CORPORATE CONSPIRACIES

MINIMUM LENGTH: 2000 words, including abstract
Citation Format: MLA or similar style
35 points
“The chief problem of the financial crisis is that it has made inequality systematic and created two political systems, one for Wall Street and one for everybody else, a financially torturable class.” (Taibbi, Griftopia, p. 264).
Topic, Thesis & Abstract
TOPIC: Select a recent corporate and/or government scandal (after 2000), and write an analysis explaining events, conspirators and other stakeholders, impact on victims, consequences for perpetrators, and preventing such events in the future. Students may not write about Enron; see the Sample Student Paper in Module 3: “George W and Kenny Boy: How Big Government Made Enron.” Instead, focus on one major scam or “grift”; you may select a topic from the Module 3 web links in Canvas, or from your own preliminary research.
THESIS should revolve around whether and how such a scam can be prevented, or its impact lessened, in the future.
TITLE MUST BE a two-part, academic title: a combination of abstract and descriptive language separated by a colon, to both engage and inform the reader.
ABSTRACT of about 300 words, which counts towards the essay’s 2000-word minimum, must appear, labeled, on page one. Consult the UNC Writing Center handout and follow the directions for crafting an “informative” abstract. (Links to an external site.)
Source Requirements
At least 6 valid sources (including one graphic) are required in total. In the body of the paper, Students must use in-text (parenthetical) citation to acknowledge the authors of quotes and paraphrased information as they are introduced in the body of the paper.
Students are encouraged to begin research at the Cabrillo Library’s (Links to an external site.)online databases of articles and E-books (Links to an external site.). Start in General/All Subjects with “Academic Search Complete” and then try Business Source Elite for more expert analysis.
Look for industry trade publications like Businessweek, the Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, and Investor’s Business Daily for more in-depth, expert reporting.
Avoid sources designed to lure customers. Investment sites like The Balance.com and The Motley Fool offer superficial, and sometimes biased, coverage of business stories with intent to lure potential customers.
Documentaries can be excellent or sketchy, depending on the agenda and expertise of its creators–scrutinize and verify any facts shared from one. Images and video are easily doctored.
No general knowledge sources (no Wikipedia, Ask.com, Infoplease, Webster’s Dictionary, encyclopedia, Questia, Bartleby, etc.).
No more than one print book may be included as a source.
Preparing & Submitting the Essay
Build on the questions below to help plan your essay. Do not simply answer these questions in a list but, rather, adapt them as needed to your chosen scandal, event, or conspirators. There may be more to say about one element than another.
When and where and how did the grift work?
Who were the alleged or proven perpetrators?
Who are the other stakeholders (people affected), narrowly and more broadly?
Who was impacted the worst by the scheme, and what did they lose?
What was the cost involved and who paid for it? What, if anything, has been restored to them?
What was the role of the government in this situation (officials, regulators, agencies, etc.)?
How have the perpetrators been punished, if at all?
What do you think these scandals say about corporate culture?
What steps need to be taken to prevent this from happening again?
Are there any current examples of something similar going on?
Take an objective tone. From beginning to end,
DO NOT refer to yourself directly (no “I,” “me,” “we” statements) or describe your research process, and
DO NOT speak directly to the reader (no “you,” “your/you’re” statements).
Maintain your thesis or opinion throughout, whether the focus is on inadequate consequences for the perpetrators, or necessary regulations or other measures to prevent future occurrences.
Submit the paper using the last link in Module Three. PDF format is best to retain all formatting.
Submitted essays will be automatically scored by VeriCite, software that scans for copied language from online and other sources and assigns a “Plagiarism Score.” VeriCite is not 100% reliable, but it is a helpful tool for you and me to see how closely you are paraphrasing from your sources (or whether you are neglecting to acknowledge them). Students are invited to “pre-submit” a near-final draft to check your VeriCite report and clean up citation before final submission (remember, the most recent version submitted is graded.

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