‘The US government’s response to the global financial crisis was to prop up some of the key financial institutions stating that they were “too big to fail” because such failures would have extremely serious consequences for the economy and society at large.
Research newspaper articles and present a summary of what measures the US government took to protect these financial institutions. Provide examples.
Explain and critically analyse both the shareholder and stakeholder models of corporate social responsibility. Can the US government’s actions be justified from either (or both) of these models? Consider both short and long-term consequences of this government intervention.
Conclude whether the action taken by the US government is best for society?’

The Global Financial Crisis of the last few years has caused widespread problems for the US government, who were forced to spend billions of (taxpayer) dollars bailing out many of the world’s largest top banks. While a controversial decision, the US government acted on the belief that these institutions were ‘too big to fail’ and their collapse would have far reaching consequences that could have lead to a much dire situation. Throughout this essay, the causes and effects that lead to the GFC and the need for a bank bailout, along with what exactly it entailed will be presented. Then, the US governments’ response in bailing out the banks will be analysed using both a Stakeholder and Shareholder model of Corporate Social Responsibility. Their decision will attempt to be justified against these models by examining both the long and short term effects of the government intervention and conclude whether or not the action taken by the US government was in the best interests of society at large.

The global financial crisis of the 21st century was a phenomenon that deeply affected the world and in particular the