According to the textbook, the current world economy is increasingly becoming integrated and interdependent; as a result, the relationship between business and society is becoming more complex. Use the Internet to research a Fortune 500 company of your choice and submit a four to six (4–6) page paper.

1. Specify the nature, structure, and types of products or services of your company, and identify two (2) key factors in the organization’s external environment that can affect its success. Provide explanation to support the rationale.
2. Suggest five (5) ways in which the primary stakeholders can influence the organization’s financial performance. Provide support for the response.
3. Specify one (1) controversial corporate social responsibility concern associated with your company.
4. Submit a reference page with at least four (4) quality references that you have used for this presentation / paper.
   Note: Wikipedia and other websites do not qualify as academic resources.

If you choose the written paper, your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

1. Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
2. Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Analyze the relationship between business and society, and the ways in which they are part of an interactive system.
• Recommend ways stakeholders can influence the destiny of both business and society.
• Analyze the various primary and secondary stakeholder groups, their roles, and relationships.
• Compare and contrast the concepts of corporate social responsibility and citizenship.
• Analyze ways ethical challenges affect the multiple functions of business.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in business and society.
• Write clearly and concisely about business and society using proper writing mechanics.
  • Video Explaining Nexis Uni
• Mergent Online – This has company info on both public and private companies. Fortune 500 can be public or private. Mergent is known for financial and accounting info, but also has qualitative information too. They offer news feeds, country reports on business environments, industry-wide reporting, company reports, and Annual Reports—the middle 3 are unique to this database. Starting with looking at a company’s annual report would be very useful for this assignment. Industry reports would also be useful to see if your company is involved in any industry-wide initiatives or is notable in its industry in any way (could be good or bad.)
  • Library Databases – Mergent Online
  • Company Research – Annual Reports and 10-Ks
  • Company Research – Industry Reports
• American City Business Journals – This is probably the most fun way to read business news by metro area. They have over 35 journals based around US cities. Look up the metro area your company is associated with, go to ACBJ, then choose the applicable city, and search for news articles.
• Research Starters are like the academic version of Wikipedia. Search on a topic to get an overview with links to other information within that topic. It will help you get ideas for keywords for your own searches and what you need to know in order to successfully write your paper.
  • Research Starters – Business
  • Library Databases – Research Starters