Question.3507 - Overview:   For over a decade, businesses have wrestled with the notion of "going woke" and profitability.  Companies like Pepsi, Disney, Netflix and Target have experienced significant declines in profitability and negative impacts on their public image among large consumer groups by going woke.  Other entrepreneurs and investors like Mark Cuban reject the notion that going woke means going broke.  (See NY Post article from June 2023 regarding Mark Cuban's claimsLinks to an external site.).  Most recently, issues concerning transgender customers and their needs have surfaced in business boardrooms and entrepreneurs "enlightened" efforts.  This HW assignment will require you to critically consider the practical challenges and costs of "social justice" in a business setting from an executive-level vantage point.Objectives:  Introduce students to executive-level decision-making and multiple factors that are involved in that decision-making process. Provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Learn about the importance of a Corporate Mission Statement and the concept of "ROI" or "return on investment."  Assignment:  As the CEO of Lord Berkeley Corp., a Virginia company that owns and operates two dozen retail department stores in competition with Kohl's, Macy's and others on the East Coast from Florida to New York, you must decide the question of transgender bathroom access in your stores.  The Company's Mission Statement is as follows:    "Lord Berkeley Corp. is committed to building a family of the world's best fashion brands offering captivating customer experiences that drive long-term loyalty and deliver sustained growth for our shareholders."  In response to a shareholder's recent request, you decided to appoint a panel of your corporate executives to make a credible recommendation on this matter.  At the present time, your stores provide public access to separate men's and women's restrooms, as well as separate fitting rooms for men, women, boys and girls.  No significant complaints have arisen in the past from such an approach. You are, however, open to the idea suggested by the shareholder but are not certain what a revised company policy might look like, the business costs and impact involved in expanding bathroom access or whether there is even a need to change the current policy.  Before submitting this matter to your Executive Committee for consideration, you decided to write an introductory memo to the Committee that identifies five factors that you deem most important for their consideration.   Draft a short business memo (max. 2 pages) that provides this instruction and guidance to your Executive Committee to ensure that they will be considering the most relevant factors in sufficient detail to ensure that they can make a credible, practical business recommendation to you on your transgender shareholders demand for transgender customers' right to use the rest room of choice in your department stores.  You are well aware that the company's Board of Directors and its shareholders will critically examine and respond to any decision that you might make in this regard.

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