Objectives:
The main objectives of the course are to:
Explore how people live their lives according to a standard of ‘right' or ‘wrong' behaviour;
Determine where people look for guidance in deciding what is ‘right' or ‘wrong' or ‘good' or ‘bad';
Examine how people interact with other members of their community or society as a whole who may or may not share the same ethical principles; Examine the question of whether the business world should be viewed as an artificial environment where the rules by which you choose to live your own life don't necessarily apply.
Learning Outcomes:
After completion of the course students should be able to:
1. Recognize and identify ethical dilemmas and their consequences, for business, the individual and for society;
2. Identify who are the major stakeholders likely to be impacted by unethical practices and whether organizations should have a code of ethics;
3. Develop a Code of Ethics;
4. Resolve workplace ethical dilemmas and the consequences to all stakeholders that are likely to result from their resolution;
5. Explain the term ‘whistleblower' and how it relates to org anizations, with particular emphasis on the likely consequences to the one ‘blowing the whistle';
6. Identify the ethical ramifications of technology in organizations;
7. Identify and suggest ways of coping with the ethical challenges in a global environment.
Business Ethics
Some Corporation can undoubtedly bring benefit to Society. Society, however, is questioning the existence of corporations, especially in the wake of the scandals and scams conducted by companies like ENRON, GUINESS, Coca Cola, Intel, General Motors, WorldCom and many others. In response to it, the organizations around the globe are forced to wake up to the need for being committed towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). So is this what it is? Is it just a mean satisfying an end? Based on the material presented in the first three topics, answer the following question:
How can Corporate Social Responsibility be meaningful if it is not based on formal binding legislation enforcement?
You may start your analysis with a discussion about the importance of business ethics, its philosophies and practices. You are expected to demonstrate an analytical knowledge and critical understanding of different ethical perspectives, including ethical business objectives. In doing so, you may refer to a number of ethical issues, including equality at the workplace, racial and sexual harassment, corporate sustainability, corporate governance, corporate citizenship, environmental sustainability and globalization. In your analysis, you may also include thoughts about the implications of business ethics in different contexts around the world.
Word limit: 3000
FINAL EXAMINATION
Part A
Proceed to a critical assessment of the Corporate Social Responsibility Report of McDonalds. In you analysis, you should critically examine the ethical environment in which McDonalds operates and consider the impact this has upon its business behaviour and performance. You can find the CSR report of McDonalds online here. Also, here the Annual Reports of McDonalds can be found here.
Part B
As Sally Bibb suggests, as a manager you have a double role. The first is to ensure that you behave ethically yourself (‘bosses have more influence that they often realize in shaping others' behavior as people tend to consciously or unconsciously copy the boss'). The other role is that managers are responsible for making for making sure that those they manage do the right thing too. One way, moreover, to achieve that those they manage do the right thing, is through developing and introducing to employees a Code of Conduct (for more on Code of Conduct see Topic 1). In the same line of thought, this part of the assignment requires you to assume the role of a manager and develop a Code of Conduct for an organization of your Choice. This Organization may be a company you worked for in the past, or even the institution to which you are studying. In developing your Code of Conduct, you should demonstrate a critical awareness of real ethical issues that modern work places face.
(Word Limit: 1500. Weight: 50%)