By the end of this course students should be able:
1. Students will be able to identify and state issues concerning business ethics.
2. Students will be able to summarize basic ethical theories and apply them to business issues.
3. Student will be able to discuss the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility and the concept of
stakeholders.
Key Topics and Learning Objectives
Topic 1 Introducing Business Ethics
Objective 1: Provide a basic introduction to, and definition of business ethics.
Objective 2: Present globalization as an important concept that represents a critical context for business ethics.
Objective 3: Present the `triple bottom line´ of sustainability as a key goal for business ethics.
Topic 2 Normative Ethical Theories
Objective 1: Discuss the role of normative ethical theory for ethical decision-making in business.
Objective 2: Provide a critical overview of Western modernist ethical theories, such as utilitarianism, ethics of duty, and
rights and justice. .
Objective 3: Discuss contemporary views on ethical theories for business such as virtue ethics, feminist/care ethics,
discourse ethics and postmodernism.
Topic 3 Framing Business Ethics
Objective 1: Analyze the idea of responsibility as it applies to corporations
Objective 2: Distinguish the various concepts of corporate social responsibilities (CSR).
Objective 3: Present the stakeholder theory of the firm as a key concept in business society relations.
Topic 4 Making Decisions in Business Ethics
Objective 1: Examine the question of why ethical and unethical decisions get made in the workplace.
Objective 2: Discuss the importance of differences between individuals in shaping ethical decision-making, comparing
demographic, cultural, experiential, cognitive and imaginative aspects.
Objective 3: Evaluate the importance of situational influences on ethical decision-making delineating between issuebased
and context-based.
Objective 4: Identify points for managing and improving ethical decision-making in business.
Topic 5 Managing Business Ethics
Objective 1: Identify why firms increasingly manage their overall social role rather than focusing primarily on just
managing the ethical behavior of employees.
Objective 2: Discuss the tools that can be used for managing business ethics.
An ongoing discussion and analysis of online videos from `Justice´ by Dr. Michael Sandel Harvard University
will provide a backdrop to the question `What´s the right thing to do?´
The course will consist of a mixture of lectures, videos, case analyses, readings and class discussions. We will
be doing a bit of `blended learning´ through 2 online courses. 1) `Justice´ by Michael Sandel of Harvard
University 2) `New Models of Business in Society´ by Edward Freeman of University of Virginia.
The lectures will be analysis and expansion of the required videos and readings. To understand these
concepts, it is essential that required readings be completed on time. Participative in class discussions is a
major aspect of this course.
There are 5 requirements to pass this course:
(1) Attendance accounts for 10% of your final grade. If you attend less than 50% of scheduled
classes you will receive a 0 for this part of your final grade. Otherwise you will receive whatever
percentage of classes that you attended. (i.e 60% attendance you get a 6 for this part of the
grade, 94% of attendance you get a 9,4 for this part of your final grade)
(2) Prepare and deliver an individual analytical presentation on your position on one of the
questions posed by one of the `Justice´ videos or articles assigned to you. This will account for 20%
of your final grade. If you do not complete this will get a 0 for this part of your grade. If you are
absent on the day of your scheduled presentation, you will be expected to present on the next
scheduled class. You might be asked to present more than once.
(3) Take a Final exam which will account for 20% of your Final grade.
(4) Turn in assignments which will account for 50% of your Final grade. Some assignments are done
in class and some at home. Completion of required assignments will get you a 5,0 in this part of
your grade. For a grade of 5,1 to 10 for this part of the course you will need to complete the Extra
Credit Questions posted weekly in class or on estudy as per instructions. These will normally consist
of a 300 to 500 word essays to be turned in before a set deadline. Late assignments will NOT be
accepted. You are to be prepared to attend class discussions on assigned readings/videos.
Quality participation means involvement in class discussions (asking intelligent questions or
contributing thoughtful insights).
(5) Sum at least a total of 5 when rounded out on the 4 evaluation criteria stated above at the
end of the semester.
Retakes: If you fail the course you can take a Retake which consists of a theoretical exam and a
case study analysis to be completed in class. To be eligible for the Retake you must first turn in any
missing projects or assignments on a date established by you and your professor. The grade you
receive on the Retake will then be added to your original final course grade and the average will
be your Final grade. For example if you received a final course work grade of 4 and received a 6
on your retake and you turned in all pending assignments you Final Grade will be a 5. If all
pending assignments are not turned in by the date the retake is scheduled you cannot pass the
course.
Cheating in any form will not be tolerated.
Cheating includes:
1. Plagiarism - lifting sentence/s from other materials or using someone else´s ideas/findings without
acknowledging the source in both writing assignments and presentations.
2. Passing off another person´s exam/paper as one´s own
3. Using crib sheets and prepared answers, written anywhere.
4. Copying from another student (this includes written assignments, quizzes and exams).
5. Downloading papers and/or information from the web and passing them off as your own (remember: If
they are not your words, reference the source. )
IMPORTATNT: Cheating is a serious academic offense and will mean an automatic `zero´ for the exam or
paper. The case will also be reported to the administration.
Basic reference
Andrew Crane and Dirk Matten, (2007 and 2010). Business Ethics, Managing Corporate Citizenship and
Sustainability in the Age of Globalization. Oxford University Press, 2007, 2010.
`Justice´ by Michael Sandel of Harvard University available online at http://www.justiceharvard.org/.
`New Models of Business in Society´ by Edward Freeman of University of Virginia, available on Coursera at
https://www.coursera.org/.