HIGHER EDUCATION PROGRAMMES
Academic Year 2025: January - June
Summative Assessment 2 (SA2): Business Ethics (HBMN201-1)
NQF Level: 6, 16
Weighting: 10%
Assessment Type: Research Essay
Educator: Nomasonto Mbanga
Examiner: Nomasonto Mbanga
Due Date: 6 June 2025
Total: 20 Marks
Instructions:
1. Summative Assessment 2 (SA 2) must be submitted on the 06th of June 2025.
2. The essay must be a minimum of 600 (six hundred) words and should not exceed
800 (eight hundred) words.
3. The essay structure must be as follows:
● Cover Page:
o Name
o Surname
o Student Number
o Name of your Support Centre (i.e., Boston, Braamfontein)
● Introduction: Tells the reader what the essay is about.
● Body / Main Content: Is based on research and relates to the essay question or
topic that has been set.
● Conclusion: Is a summary of what has been covered in the essay; it may also
include suggestions/recommendations.
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● Reference list (not included in the word count): the Harvard Referencing Method
must be adhered to with regard to in-text citations and the reference list. Please
make sure you read and adhere to Boston's Harvard Method of Referencing: A
Beginner's Guide when referencing, as well as The Beginners Guide to Plagiarism,
both are available in the HE Library module on ColCampus.
4. The essay must be typed using the following format settings only:
● Font: Arial
● Font Size: 12
● Line Spacing: 1.5
5. For this assessment, the following must be adhered to:
● Bachmann, R., Ehrlich, G., Fan, Y., Ruzic, D. & Leard, B. 2019. Firms and
Collective Reputation: a Study of the Volkswagen Emissions
Scandal. National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved from
https://www.nber.org/papers/w26117 [Accessed 3 September 2024]
● Li, M., Trencher, G. & Asuka, J. 2022. The clean energy claims of BP,
Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell: A mismatch between discourse, actions
and investments. PLOSS One, 17(2),: Retrieved from
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0263596&tr
k=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_x-social-details_comments-action_comment-
text [Accessed 3 September 2024]
● Nwilo, P.C. & Badejo, O.T. 2006. Impacts and management of oil spill
pollution along the Nigerian coastal areas. Administering Marine Spaces:
International Issues, 2019(119):1-15. Retrieved from
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=%E2%97%8F
%09Nwilo%2C+P.C.+and+Badejo%2C+O.T.%2C+2006.+Impacts+and+ma
nagement+of+oil+spill+pollution+along+the+Nigerian+coastal+areas.+Admi
nistering+Marine+Spaces%3A+International+Issues%2C+119%2C+pp.1-
15&btnG= [Accessed 3 September 2024]
• Academic sources and accessing credible e-Resources:
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Not all sources/texts can be classified as academic sources. Wikipedia, for example,
is not a credible academic source since authors are not identifiable, and editing an
article on this site is very easy. Also, blog posts often provide valuable information
but are not academically sound. To judge whether a source is credible, consider the
following criteria:
• The author should be identifiable through author information, affiliations, and/or
qualifications.
• An academic source has usually been peer-reviewed.
• Academic textbooks or academic journals should be published by a recognised
authority/publisher like a university, an academic publishing house, a research
organisation, etc.
• A list of references should be present, that is, full citations for sources used.
Thorough reference to research is a crucial characteristic of legitimate academic
work.
6. You must make use of the Boston Harvard Method of Referencing. Refer to the
examples of referencing below:
Book, single author:
Holt, D.H. 2017. Management principles and practices. Sydney: Prentice-Hall.
Book, 2 or 3 authors:
McCarthy, E.J., William, D.P. & Pascale, G.Q. 2017. Basic marketing. Cape Town:
Juta.
Book, more than 3 authors:
Bond, W.R., Smith, J.T., Brown, K.L. & George, M. 2016. Management of small
firms. Sydney: McGraw-Hill.
Book, no author:
Anon. 2009. A history of Greece. Athens: Cengage.
eBook:
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Case, J., Marshall, D. & McKenna, S. 2018. Going to university: The influence of
higher education on the lives of young South Africans [E-book]. Cape Town:
African Minds. Retrieved from https://www.africanminds.co.za/wp-
content/uploads/2017/06/9781928331698_web.pdf [Accessed 3 June 2019].
Academic journal article with one author:
Waghid, Y. 2019. On the polemic of academic integrity in higher education. South
African Journal of Higher Education, 33(1):1–5.
Academic journal with 2 or more authors:
Waghid, Y. & Davids, N. 2019. On the polemic of academic integrity in higher
education. South African Journal of Higher Education, 33(1):1–5.
Newspaper article from a webpage:
Motshwane, G. 2019. A missed opportunity: Shakes slams Bafana's Afcon plans.
Sowetan Live, 7 June. Retrieved from
https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/sport/soccer/2019-06-07-a-missed-opportunity-
shakes-slams-bafanas-afcon-plans/ [Accessed 8 June 2019].
Court case:
Gold Circle (Pty) Ltd v Maharaj (1313/17) [2019] ZASCA 93 (3 June 2019).
Web-based images (figures, graphs, maps, artwork):
Boston City Campus & Business College. 2019. Welcome [Image]. Retrieved from
https://www.boston.co.za/ [Accessed 3 June 2019].
Music or recording:
Makeba, M. 1960. The Click Song [Recording]. YouTube. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg4Fp-A7IRw [Accessed 8 June 2019].
Chapter in an edited book (collected work):
Velez, C. 1978. Youth and ageing in Central Mexico. In B. Myerhoff & A. Simic
(eds.). Life′s career-ageing: Cultural variations on growing old. San Francisco, CA:
Sage, 107–162.
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7. Boston expects you to approach your work with honesty and integrity. Honesty is
the basis of respectable academic work. Whether you are working on a formative
assessment, a project, a paper (read at a conference), an article (published by a
journal), or a summative assessment essay, you should never engage in plagiarism,
unauthorised collaboration (collusion), cheating, or academic dishonesty.
8. Plagiarism occurs when a writer duplicates another writer's language or ideas and
then calls the work their own. Simply put, plagiarism is academic fraud. This includes
the 'copy and paste' of work from textbooks, study guides, journal articles, etc.
9. To obtain maximum results, please consult the rubric included in this brief to ensure
that you adhere to and meet all the given criteria.
10. A Copyleaks Report will be issued via ColCampus once the assignment is
submitted. Please ensure that you follow the correct steps when uploading your
assignment, to ensure that the Copyleaks Report is correctly issued. If the incorrect
document is uploaded, or if no Copyleaks Report is issued, or if the Copyleaks
Report indicates that a 30% similarity/plagiarism score has been exceeded, a mark
of zero (0) will be awarded.
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Question 1 [20 Marks]
The impact of corporate business on the environment
Businesses primarily exist to meet the needs and wants of customers. In turn, customers are
prepared to exchange money for the products or services they desire from a business.
Businesses use the revenue from these transactions to improve the lives of their employees,
stakeholders, and their operations.
However, some businesses focus too much on revenue generation, resorting to exploiting
their employees by making them work long hours for minimum wage. There are also instances
of businesses defrauding their stakeholders, and an increasing trend of businesses acting
unethically towards the environment.
The King Report III and King Report IV on Corporate Governance in South Africa dictate that
businesses must not generate profit at the environment's expense. Consequently, businesses
have to look after the environment through Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives.
Source (Adapted):
Albrecht, F. 2023. Ethics and sustainability not (yet) top concerns of SA Business.
ColdLinkAfrica, 1 May. Retrieved from https://coldlinkafrica.co.za/ethics-and-sustainability-
not-yet-top-concerns-of-sa-business/ [Accessed 3 September 2024].
Required:
Based on the provided text and necessary sources, critically analyse the unethical business
practices of a company of your choice. Further elaborate on how the company prioritised
profit maximisation at the expense of ethical practices, such as environmental sustainability.
Additionally, suggest a strategy to address this unethical issue.
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Compulsory sources to be used:
Copy and paste the article details provided into Google Scholar search; then click on [PDF]
• Bachmann, R., Ehrlich, G., Fan, Y., Ruzic, D. & Leard, B. 2019. Firms and Collective
Reputation: a Study of the Volkswagen Emissions Scandal. National Bureau of Economic
Research. Retrieved from https://www.nber.org/papers/w26117 [Accessed 3 September
2024]
• Li, M., Trencher, G. & Asuka, J. 2022. The clean energy claims of BP, Chevron,
ExxonMobil and Shell: A mismatch between discourse, actions and investments. PLOSS
One, 17(2),: Retrieved from
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0263596&trk=article-
ssr-frontend-pulse_x-social-details_comments-action_comment-text [Accessed 3
September 2024]
• Nwilo, P.C. & Badejo, O.T. 2006. Impacts and management of oil spill pollution along the
Nigerian coastal areas. Administering Marine Spaces: International Issues, 2019(119):1-
15. Retrieved from
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=%E2%97%8F%09Nwilo
%2C+P.C.+and+Badejo%2C+O.T.%2C+2006.+Impacts+and+management+of+oil+spill
+pollution+along+the+Nigerian+coastal+areas.+Administering+Marine+Spaces%3A+Int
ernational+Issues%2C+119%2C+pp.1-15&btnG= [Accessed 3 September 2024]
The following learning outcomes are assessed in this assessment:
• Identify prominent and ongoing ethical issues within the business environment.
Note to students: Refer to the below grading rubric, provided to ensure maximum marks!
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CRITERIA: 0-1 2 3-4 5-6
THEORY Demonstrates poor Demonstrates average Demonstrates very good Demonstrates excellent knowledge
knowledge of theory knowledge of theory knowledge of theory of theory regarding the
regarding global regarding global regarding global characteristics of an ethical
considerations for ethical considerations for ethical considerations for ethical business.
business business business
0-1 2-3 4-5 6-7
APPLICATION, Answer reflects a poor Answer reflects an average Answer reflects a very good Answer reflects an excellent
INTEGRATION & display of putting forth an display of putting forth an display of putting forth an display of putting forth an argument
ARGUMENT argument by way of poor argument by way of an argument by way of a good by way of an excellent combination
combination of theory, average combination of combination of theory, of theory, integration, and
integration, and justification. theory, integration, and integration, and justification. justification.
justification.
- No analysis of - A very good analysis - Excellent analysis of the
unethical business - Partial analysis of is made of the unethical business
practices of a chosen unethical business unethical business practices of a chosen
company. practices of a practices of a chosen company.
- No, further chosen company. company. - Excellent elaboration on
elaboration on how - Partial elaboration - Very good how the company
the company on how the elaboration is made prioritised profit
prioritised profit company prioritised on how the company maximisation at the
maximisation at the profit maximisation prioritised profit expense of ethical
expense of ethical at the expense of maximisation at the practices, such as
practices, such as ethical practices, expense of ethical environmental
environmental such as practices, such as sustainability.
sustainability. environmental environmental - Additionally, a strategy to
- No suggestion of a sustainability. sustainability. address this unethical
strategy that will - A strategy to - Additionally, a issue is suggested.
address this address this suggestion for a - All three factors are
unethical issue. unethical issue is strategy to address discussed.
- None, of the factors not fully suggested. this unethical issue is
are discussed. - One factor is made.
discussed. - Two factors are
discussed.
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0-1 2 3 4
ESSAY Poorly laid out document Average layout of document Very well laid out document Excellently laid out document with
STRUCTURE with a poor sense of logic, with a sense of logic, and with a sense of logic, and a sense of logic, and sense-making
Required and not sense-making to the sense-making to the reader. sense-making to the reader. to the reader.
components: reader.
(introduction, body, An average argument only A good argument that A convincing argument, and the
conclusion, reference A poor argument that includes two (2) to three includes four (4) of the essay is well-organised. Ideas are
list, and appropriate includes one (1) to two (2) (3) of the following required following required arranged logically and flow
word count) of the following required components (introduction, components (introduction, smoothly, with a strong progression
components (introduction, body, conclusion, reference body, conclusion, reference of thought from paragraph to
body, conclusion, reference list, and appropriate word list, and appropriate word paragraph. Includes all required
list, and appropriate word count). count). components (introduction, body,
count). conclusion, reference list, and
Minor errors in grammar, Some errors in spelling, appropriate word count).
Various errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, usage, grammar, punctuation,
punctuation, spelling, usage, and/or formatting. usage, and/or formatting. Free from grammar, punctuation,
and/or formatting. spelling, usage, or formatting errors
0 1 2 3
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REFERENCING / Poor/No referencing Boston Harvard referencing Adherence to the prescribed Excellent utilisation of the
ACADEMIC throughout. method used in some Boston Harvard method, prescribed Boston Harvard method
INTEGRITY sections, some referencing minor referencing errors of referencing.
No adherence to the errors evident. evident.
prescribed Boston Harvard Evidence of the two compulsory
referencing method. Evidence of at least one of Evidence of the two sources (in-text referencing and in
the compulsory sources is compulsory sources (in-text the reference list).
No evidence of any of the evident. referencing and in the
two compulsory sources. reference list). Evidence of at least one additional
source (in-text referencing and in
the reference list) is evident.
Total: /20
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