59432 - BUSINESS ETHICS

Learning outcomes

"Aim of this course is to develop students awareness on both internal and external impact of big multinational enterprises decisions. At the end of this course the students are able to: - be sensitive to what is morally at stake in business situations, - identify social,economic and political factors that may affect ethical practices in different countries, - define ethical practices and principle and how they differ from law, policies and code of conduct, - describe collaboration scenarios where ethical decision-making may be complex and based on uncertain or unclear information, - develop a solid foundation in business fundamentals with a global perspective and confidence in managerial decision-making and people management skills, - analyse ethical issues that impact business decisions from economic, political, legal, environmental, and social perspectives. "

Course contents

This course is designed to inform and stimulate thinking on various ethical issues encountered in business and to help prepare managers to recognize and manage these issues as they arise in the future. It explores the ethical challenges of global business environments from the perspective of managers and business leaders. The course will provide frameworks to enable understanding and analysis of ethical issues, building on and strengthening individual standards of integrity and professionalism. The course also includes attention to ethics implementation—how to act when faced with challenges to values in an organizational context as well as attention to key organizational and individual drivers of (un)ethical conduct and how they can be managed.

In addition, we will touch on how Ethics plays a part in the 17 UN sustainable development goals for 2030. As they are important, world-changing objectives that will require cooperation among governments, international organizations and world leaders, we will reflect on how these affect the average person and organizations worldwide.

Readings/Bibliography

Suggested reading materials (pre-course):

1. Canales, R., Massey, B. C., & Wrzesniewski, A. (2010). Promises aren’t enough: business schools need to do a better job teaching students values. Wall Street Journal, 23.
2. Lemoine, G. J., Hartnell, C. A., & Leroy, H. (2019). Taking stock of moral approaches to leadership: An integrative review of ethical, authentic, and servant leadership. Academy of Management Annals, 13(1), 148-187.‏
3. Parkes, C., Buono, A. F., & Howaidy, G. (2017). The principles for responsible management education (PRME): The first decade–What has been achieved? The next decade–Responsible management Education's challenge for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The International Journal of Management Education, Volume 15, Issue 2, Part B, 2017, Pages 61-65,
4. Ryan, T. G., & Bisson, J. (2011). Can ethics be taught? International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(12).
5. Trevino, L. K., & Brown, M. E. (2004). Managing to be ethical: Debunking five business ethics myths. The Academy of Management Executive, 18(2), 69-81.
6. Schendler, A. (2002). Where’s the Green in Green Business? Harvard Business Review, 80(6)
7. Part 1 - Basic Principles, Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases, 7/E Manuel G. Velasquez

Required Readings (for the course):

1. Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2010). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press, USA. (Part A: Understanding Business Ethics, Chapter 1 Introducing Business Ethics)
2. Students Against Coca Cola – to be distributed in class
3. Khurana, R., & Nohria, N. (2008). It's time to make management a true profession. Harvard Business Review, 86(10), 70-7.
4. Freccero, S. P. (2015). Criminal Liability for False Statements: 1001 Things to Worry about during FERC and CFTC Investigations of Energy Companies and Individuals. Energy LJ, 36, 409.

Suggested Readings:

1. Higgins, K. (2016). Post-truth: a guide for the perplexed. Nature, 540(7631), 9-9.
2. Hodges, C. (2016). Ethical business regulation: understanding the evidence. Better Regulation Delivery Office, Department for Business Innovation & Skills (February 2016).
3. Holden, E., Linnerud, K., & Banister, D. (2017). The imperatives of sustainable development. Sustainable Development, 25(3), 213-226.
4. Lewis, S. C., & Westlund, O. (2015). Big data and journalism: Epistemology, expertise, economics, and ethics. Digital Journalism, 3(3), 447-466.
5. Nayak, A. (2016). Wisdom and the Tragic Question: Moral Learning and Emotional Perception in Leadership and Organisations. Journal of Business Ethics, 137(1), 1-13.

Further Elements:

1. Films: Who Killed the Electric Car or Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Films – Suggested: Inside Job and WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price, Waste Land, Food, Inc., An Inconvenient Truth
2. A framework for thinking ethically. [https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/]
3. http://craneandmatten.blogspot.co.il/
4. http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/
5. How Narcissistic Leaders Erode Collaboration and Integrity https://journals.aom.org/doi/full/10.5465/amd.2019.0163.summary.
6. How Narcissistic Leaders Erode Collaboration and Integrity. AOM Insights, 0, https://journals.aom.org/doi/epub/10.5465/amd.2019.0163.summary

Teaching methods

Teaching Method(s): Various teaching methods will be used for this course including: a rich mix of case studies, exercises and contemporary examples. There will be theoretical lectures, team assignments, guest speakers, round table discussions, debates and several films.

Assessment methods

This course is heavily based on your class participation. The quality, quantity and consistency of your contributions to class discussions will form the primary basis of your class participation grade. You can expect to be called upon, at random, to open a case or to contribute during the subsequent discussion. Given the nature of the course, you should expect to attend every class and absence should be avoided if possible.

Marks are intended on a numerical grade scale (0 to 30), being 18 to 30 the passing grade range. Distribution of the final grade is:

Participation - 20% of course grade

A major goal for the class is to get people in the habit of looking at ethical, political and social issues in business from multiple perspectives -- personal, organizational, and societal. This task is facilitated simply by talking openly about social and ethical issues in business. Thus, you should plan on being actively involved in class discussion. Such involvement can take the form of answering questions other class members pose, explicating various issues or topics, and asking thoughtful questions about the views espoused in the readings or by other class members. Consequently, well-prepared participation is an essential part of this class. Participation includes not only general discussion, but active involvement in any formal or impromptu in-class activities (debates, group discussions, etc.). Thus, if you are not in class, it is hard to participate. In addition, merely showing up for class will not generate a passing participation grade.

Group Project – 50% of course grade

Form groups of 2 or 3 people to work on this project.

Due Friday October 13th

Using what you have learned so far in the course, you are to analyze an incident of ethically problematic behavior in the workplace. To do this, first identify a situation of ethically problematic behavior. This can be something one of your group members has witnessed in the workplace (in which case you should disguise the identities of people and organizations). Or it can be an incident of unethical workplace behavior you can read about in newspapers, magazines, etc. You should stay focused primarily on matters of individual behavior for this task. You are to come up with your own case example. After you have identified a particular incident, you should prepare a 10-minute presentation that (a) carefully describes the situation;

(b) identifies the ethical problem, and explains why it is a problem; (c) explains the organizational factors that helped create the problem (much as we discuss the various cases during class); and (d) what the organization should do to avoid having the problem occur again. Presentations should be no longer than 10 minutes, and another 5 minutes will be given for class discussion.

2 Individual Assignments – 30% of course grade

These will include short case write-ups, personal reflection questions and review of a corporate ethics policy.

Written case analysis, presentations and write ups should include;

• Clear concise background and identification of key problems/strategic issues
• Use of appropriate analytical tools techniques, including charts and tables where appropriate
• For cases:realistic, workable, well-supported recommendations for action
• Reviews:clear descriptions of the background being presented, and lessons learned
• Aesthetic, clear and professional presentation

Office hours

See the website of Caren Helene Weinberg