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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
COURSE CODE: "ETH/BUS 301"
COURSE NAME: "Business Ethics"
SEMESTER & YEAR:
Summer Session I 2024
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SYLLABUS
INSTRUCTOR:
Firmin Rene DeBrabander
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS:
MTWTH 9:00 AM 10:50 AM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS:
45
CREDITS:
3
PREREQUISITES:
Prerequisite: One previous course in Philosophy or Junior Standing. Co-requisite: EN 110
OFFICE HOURS:
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course examines some of the most important ethical issues in business today, such as businesses’ responsibilities to workers, consumers, and investors, the pros and cons of “free markets,” the challenges posed by environmental damage and automation, the ideas of “social” responsibilities and “ethical” consumption, and the special dilemmas faced by multinational businesses. Issues will be studied through a selection of contemporary cases, issues, arguments, and approaches, along with much class discussion, with the aim of helping students to develop a familiarity with the issues and debates and their ability to discuss, reflect on, and defend their own ethical views.
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SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
In this course, we will explore the ethical dimensions of interactions between people in business contexts and explore some of the ways in which we can think about the challenges we face. We will focus primarily on some prominent moral theories, exploring how these can be applied to some of the important ethical issues in business today.
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LEARNING OUTCOMES:
By the end of this course, you will have gained:
• A broad knowledge of moral philosophy and how it applies to business issues;
• A better understanding of the shortcomings and strengths of these various approaches to addressing ethical issues in business;
• A refinement of your own critical reasoning and argumentative skills;
• A refinement of your capacities to recognize and assess philosophical arguments;
• An enhancement of the conceptual tools we need to develop and defend our own philosophical views;
• A refinement of your abilities to defend and express philosophical positions in a clear, well-reasoning way through both writing and conversation;
• The (re)discovery of the joy of philosophical inquiry!
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TEXTBOOK:
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REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
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GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
| Assignment | Guidelines | Weight |
| Class participation | You are required to do the readings for every class, and come prepared to discuss them. This is not a lecture class, but a seminar class, where your input is required. As part of your class participation grade, there will be occasional reading reflections at the beginning of class, where I will ask you write in response to a few questions about the reading. This is intended to indicate how well you are doing the reading, and also to get you focused and ready for the discussion at hand.
| 30% |
| Midterm paper | There will be an in-class Mid Term exam on June 9. More details to follow. | 30% |
| Final paper | There will be an in-class Final Exam on the last day of the session. More details to follow. | 40% |
-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY
You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until ____________
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ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic
dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred.
In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment,
may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of
academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student
who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from
the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation
to the President, who will make the final decision.
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STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap.
Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning
of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
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SCHEDULE
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Week 1
5/20- Introduction
5/21- Rd Business Ethics textbook Chapter 2
5/22- Rd Business Ethics textbook Chapter 2
5/23- Rd Business Ethics textbook Chapter 3
Week 2
5/27- Business Ethics textbook Chapter 4
5/28- Business Ethics textbook Chapter 4
5/29- Business Ethics textbook Chapter 5
5/30- Rd from Good Economics for Hard Times, pages 10-29 and 51-61 (on Moodle)
Week 3
6/3- Midterm exam (in class)
6/4- Good Economics for Hard Times, pages 61-86
6/5- Business Ethics textbook Chapter 6
6/6- Business Ethics textbook Chapter 6
Week 4
6/10- Rd from Fulfillment, chapter 4 (on Moodle)
6/11- Business Ethics textbook Chapter 9
6/12- Business Ethics textbook Chapter 9
6/13- Business Ethics textbook Chapter 10
Week 5
6/17- Rd. from The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, pages 63-85
6/18- The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, pages 85-97 and 128-138
6/19- The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, pages 138-155
6/20- Summary discussion
6/21- Final Exam
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