BUSI 360 Week 7 Discussion Board Forum 4 Thread Example

Reviewed by Thomas Kerrigan, MBA, CPA · Liberty University · Updated

This BUSI 360 Week 7 sample thread takes up Forum 4's question on ethics in global operations by asking how a multinational can actually improve working conditions at the overseas factories that make its products. It argues that factory audits alone change little, and that lasting improvement comes when buyers help suppliers manage production better and reward them for it. Two studies of Nike's supply chain carry the argument, one finding that monitoring alone produced limited gains and one finding that suppliers who adopted lean manufacturing had fewer labor violations, along with the course reader and a warning from Jeremiah against making a neighbor work for nothing. For BS in Business Administration students, the last researched thread in Liberty University BUSI 360 is worth 60 points.

CourseBUSI 360 Contemporary Issues in International Business (BUSI360)
Module/Week7
AssignmentDiscussion Board Forum 4 Thread
Paper typeDiscussion thread
Lengthabout 334 words (thread and replies). Course guide: a thread of at least 300 words in college-level writing with at least 4 references cited and recapped at the bottom in current APA format
FormatAPA 7 citations and reference list
Points60
SchoolLiberty University Online
ProgramBS in Business Administration
Where it sitsModule/Week 7 in Liberty's published BUSI 360 course guide; current sections can differ
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for BUSI 360 Week 7

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Discussion Board Forum 4 Thread: Ethics and Global Operations

BUSI 360 Contemporary Issues in International Business, Discussion Board Forum 4 Thread

Thread by [Student Name]

The thread answers a composite version of the forum prompt; the textbook, research and Scripture cited are real.

Why this part earns its pointsThe thread answers first and then compares two studies of the same company, which isolates what worked.
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Factory audits alone do little to improve conditions in global supply chains; lasting improvement comes when buyers help suppliers manage better and reward them for it.

The course reader describes growing pressure on multinationals to answer for conditions at the suppliers that make their products (Maidment, 2013). The usual response has been codes of conduct enforced by audits. Locke et al. (2007) examined years of Nike's own factory audit data and found that audits by themselves brought only small and inconsistent gains. Conditions were better at suppliers with stronger management and closer, longer relationships with Nike, which suggests that inspection identifies problems more than it fixes them. Factories also learned to prepare for audits, so a clean report did not always mean clean conditions on ordinary days.

A later study of the same company points to a more promising approach. Distelhorst et al. (2017) found that suppliers that adopted lean manufacturing, with training and support from Nike, subsequently had fewer labor standard violations, particularly on wages and working hours. Better production planning reduced the rush orders and disorganization that push factories into excessive overtime. The improvement did not extend to every category of standard, which is a reminder that lean is a tool, not a cure. Many labor abuses are management failures, and they respond to better management more than to more inspections.

Why this part earns its pointsThe practical paragraph turns the two studies into a buyer's decision about where to spend.
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The lesson for a buyer is practical. Audits should continue, but money is better spent helping suppliers improve production planning, paying fair prices that allow legal wages, and giving more orders to suppliers that improve. Buyers should also look at their own behavior, since last-minute design changes and order spikes can push a factory into the overtime they later condemn.

Scripture warns, woe to him who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing and does not give him his wages (English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2016, Jeremiah 22:13). A company that profits from distant labor shares responsibility for how that labor is treated, even when the workers are employed by someone else.

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References

Distelhorst, G., Hainmueller, J., & Locke, R. M. (2017). Does lean improve labor standards? Management and social performance in the Nike supply chain. Management Science, 63(3), 707-728. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2015.2369

English Standard Version Bible. (2016). Crossway. (Original work published 2001)

Locke, R. M., Qin, F., & Brause, A. (2007). Does monitoring improve labor standards? Lessons from Nike. ILR Review, 61(1), 3-31. https://doi.org/10.1177/001979390706100101

Maidment, F. H. (Ed.). (2013). Annual editions: International business. McGraw-Hill.

What the BUSI 360 Week 7 instructions ask

Units 4 and 5 of Maidment's Annual Editions, with their overviews and articles 30, 32 and 35 through 38, form the reading for Module/Week 7, together with one presentation; the final forum's thread is the module/week's graded work. The rules have not changed since Forum 1: pick prompt A or B, write past 300 words in polished prose, cite four or more sources where they are used, list them under the post in APA style and draw on the assigned videos. Replies follow in the final week, two of 150 words or more with two citations apiece, and they land beside the 220-point paper, so finishing the thread well now frees time for that paper.

How this BUSI 360 Week 7 example is built

An answer comes first: audits alone are not enough. The thread uses the course reader to set up corporate responsibility in global supply chains, then presents the two Nike studies in sequence, the first showing the limits of monitoring and the second showing what helped. The contrast leads to a practical recommendation for buyers: invest in suppliers' management systems and reward improvement with orders. Jeremiah's warning supplies the biblical standard. Four references are recapped at the bottom in APA format. Using two studies of the same company lets the thread compare approaches without the noise of different industries, a choice worth explaining in the post.

BUSI 360 Week 7 grading rubric: where the points go

Grading for Forum 4 repeats the earlier forums. The post must answer its chosen prompt with research and the assigned materials, read as polished college writing, reach 300 words, and carry four sources cited in its sentences and gathered in an APA list underneath. On an ethics prompt, instructors value threads that move beyond condemnation to evidence about what works. Threads that propose a realistic strategy for a company, supported by research, fit the course's goal of developing strategic responses to global issues. Accurate reporting of studies, including what they did not find, strengthens credibility. Scripture that speaks directly to the treatment of workers fits the topic well.

BUSI 360 Week 7 help: mistakes that cost points

Turn the ethics prompt into a practical question: what actually improves conditions, not just whether conditions are wrong. Look for empirical studies of supply chain monitoring and supplier programs in management and industrial relations journals. Report what each found and what it did not. Recommend a strategy a buyer could adopt, with its costs. Use the assigned Annual Editions articles on corporate responsibility or global operations. Add Scripture on the treatment of workers and connect it to the recommendation. Put the source list under the post in APA style and read the thread aloud once to catch awkward sentences. Studies of a single company, like those of Nike's suppliers, can be powerful if you explain how their findings might apply more broadly. Check each company claim against its source.

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BUSI 360 Week 7 questions, answered

What is the BUSI 360 Forum 4 thread?

The fourth and last thread, 60 points, answering one of two prompts on global operations or ethics in 300 words or more with four cited sources.

Where can I find a free BUSI 360 Week 7 sample paper?

This page contains a full BUSI 360 Week 7 thread on raising labor standards in global supply chains, drawing on two studies of Nike's suppliers and on Scripture.

Do factory audits improve working conditions?

A study of Nike's suppliers found monitoring alone produced limited improvement; conditions improved more where suppliers had better management systems and closer relationships with the buyer.

Can lean manufacturing improve labor standards?

A study of Nike's supply chain found suppliers that adopted lean manufacturing with Nike's support had fewer labor standard violations, suggesting better management can improve conditions.

What else is due in BUSI 360 Module/Week 7?

Only the thread is graded; reading covers Units 4 and 5 of Maidment's Annual Editions and one presentation, with the research paper due next.

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