Baylor University Football Team Scandal essay

CSUEB, Fall 2018
Bus. #320 – Bus. and Professional Ethics
Instructor: Tod Zuckerman
22 September 2018

PREPARING YOUR TERM PAPER and GRADING MATRIX

Topic

Baylor University Football Team Scandal: In 2016, newspaper reports alleged that university administrators failed to take action concerning alleged rapes and other criminal acts committed by members of Baylor’s football team. Ultimately, this scandal led to the firing of the head football coach (Art Briles), other members of the football program, the forced resignations of Baylor’s president (Ken Starr) and athletic director (Ian McCaw), and the resignation of Baylor’s Title IX Coordinator(Patty Crawford). Also, one ex-player was convicted of sexual Page 6 of 37 assault and sentenced to 20 years for each of his two convictions, and three more are awaiting trial. Finally, in March 2017, several alleged victims sued the university – they claim that from 2011-2014, at least 31 players were involved in at least 32 rapes.

Baylor University Football Team Scandal essay

Requirements

A. Well-Sourced Thesis: The paper has a well-sourced (discussed below) thesis aka proposition. For instance, your thesis might be that the subject organization experienced an ethical scabdal because its middle managers were untrained to spot ethical issues. Or , perhaps, it was because the organization had no rational approach to making ethical decisions. There can be many different theses – you need to pick one.

B. Proper Structure. You have heard this before ( I am sure), but it bears repeating: “Organization is half the battle.” The following are the five essential elements of a term paper.

Title page: It should include the following: Title of the paper, name of student-author, instructor’s name, due date, and name of course

Introduction In one-three paragraphs, present your thesis (e.g., balance billing in the medical profession is unethical), and describe the goal(s) of your paper. That is, tell me what you intend to prove, and the way(s) you will achieve this/these goal(s). For instance, “by discussing real life examples and hypotheticals, I will illustrate that balance billing in the medical field is inherently unethical.”

Main body. This is, of course, the “middle” of your paper. It will comprise, by far, the biggest part of your document. This is where you should present your facts, and explain your points and opinion(s). Also, this part contains citations to your sources. To repeat, you must use APA citation style format – please see the example I will post in Course Materials in the next few days.

Conclusion: At the end of the discussion, there is a summary of the student’s arguments/opinions. Please remember, you must base everything you say in the conclusion on the facts (evidence) that you presented in the main body.

Baylor University Football Team Scandal essay

Reference Page: Here is where you will list all of your sources: You will provide the name of the authors, the year of publication of their books/articles, and the page number from where you cited the information.

C. APA Format: The School of Business requires this. Therefore, again, please see the example that I will post on Blackboard.

D. Length:The minimum length is five pages – exclusive of the title and reference pages.

E. Emphasis: Regarding the substance of your paper, I am interested in not only what happened but why it happened. As I have explained in class and in the course syllabus, I am not a psychologist , sociologist, or philosopher I am also neither an economist nor a management expert. However, I have been a lawyer since1980 and based on this experience – plus what I have read to teach this course – I think the why concerns organizational culture.

A white-collar criminal defense counsel (who is an ex-prosecutor), Larry Thompson, defined organizational culture as follows: The way “companies develop their own methods that guide employees’ thoughts and actions.” Thompson added that this “culture is a web of attitudes and practices that tends to replicate and perpetuate itself beyond the tenure of any individual manager.” Regarding the cases /topics that you chose, that culture – more than likely – was defective/deficient and probably bred wrongdoing ( what academics call malfeasance). (Of course, an organizational culture could encourage respect for law and ethics, but just a few of you will select a positive story – my guess is that 90% of you will write about ethical scandals) Therefore, as indicated, please include in your paper some discussion on what was/were the organizational defect(s) that caused the scandal.

Baylor University Football Team Scandal essay

F. Discuss the Stages of Moral Development, the Six Major Ethical Theories, and Ethical Role Models.
We have already studied Kohlberg’s stages of moral development. In Chapter 5, we will consider rational ethical decision-making. Part of this topic concerns the six major ethical theories. From the bottom to the top of the moral ladder, they are as follows:
Egoism, Social Group Relativism, Cultural Relativism, Utilitarianism, Deontology, and Virtual Ethics. Then, in Chapter 9, we will cover managers as ethical leaders and role models. Included in our review of this subject will be William Tolbert’s management role model typology. Tolbert (a well-known management consultant) devised his typology based on Kohlberg’s six stages of moral development. According to Tolbert, there are six kinds of managers. Again, from the bottom to the top of the ethical climb, they are as follows:Opportunist, Diplomat, Technician, Avhiever, Strategist, and Magician.
At the end of your term paper (the final section), please discuss the organization’s stage(s) of moral development, its ethical theory(ies), and (based on Tolbert’s typology) what kind of managers led the organization.

II
Grading Matrix/Grading Rubric

A. 100-90 Points (Grades A+, A, A-)

A very well organized paper, with coherent and accurate content: This means the student based his/her points/arguments on well-documented sources . Also, spelling and grammar mistakes are either non-existent or minimal. Finally, the student clearly tried to comply with APA style.

Baylor University Football Team Scandal essay

B. 89-80 Points ( Grades B+, B. B-)

The paper is relatively well-organized. It is coherent, flows well, and contains mostly accurate information. However, the paper is lacking/limited in analysis/critical thinking, observations, and sources. Additionally, it may reveal an insufficient effort to adhere to APA style. Lastly, it does not contain too many grammar and spelling errors.

C. 79-70 Points (Grades C+, C, C-)

The paper’s thesis is not well -presented. Too much repetition of sources, and insufficient development of the argument. Not enough analysis/critical thinking:Just a description of the issue(s) via too few sources. Also, organization (structure) is deficient, and may include too many grammar and spelling errors.

Baylor University Football Team Scandal essay

D. 69-60 Points ( Grades D+, D, D-)

The student-author fails to discuss the thesis coherently. Poorly written: The structure is inadequate. The paper reveals an insufficient understanding of the topic, or, perhaps, minimum effort. Additionally. the paper is riddled with grammar and spelling errors. Typically, D level papers are poorly sourced – few concrete facts and include unverified opinions and/or phony quotes from unreliable sources.

F. 59 Points or Fewer ( Grades F+, F, and F-)

The student-author decided to turn in a paper devoid of even basic organization and content. Alternatively, the paper was plagiarized or not even submitted. If this is you, you will not pass the course.

Need help with a similar assignment?