

1. Ashford 6: - Week 5 - Instructor Guidance
Source: http://vivatlibertas.blogspot.com/2012/05/anti-
consumerism.html
SOC 120 Ethics & Social Responsibility
Week 5 Guidance
Source: http://kelceyxcaulder.wordpress.com/
2013/02/11/time-warner-as-a-media-conglomerate/
Weekly Activities
Here is what you will be doing this week:
· Read Chapter 9 in the text: Product Liability and Corporate
Responsibility
· Post to Discussion Board 1 on Consumerism and Planned
Obsolescence (due by Day 3, Thursday)
· Post to Discussion Board 2 on Conglomerates and Market
Domination (due by Day 3, Thursday)
· Respond to two discussion posts by classmates in each
discussion (by Day 7, Monday)
· Final paper (due by Day 7, Monday)
· Have a look at the grading rubric as you write the Final Paper
to make sure you are addressing all the areas of concern
Consumerism
Much as the Globesity festival presents in its visual depiction,
the US, along with many countries has an issue with

2. consumerism. Consumerism is seen to be the rise of desire
socially and economically to purchase products and services in
ever increasing amounts, often far beyond individual need.
Many have linked this to the rise in the middle class throughout
the 19th and 20th century (Veblen, 1899; Farrell, 2005). The
video above by Richard Wolff provides some background on
how this issue, along with class, have significantly affected the
economy, social systems, and social issues in the US.
Consumerism is also linked to consumer activism in regards to
environmental waste issues and product liability and design.
Many social issues have been linked as an affect of
consumerism: environmental waste issues, resource overuse
and depletion, obesity and other public health issues, child
labor, sweat shops, materialism, cult of celebrity and wealth,
increased personal financial and mental health issues, planned
design obsolescence, corporate and media influence, and
increasing deviant behavior and consumption (pornography,
prostitution, substance abuse) to name a few (Farrell, 2005).
The ethical dilemmas of consumerism lay in the questions of:
why do we design goods to fail?, why do we need and use so
much?, and what impact does our over-need and over-use have
on the environment, society and culture.
To help explain Consumerism, here are some videos which may
also be helpful in the discussions...
Corporations
In school, including college, you spend a lot of time learning
about the structure and function of government―how the U.S.
government is organized, what each of the three branches does,
and even how your state and local governments function. You
study how laws are created and how policies have affected your

3. life.
Interestingly, much less attention is paid to another large
bureaucratic organization that today is in many ways as
dominant as government, perhaps even more so in some cases.
Unless you are a business major, you probably were never
taught about the structure and function of large corporations.
But over the past two centuries, corporations have grown well
beyond mere economic actors, and have become central features
in civic life in the U.S. and many other countries―and today,
the list does not only include industrialized countries.
Moreover, the largest corporations have become dominant
actors on the global stage and in many ways the driving force
behind global social change.
For over three decades, sociologists have been interested in the
fact that corporations are growing, spreading around the world,
and some have become so large that the corporate economy is
roughly the same size as national states. See the list comparing
countries and corporations compiled by the Global Policy
Forum (2010):
http://www.globalpolicy.org/images/pdfs/Comparison_of_Corpo
rations_with_GDP_of_Countries_table.pdf
Note that comparing economic measures for corporations and
for countries is not an exact match, as they measure their
economic output in different ways, as explained by Tim
Worstall (2011) in Forbes magazine:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2011/06/28/gdp-for-a-
country-is-not-the-same-thing-as-turnover-for-a-business/
Nevertheless, we can see that corporations are significant
economic actors. And, another difference between corporations
and national states is that corporations generally are responsible
and accountable to their shareholders, while national states are
responsible and accountable to their citizens.
To better understand how corporate accountability, let’s look at
the structure of a corporation.
Corporate Structure

4. First of all, recognize that corporations are legal entities; they
are created by law, and chartered by a government entity. In
many countries, it is the national government that charters
corporations; in the U.S., corporations are chartered by state
governments. Laws in different jurisdictions differ slightly, but
in general, states offer charters to a variety of different types of
corporate entities: sole proprietorships, limited liability
companies, cooperatives, partnerships, and publically traded
corporations. We will focus on public corporations in this
analysis.
The graphic above illustrates the basic structure of a public
corporation. The corporation, as noted above, is chartered by a
government entity. The corporation is led by a Board of
Directors, which sets the policies and makes the most important
decisions about the corporation. The Board is something like a
legislative body in a government organization. The Board of
Directors includes “inside directors” and “outside directors”;
the outside directors are not actual employees of the
corporation, although they typically are remunerated for their
work. They sit on corporate boards to provide an objective
view, as a check on the activities of the corporate directors. The
head to the Board of Directors is known as the Chairman of the
Board.
A public corporation is owned by its shareholders. Anyone can
purchase stock in a corporation, and when you do, you become
one of the owners of the corporation. Most large corporations
have millions of shares in circulation, however. The rule is that
each share entitles a shareholder to one vote, so it takes
ownership of a lot of shares to have an influence on corporate
decisions (although ownership of as little as 5% of outstanding
shares can give one a controlling interest in a large company,

5. due to the dispersion of the shares). The shareholders elect the
Board of Directors.
The Board then names the corporation’s management team,
which is the corporate “executive branch.” The management
team consists of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who is
responsible for carrying out the Board’s policies; the Chief
Financial Officer (CFO), who is responsible for making sure
everyone gets paid, the corporation pays its taxes, and other
financial duties; and the Chief Operations Officer (COO), who
is responsible for ensuring the company runs smoothly on a
daily basis, and may oversee functions such as marketing,
personnel and sales. Larger corporations may have other
specialized functions on the management team, such as Chief
Information Officer or Chief Technology Officer. The
management team then directs the rest of the corporate
bureaucracy, vice presidents, division heads, and workers.
Note that in public corporations, there is a separation of
ownership and management. In private corporations, such as
partnerships, such a separation does not exist―the owners and
managers are the same people. Separating owners and managers
allows the management team to act as agents of sorts for the
interests of the shareholders, without any emotion or bias
entering into the equation. What might be some of the
advantages of such a structure?
Conglomerates
In today’s world, the notion of corporations as the largest
global entities is outdated. Today, truly, market power is
concentrated in the hands of large conglomerates, a type of
mega-corporation that owns and operates many corporations.
The names you are familiar with probably are parts of larger
conglomerates. For example, in the realm of media, ABC
Television, ESPN, stations such as the History Channel,
Lifetime, and A&E, Marvel Comics, the Industrial Light &
Magic special effects studio and Touchstone Pictures are all

6. owned by the Disney Company, along with several Disneyland
theme parks, many Disney Stores, numerous television and
motion picture production studios, television stations in major
markets around the world, book publishers, internet sites, cruise
lines and vacation resorts, music studios, and a number of
financial and property holding ventures (Walt Disney Company,
2013). These are more than just brand names owned by a
company; many of these came from independent corporations
which Disney purchased and consolidated into a large
conglomerate. For example, ABC used to be an independent
network, but Disney purchased ABC in 1996. Likewise,
Industrial Light & Magic used to be part of LucasFilm, started
by film director George Lucas. Disney purchased LucasFilm and
all of its holdings in 2012.
The Disney Corporation is not the only media conglomerate.
Time Warner, Inc. is another example. This company began as a
publishing company (Time magazine, Life Magazine, Sports
Illustrated, People magazine) and a movie studio (Warner
Bros.), which merged, and eventually purchased Turner
Broadcasting (TBS, TNT, CNN, Cartoon Network), and later
internet giant AOL. Some of these have been spun off into
independent companies, but Time Warner still owns many
brands, including HBO, Castle Rock and New Line Cinema
movies, Hanna Barbera animation, and numerous magazines and
television stations in the U.S. and overseas.
Conglomerates are not unique to the world of mass media.
There are a growing number of them worldwide, and many own
a variety of diverse corporate properties. Corporations and
conglomerates are important centers of power in the modern
world.

7. To help explain this ideas further, here are some videos which
may also be helpful in the discussions and final assignment...
References
Farrell, J (2005) Empire of Scrounge. NYU Press: New York.
Global Policy Forum. (2010). Comparison of the world’s 25
largest corporations with the GDP of selected countries (2010).
Retrieved from http://www.globalpolicy.org/images/pdfs/
Comparison_of_Corporations_with_GDP_of_Countries_table.pd
f.
Time Warner, Inc. (2013). Our content. Retrieved from
http://www.timewarner.com/our-content.
Veblen, T. (1899) The Theory of the Leisure Class: an
economic study of institutions. Dover Publications: Mineola,
NY.
Walt Disney Company. (2013). Company overview. Retrieved
from http://thewaltdisney company.com/about-disney/company-
overview
Worstall, T. (2011, June 28). GDP for a country is not the same
thing as turnover for a business. Forbes. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2011/06/28/gdp-for-a-
country-is-not-the-same-thing-as-turnover-for-a-business/.
The Sociology program hope you enjoyed this course and wish
you the best for the future!
Ashford 6: - Week 5 - Final Paper
Final Paper
In this course, you have looked at classical ethical theories of
utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics. You have also

8. examined different perspectives on ethical issues introduced by
relativism, ethical egoism, and emotivism. For this paper, you
will apply these theories and perspectives to a current issue.
Choose an ethical issue to write about. You may choose from
the list below or, with approval from the instructor, select a
different socially-relevant topic. It is recommended that you
choose a topic that you are familiar with or that you have some
interest in exploring further. For the purposes of this paper,
your topic should pertain to a current area of interest in the
news and/or government policy forums.
Possible Issues
· Corporate executive compensation
· Corporate contributions to political campaigns
· Human trafficking
· Mass incarceration and the prison industrial complex
· The media and their responsibilities
· Domestic surveillance
· Whistleblowing in government or in a business
· Religion in the workplace
· Ethical problems of gambling
· Progressive taxation rates
· Immigration reform in the U.S. and/or abroad
· Women’s equality
In your paper, you will apply ethical theories and perspectives
to the issue that you select. You do not have to use all six, but
you should apply at least two ethical theories and at least one
ethical perspective in your paper. Make sure that you write
primarily on ethical topics and concepts, aiming to be both
balanced and intellectually driven in your work. You may share
your personal views, but do not rely on opinions (yours or those
offered by others) to make your case. Think about the evidence
that helps to make your case and use it.
Address the following questions:
· What are the ethical issues?
· Where are there breaches of ethical behavior?
· How could each ethical theory you cite help people think

9. about what constitutes virtuous or ethical behavior?
The paper must be 1500-1800 words in length (excluding title
and references pages) and formatted according to APA style.
Excluding the textbook, you must use at least five scholarly
sources from the Ashford University Library to support your
claims. You can also use the Sociology Research Guide located
in the Ashford University Library. Cite your sources within the
text of your paper and on the reference page. For information
regarding APA, including samples and tutorials, visit the
Ashford Writing Center.
Click to view the Model of the Final Paper. Many students find
that this template is incredibly helpful while completing this
week's assignment.
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support you!
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·
The Final Paper
· Must be 1500-1800 words in length (not including title and
references pages), double-spaced, and formatted according to
APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. Be sure to
double-space your text and use one-inch margins.
· Must include a separate title page with the following:
· Title of paper
· Student’s name
· Course name and number
· Instructor’s name
· Date submitted
· Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct
thesis statement.

10. · Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
· Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
· Must use at least five scholarly sources from the Ashford
University Library.
· Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the
Ashford Writing Center.
· Must include a separate references page that is formatted
according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing
Center.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be
used to evaluate your assignment.
Late Policy: Written assignments (essays, journals,
presentations) are due on the specified days in the course.
Written assignments will be subject to a late penalty of up to
10% per day up to three days late. If written assignments are
submitted after 72 hours past the due date, instructors can give
a penalty up to and including a grade of 0 for the assignme