ethics and governance.

Individual Assignment (30%, 2,500 words)

The Royal Commission into misconduct in the banking, superannuation and financial services industry

The Royal Commission into misconduct in the banking, superannuation and financial services industry (commonly referred to as the Hayne Royal Commission) has recently published its final report, which is compelling reading for any person with an interest in ethical and fair business conduct. 

The Hayne Royal Commission is the latest in a long line of royal commissions, enquiries, Congressional hearings and other reports into "businesses behaving badly", both here and overseas. As you have probably guessed by now, unethical behaviour is not a new phenomenon in the conduct of business. For this assessment, you will be required to read parts of the Final Report of the Royal Commission and evaluate it using the knowledge of business ethics you will learn in this unit. You can find the Royal Commission's final report at: https://financialservices.royalcommission.gov.au/Pages/reports.aspx#final. 

Required Reading

At a minimum, you must read the following sections of the final report:

· Volume One:

· Part 1: Introduction

· Section 1.1

· Section 1.2

· Section 1.3

· Section 1.5

· Part 2: Banking

· Sections 2.1–2.7 (pp. 60–84)

· Volume Two (Case Studies):

· Case Studies: Insurance - Freedom (pp. 302–317).

These readings give you an overview into the reasons for the Royal Commission and some of the unethical practices that the Royal Commission found. In particular, the banking and insurance readings will bring to your attention the problems found in the practices of using mortgage brokers. This is an issue that the Royal Commissioner often returns to in his report. 

In this assignment, you will use a theory of ethics and APES 110 to evaluate different sections of this report. 

What you must do:

1. Evaluate what you have read and select one theory of ethics from Modules 1 and 2 that best explains the Royal Commissioner's response (as recorded in Volume 1). There are many applicable theories, but select one theory and explain why and how this theory offers a good explanation of what is happening. To do this, you should:

1. Explain the theory, and

2. Use this theory to explain what the Royal Commissioner is saying.

2. Using your knowledge of APES 110 from Modules 4 and 5, read the designated section from Volume Two of the Royal Commission's final report (the Freedom Insurance case study). Assume you are a member of CPA Australia, so that APES 110 applies to you. Using Part A and Part C of APES 110 as your guide, explain why you should have an ethical issue with Freedom's expectations of its agents to use aggressive and inappropriate sales tactics. Explain the safeguards that are available to you using APES 110.

You must submit:

You must submit an individually written report in the following format:

1. Title Page

2. Executive Summary

3. Introduction

4. Report of a maximum of 2,500 words, consisting of:

1. Your use of a theory of ethics, and

2. Your evaluation of the ethical issues associated with Freedom Insurance.

5. Conclusion

6. References

A note concerning referencing:

You must use the American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style. You must reference all of your references, every time you use them.

Penalties of up to 5 marks may be deducted for poor referencing. Suspected plagiarism will lead to your assignment being reported for misconduct. 

Rubric

Key Criteria	Exceeds expactations (HD) 85–100%	Exceeds expectations (D) 75–84%	Meets expectations (C) 65–74%	Meets minimum expectations (P) 50–64%	Below expectations (F) < 50%
Organisation/structure(6 marks)	The ideas are arranged in an extremely logical, structured and coherent manner. The introduction and conclusion clearly set out what is covered in the report.	The ideas are arranged in a fairly logical, structured and coherent manner. The introduction and conclusion indicate what is covered in the report but not in a clear and succinct manner.	The ideas are arranged in a logical, some-what structured and coherent manner. The introduction and conclusion give a basic overview of what is in the report.	The report follows a basic structure, but the reader has to work hard to understand it.	There is little, if any, coherent structure to the document.
Content knowledge & literature review (28 marks)	Demonstrates a balanced and very high level of detailed knowledge of core concepts by providing a very high level of analysis. Utilises current, appropriate and credible sources.	Demonstrates a balanced and high level of knowledge of core concepts by providing a high level of analysis. Utilises mostly current, appropriate and credible sources.	Demonstrates a good level of knowledge of some of the core concepts by providing some level of analysis. Utilises some current, appropriate and credible sources.	Demonstrates limited knowledge of core concepts by providing a limited level of analysis. Utilises few current, appropriate and credible sources.	Demonstrates little, if any, knowledge of the core concepts with extremely limited, if any, analysis. Utilises little, if any, current, appropriate and credible sources.
Quality of writing & presentation (6 marks)	Quality of writing at a very high standard. Paragraphs are coherently connected to each other. Correct grammar, spelling and punctuation.	Quality of writing is of a high standard. Paragraphs are mostly well structured. Few grammar, spelling and punctuation mistakes.	Quality of writing is of a good standard. Few grammar, spelling and punctuation mistakes.	Some problems with sentence structure and presentation Frequent grammar, punctuation and spelling mistakes. Use of inappropriate language.	Quality of writing is at a very poor standard so barely understandable. Many spelling mistakes. Little or no evidence of proof reading.