Marcy is a senior manager at Soulful Sisters Ltd. (SS), a retail outlet that designs and sells clothes to younger women and teenage girls. SS's factory is located in Cambodia. When recently visiting the factory on outskirts of Phnom Penh, Marcy hears about protests occurring outside the factory. Local rights activists were protesting against environmental damage to the local waterways and exploitation of children for labour. Marcy had read about this type of thing in the news, but did not expect that her own company was involved in such practises. After investigating the situation further, she finds that the factory is using old technology in its processes which is harming the environment.It is also apparent that very young girls (under 16) are working in the factory. She is conflicted about the situation because she understands that SS's profit margins are dependent on the low cost of production (the reason the factory was located in Cambodia). She calls her direct manager about the situation, who tells Marcy to just ignore it, and that 'it is just the way things are'. Marcy is not comfortable with this approach.

Imagine that you work for Global Compact Network Australia, and are presenting to small to medium size businesses (SMCs) in Melbourne. Drawing on your experience and understanding of the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact, how would you advise Marcy about her situation. More specifically, which Principles would you advise Marcy pay specific attention to, when Marcy asks you how she should approach the situation with their factory.

Please cite specific aspects of the principles in your advice. (5 marks)

Note: Research is required for this scenario. The course materials WILL NOT be sufficient to complete an answer for this scenario because of the global perspectives component, which is not taught formally.This particular question students to recognise that international legal standards have a bearing on commercial practises in Australia.

Apply IRAC in your anwer:

Issues: Identify the issues (main issues and sub issues) arising from the facts. To highlight that you are aware of the key issues in a question, you should raise these at the beginning of the answer. Stating the relevant issues clearly and simply at the outset will indicate to the examiner that you have a good understanding of the issues to be discussed.

Rule: Once the essential issues have been identified, it is then necessary to identify the relevant law (legislation and cases) to solve the problem.

Application: Your primary task in answering a law exam question is to apply the law you have studied to a particular set of facts. In answering questions, you should avoid re-stating the facts. Marks are not awarded for repeating the facts. They are awarded for answering the question. As a general rule, you should only refer to facts when discussing them in the context of the relevant law.

Always support your arguments with references to the relevant law. You should state the legislative sections and names of the case law that are applicable.

It is not enough to simply state the principles of law that are relevant to an exam question. It is necessary to apply these principles of law to the facts of the problem. State how the law may/may not apply to the facts and identify any similarities to previous cases or points of difference.

Present a balanced and objective argument- you should explain alternative sides to an argument in your answer.

Conclusion- Be sure to provide a balanced view and a reasoned conclusion which is consistent with the views put forward in your arguments relating to the application of the law. The conclusion should be brief and to the point and should directly answer the question posed