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Essay Available:
Pages:
10 pages/≈2750 words
Sources:
5 Sources
Style:
Harvard
Subject:
Business & Marketing
Type:
Essay
Language:
English (U.S.)
Document:
MS Word
Date:
Total cost:
$ 43.2
Topic:

Learning Journal and Reflective Essay. What is CSR?

Essay Instructions:

This assessment task has been designed to allow you to develop and record your own individual learning
and personal reflection throughout the semester in two ways. First, in the form of a learning journal and,
second, a reflective essay. Both are to be completed individually.
(Part A) A (reflective) learning journal (10%)
You are required to regularly record your learning journey through the course this semester. It is suggested
that this is completed at least every 1-2 weeks. It is important that this journal is reflective, and not
descriptive. That is, the journal should not simply record what you have read or been taught that week, but
also show the development of your thoughts and ability to apply concepts and theory to your own
experiences and additional research through the semester.
In the reflective journal you may like to consider the following:
• Which case studies or examples most/least resonated with you and why?
• Which aspects of the material did you find most challenging, surprising, exciting and/or
frustrating?
• What additional research have you done, and what has it made you think about?
• What has or hasn’t changed in your understanding?
• How has what you have learned helped you understand your own experiences differently?
There is a strict maximum word limit of 1500 words for this part of the assessment. That is, you should
aim for each of your journal entries to be approximately 250-300 words. There is no minimum word count
for the learning journal.
Any external resources you use in your learning journal should be properly referenced using the Harvard
referencing style, as outlined by ANU.
(Part B) A reflective essay (10%)
You are also required to prepare a reflective essay on your learning in the course over the semester, which
responds to a set question:
‘What is the most important thing you have learned about corporate social
responsibility in the course? Why is this important to you?’
As for the learning journal, the essay should focus on reflection rather than description. This means that
you need to show that you are thinking critically (deeply) about your learning and experience within the
course rather than providing a description of the topics that have been covered. The learning journal should
provide you with a starting point for identifying and explaining what the ‘key thing’ you identified is.
Writing a reflective essay is about you. In this instance, it calls for you to revisit your prior experience (e.g.,
life, work) and knowledge of corporate social responsibility and to understand how you think about the
concept now, given what you are learning in the course. Having an overall key message will help you to
structure your reflective essay. Maintaining the learning journal required in Part A will assist you in
identifying your key message.
The following prompts may also help you to develop your overall key message (note that this is a process
to help you be reflective and does not provide the recommended structure for your reflective essay):
1. Revisit your views on corporate social responsibility prior to undertaking BUSN3017. What
was your previous understanding of CSR and how did you arrive at those ideas?
2. Reflect on the extent to which this understanding and knowledge of corporate social
responsibility has changed.
3. Indicate key sources of change. That is, which specific concepts, theories, examples of
corporate behaviour, or social issues sparked a change or has deepened your understanding
about corporate social responsibility? How have they changed your understanding?
4. Consider the implications of your learning. How might your learning in the course shape your
views or actions in the future? Why is this insight valuable to you?
There is a strict maximum word limit of 1000 words for this part of the assessment. There is no minimum
word count for the reflective essay.
You should use external references to support your arguments. Ensure they are properly referenced using
the Harvard referencing style, as outlined by ANU

Essay Sample Content Preview:

LEARNING JOURNAL AND REFLECTIVE ESSAY
NAME
INSTRUCTOR
Learning Journal and Reflective Essay
Part A
What is CSR?
The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one that I was not entirely familiar with until I encountered it in this business studies unit. The lecture first created a difference between a corporation and the shareholders or the investors. These two are different entities whose existence interdepend on one another. Whereas the shareholders are interested with the profits from their investments and the corporate being a different entity it creates a conflict in the balance of interests between the two (Tilt, 2016). The enterprise should not only focus on satisfying the needs of the investors but also its workforce and the overall business environment. This brings in the concept of corporate social responsibility which is defined as a business model that is self-regulating and enables businesses to manage their processes in such a manner that positively impacts the entire society.
One most outstanding example is the case of Ok Tedi Mine in Papua New Guinea which released a lot of untreated waste to the environment. This case opened up my mind on the concept of global warming and its tremendous effects in society. The number of deaths associated with release of the waste was way far too much than the taxes that the company paid to government. We keep talking about environmental conservation, lectures after lecture, conference after conference, summit after summit discussing the same issue but here we are with such a case. It begs the question on the seriousness of humanity in living a free environment that does not only misuse other people or the environment at the expense of making profits. The concept led me to the issues discussed by renown economists Karl Marx and his Marxism theories. According to Marxism theory, the capitalists will utilize the proletariats maximally irrespective of what happens to them ( Kołakowski, 2005 ). Their main interest is the money that they make out of such investments and do so little about the livelihoods of the rest of the people. Have people become so inhuman at the expense of destroying not only the environment but the lives of other human beings?
Ethical Theories
Lecture three on ethical theories presented a very challenging concept of human reasoning that has been a point of dilemma in my life at some point. Consequentialist and deontological reasoning were the most interesting aspects of this lecture. Whereas deontological reasoning looks at the overall ethics, rules and regulations, the consequalist is guided by the desire to reduce magnitude of the consequences. The example about a child working in a company explained this concept very well. The conclusion was that whereas it is morally wrong for the child to work in a company, consequentialists look at the other existing factors such as the environment and what would happen if the child stops working for the company.
These type of reasoning applies in everyday life especially in an environment that is economically strained. For instance, in a country whose economy is struggling, most children drop out of school to fend for themselves. Whereas education is important, it is not more imp...
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