Individual Modules

Schedule by Weeks

Week 1 (Aug. 23 & Aug. 25)

Topic
Orientation to the Course

Overview

Readings

Activities and Assignments
You will need to sign on the WebBoard this week. For your initial posting, I would like each of you to discuss experience with community involvement. What have your experiences been in the past? What kinds of experiences would you like to have in the future? I would also like you to read through the syllabus. On the basis of this reading, articulate your own conception of what this course is about.
Due: Post to WebBoard no later than midnight Thursday, Aug. 25.

Week 2 (Aug. 31 & Sept. 2)

Topic
The Economic Nation

Overview

This week we examine the history of economic nationalism in the United States. This will give us an historical perspective from which to understand the economic, social, and political changes that Reich discusses later on in the text. In particular, we examine two debates: the nineteenth century debate on the establishment of tariffs and the twentieth century debate on the role of the big corporation in American life. Both debates witnessed the triumph of enlightened self-interest. In both, short-term interests were rejected in favor broader objectives that would benefit the country at large

Readings
Reich, 3-69

Activities and Assignments
Part 1: The year is 1957. You have named as CEO of a major American corporation. You are slated to give a speech to upper management within your corporation on your vision of how your corporation ought to function internally and what its role in broader community ought to be. As you think about this speech, consider what the key formative experiences of corporate executives must have been. These would include the Great Depression, the New Deal, the rise of organized labor, World War Two, and the post war economic boom. The speech should be both about making money and the serving the broader community.
Due: Post to WebBoard no later than midnight Thursday, Sept. 2.

Part 2: Follow up activity: read at least two other speeches and post comments on how well you thought the speech represented the attitudes of corporate executives during this period in history.
Due: Post to WebBoard no later than midnight Monday, Sept. 6.

Week 3 (Sept. 7 - Sept. 9)

Topic
The New Economy

Overview

Many commentators like to say that the 25 years following World War Two was the golden era of American Capitalism. Corporations made good profits. Routine production workers earned higher wages and more generous benefit packages. It seemed as if a middle class lifestyle was in the range of most people. And then, during the 1970s, the American economy began to experience intense competition from East Asia and Europe. Corporations had to dramatically restructure themselves in order to restore their profitability. What did this restructuring entail? How did the resulting form of business enterprise differ from the "classical" corporation of mid-century? Corporations exist, in large part, to make money. How did the whole mechanism for making money change from the post-World War Two period to the present? What kind of world have these changes given rise to?

Readings
Reich, 69-118

Economist, "Welcome to the Global Factory"

Activities and Assignments
Meet Bill Smith, the guy you are replacing at American Corporate Dinosaur (ACD). Smith had risen through the ranks to take the top post at ACD. He presided over the long boom of the 50s and 60s. As trouble started in the 70s, Smith tried cutting labor costs and appealing to government for market protection. He succeeded in both endeavors, but ACD's profit margins continued to slide anyway. Clearly desperate, the corporate has hired you as a consultant. Your task is to explain why Smith's efforts came up short and then to propose your own restructuring plan for ACD. This plan should cover internal organizational change and changes in the manufacturing process.

Pay particular attention to the concepts discussed in Reich and The Economist's Survey on Manufacturing, among them high value vs. high volume production, the diffusion of ownership and control, global webs, lean production, and supply chains.

Due: Post to WebBoard no later than midnight Thursday, Sept. 9.

Due next Tuesday, Sept. 14: Community Involvement Proposal

Week 4 (Sept. 14 - Sept. 16)

Topic
The Normative Foundations of Business
Due (9/14) : Community Involvement Proposal

Overview

As corporations restructured, they broke with the tenets of the old social contract between workers, corporations, and government. The debate about the role of corporations in American life resurfaced. We will review this debate by viewing a segment of Michael Moore's documentary, Roger and Me. In it, General Motors decides to close several of its plants in Flint, Michigan, causing 30,000 workers to lose their jobs. In the film Moore engages in a comic and ultimately futile quest to talk to Roger Smith, GM's CEO, about the impact of his decision on Flint. The Harvard Business School's case study, The Normative Foundations of Business offers an overview of the normative arguments on the role that corporations should play in the United States.

Readings
Harvard School of Business Case Study, "The Normative Foundations of Business"

Activities and Assignments
Armed with the case study and Roger and Me, you will assess the restructuring plans drawn up last week. Pick a plan that you did not work on. Discuss the grounds on which this restructuring plan would be considered just or proper. Then discuss the grounds on which this plan would be considered unjust. Finally, discuss your own response to these arguments. What do you think is right and/or wrong about the plans you reviewed?
Due: Post to WebBoard no later than midnight Thursday, Sept. 16

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Topic	Orientation to the Course
Overview
Readings
Activities and Assignments	You will need to sign on the WebBoard this week. For your initial posting, I would like each of you to discuss experience with community involvement. What have your experiences been in the past? What kinds of experiences would you like to have in the future? I would also like you to read through the syllabus. On the basis of this reading, articulate your own conception of what this course is about. Due: Post to WebBoard no later than midnight Thursday, Aug. 25.

Topic	The Economic Nation
Overview	This week we examine the history of economic nationalism in the United States. This will give us an historical perspective from which to understand the economic, social, and political changes that Reich discusses later on in the text. In particular, we examine two debates: the nineteenth century debate on the establishment of tariffs and the twentieth century debate on the role of the big corporation in American life. Both debates witnessed the triumph of enlightened self-interest. In both, short-term interests were rejected in favor broader objectives that would benefit the country at large
Readings	Reich, 3-69
Activities and Assignments	Part 1: The year is 1957. You have named as CEO of a major American corporation. You are slated to give a speech to upper management within your corporation on your vision of how your corporation ought to function internally and what its role in broader community ought to be. As you think about this speech, consider what the key formative experiences of corporate executives must have been. These would include the Great Depression, the New Deal, the rise of organized labor, World War Two, and the post war economic boom. The speech should be both about making money and the serving the broader community. Due: Post to WebBoard no later than midnight Thursday, Sept. 2. Part 2: Follow up activity: read at least two other speeches and post comments on how well you thought the speech represented the attitudes of corporate executives during this period in history. Due: Post to WebBoard no later than midnight Monday, Sept. 6.

Topic	The New Economy
Overview	Many commentators like to say that the 25 years following World War Two was the golden era of American Capitalism. Corporations made good profits. Routine production workers earned higher wages and more generous benefit packages. It seemed as if a middle class lifestyle was in the range of most people. And then, during the 1970s, the American economy began to experience intense competition from East Asia and Europe. Corporations had to dramatically restructure themselves in order to restore their profitability. What did this restructuring entail? How did the resulting form of business enterprise differ from the "classical" corporation of mid-century? Corporations exist, in large part, to make money. How did the whole mechanism for making money change from the post-World War Two period to the present? What kind of world have these changes given rise to?
Readings	Reich, 69-118 Economist, "Welcome to the Global Factory"
Activities and Assignments	Meet Bill Smith, the guy you are replacing at American Corporate Dinosaur (ACD). Smith had risen through the ranks to take the top post at ACD. He presided over the long boom of the 50s and 60s. As trouble started in the 70s, Smith tried cutting labor costs and appealing to government for market protection. He succeeded in both endeavors, but ACD's profit margins continued to slide anyway. Clearly desperate, the corporate has hired you as a consultant. Your task is to explain why Smith's efforts came up short and then to propose your own restructuring plan for ACD. This plan should cover internal organizational change and changes in the manufacturing process. Pay particular attention to the concepts discussed in Reich and The Economist's Survey on Manufacturing, among them high value vs. high volume production, the diffusion of ownership and control, global webs, lean production, and supply chains. Due: Post to WebBoard no later than midnight Thursday, Sept. 9. Due next Tuesday, Sept. 14: Community Involvement Proposal

Topic	The Normative Foundations of Business Due (9/14) : Community Involvement Proposal
Overview	As corporations restructured, they broke with the tenets of the old social contract between workers, corporations, and government. The debate about the role of corporations in American life resurfaced. We will review this debate by viewing a segment of Michael Moore's documentary, Roger and Me. In it, General Motors decides to close several of its plants in Flint, Michigan, causing 30,000 workers to lose their jobs. In the film Moore engages in a comic and ultimately futile quest to talk to Roger Smith, GM's CEO, about the impact of his decision on Flint. The Harvard Business School's case study, The Normative Foundations of Business offers an overview of the normative arguments on the role that corporations should play in the United States.
Readings	Harvard School of Business Case Study, "The Normative Foundations of Business"
Activities and Assignments	Armed with the case study and Roger and Me, you will assess the restructuring plans drawn up last week. Pick a plan that you did not work on. Discuss the grounds on which this restructuring plan would be considered just or proper. Then discuss the grounds on which this plan would be considered unjust. Finally, discuss your own response to these arguments. What do you think is right and/or wrong about the plans you reviewed? Due: Post to WebBoard no later than midnight Thursday, Sept. 16