59432 - Business Ethics

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course students are able to: - define ethical values and principles and explain how they differ from laws, policies, and codes of conduct; - analyse ethical issues that impact business decisions from economic, political, legal, environmental, and social perspectives; - respect differential impacts and broader societal outcomes of ethical practices in home and partner countries.

Course contents

This course offers a comprehensive exploration of ethical challenges in global business, focusing on the internal and external impacts of decisions made by multinational enterprises. Students will develop the ability to identify and evaluate moral stakes in business contexts, understand the distinction between ethics, law, and policies, and analyze the influence of social, economic, and political factors on ethical practices across countries. Emphasis is placed on real-world complexity, uncertain scenarios, and the role of individual and organizational behavior. The course also addresses ethics implementation in managerial decision-making and examines how ethical considerations intersect with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Readings/Bibliography

Suggested reading materials (pre-course):

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.

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.‏

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

Ryan, T. G., & Bisson, J. (2011). Can ethics be taught? International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(12).

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.

Schendler, A. (2002). Where’s the Green in Green Business? Harvard Business Review, 80(6)

Required Readings:

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)

Khurana, R., & Nohria, N. (2008). It's time to make management a true profession. Harvard Business Review, 86(10), 70-7.

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.

Supplementary Readings (Optional):

Castro, A., Phillips, N., and Ansari, S., (2020). Corporate Corruption: A Review and an Agenda for Future Research. AOM ANNALS, 14, 935–968, https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2018.0156

Chatterjee, A., and Pollock, T.G. (2017) Master of Puppets: How Narcissistic CEOs Construct Their Professional Worlds. Academy of Management Review, 42, 703–725, https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2015.0224

Cooper, B., Cohen, T.R., Huppert, E., Levine, E.E., and Fleeson, W., (2023) Honest Behavior: Truth-Seeking, Belief-Speaking, and Fostering Understanding of the Truth in Others. AOM ANNALS, 17, 655–683, https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2021.0209

Desai, S.D., and Kouchaki, M., (2017). Moral Symbols: A Necklace of Garlic against Unethical Requests. AMJ, 60, 7–28, https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2015.0008

Higgins, K. (2016). Post-truth: a guide for the perplexed. Nature, 540(7631), 9-9.

Hodges, C. (2016). Ethical business regulation: understanding the evidence. Better Regulation Delivery Office, Department for Business Innovation & Skills (February 2016).

Holden, E., Linnerud, K., & Banister, D. (2017). The imperatives of sustainable development. Sustainable Development, 25(3), 213-226.

Kundro, T. G., (2023) The Benefits and Burdens of Work Moralization on Creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 66, 1183–1208, https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2021.0273

Lewis, S. C., & Westlund, O. (2015). Big data and journalism: Epistemology, expertise, economics, and ethics. Digital Journalism, 3(3), 447-466.

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.

Ong, M., Cunningham,J.L., and Parmar, B.L. (2022) Lay Beliefs about Homo Economicus: How and Why Does Economics Education Make Us See Honesty as Effortful?. Academy of Management Learning & Education https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2021.0134

Park, TY., Park, S., and Barry, B., (2022) Incentive Effects on Ethics. AOM ANNALS, 16, 297–333, https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2020.0251

Parks-Leduc, L., Mulligan, L., and Rutherford, M.A., (2021) Can Ethics Be Taught? Examining the Impact of Distributed Ethical Training and Individual Characteristics on Ethical Decision-Making. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 20, 30–49

Zhang, T., Gino, F., and Margolis, J.D., (2018) Does “Could” Lead to Good? On the Road to Moral Insight. Academy of Management Journal, 61, 857–895, https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2014.0839

Further Elements:

Students Against Coca Cola – will be made available in class.

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

A framework for thinking ethically. [https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/]

http://craneandmatten.blogspot.co.il/

http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

How Narcissistic Leaders Erode Collaboration and Integrity. AOM Insights, 0, https://journals.aom.org/doi/epub/10.5465/amd.2019.0163.summary

Teaching methods

The main instructional approaches used in the course are:

• Lectures
• Group Work
• Guest Speakers
• Case Studies
• Debate
• Problem-Based Learning

Assessment methods

Class attendance and participation in team-work assignments is compulsory.

Component Weight (%)

Group Project 50

Class Participation 20

Individual Assignments 30

- Assignments and project structure:

Group project: In teams of 2–3, students will identify and analyze a real or fictional workplace incident involving ethically problematic behavior. The 10-minute presentation must include a description of the situation, identification of the ethical issue, analysis of contributing organizational factors, and proposed solutions. The presentations will be followed by up to 5 minutes of class discussion. Assessment is based on quality and clarity of above topics.

Individual assignments: These include two short case analyses, reflections, and corporate ethics policy reviews. Deliverables must clearly identify key issues, apply appropriate analytical tools, and provide well-supported conclusions. Assignments are assessed for clarity, professionalism, and relevance of insights.

Note: Participation includes both the quantity and quality of contributions to in-class discussions and activities (e.g. debates, group tasks). Students are expected to attend all sessions, as participation cannot be substituted. Being well-prepared and engaging with ethical, political, and social business issues from multiple perspectives is essential.

There is no final exam.

- Exam policy:

Registration must be completed via Almaesami, and results will be published on the same platform.

Students who fail one assignment or decide to reject the grade, will have the opportunity to retake it in the next session.

Grading scale:

< 18: failed

18-23: sufficient

24-27: good

28-30: very good

30 e lode: outstanding

Students with disabilities or specific learning disabilities (DSA) are required to make their condition known to find the best possible accommodation for their needs.

Teaching tools

Tools, platforms, or resources used during the course:

- Learning platform: Virtuale (virtuale.unibo.it) contains the slides and the team-work assignments

- Presentation software: PowerPoint

- Communication tools: Email; Teams; Forum on Virtuale

- Collaborative tools: Mentimeter, Kahoot, Padlet, Perusall, Miro, Google Docs, Edpuzzle, Poll Everywhere, Socrative

- Other digital tools/software: Chat GPT, Claude, Copilot, Gemini

Office hours

See the website of Caren Helene Weinberg