Ethics and Business
University of Texas/MBA
Summer 2009
Objective: This course is intended to
help students explore ethical issues in business, including both intra-firm
ethical dilemmas and broader issues concerning the social responsibility of
business. Each four-hour class period
will be divided into modules, per the schedule below.
Participation: You are expected to have
read the assigned readings before class (including the cases presented that
day) and be prepared to discuss them.
Much of the discussion will center on the resolution of the case
problems presented. Voluntary class
participation is encouraged, and please be prepared when called upon to tell
the class how you would resolve the questions presented by the case. Missing class, being unprepared for class, and
the general appearance of being disinterested or disengaged will hurt your
participation grade.
In-class case
presentations/debates: Student groups will lead the
presentation of each of the 10 ethics case problems. There is no written presentation required as
part of this work, though student teams may wish to prepare slides or handouts
as part of their presentations of the case.
The presentation should lay out the case or problem briefly (5 min. or
less), and your team’s proposed course of action. Your team should also lead the
Q&A/discussion to follow. The entire
presentation (including discussion and Q&A) should consume 30 minutes, of
which 20 minutes should be your team’s initial presentation. A description of the various problems can be
found here.
You will sign up for a specific problem during class in April.
Ethical
Analysis: You should choose two
current ethical dilemmas faced by business firms. These can be taken you’re your own
experiences or from contemporary news accounts, but should not cover the same
episodes or examples we discuss in class.
For each dilemma, provide a 1-2 page (single-spaced) memo addressing the
following issues:
·
What is the ethical issue implicated or raised by this case?
·
How did the manager or company respond to this issue?
·
How would you have responded differently, and why?
Please
append the news article(s) or other description of the facts to your memo. This assignment is due at our last class
meeting.
Grading: Your grade will comprise the following: in-class discussion (30%); work in class on
exercises or debates (35%); and ethical analysis (35%).
May 16
Module 1: A Framework for Ethics and Corporate Social
Responsibility
·
·
Reading: The Economist’s
Special Report on Corporate Social Responsibility (January 19, 2008)
Module 2: Bribery, Facilitation Payments and Campaign
Contributions
·
·
Problem
1: Customs Agents and “Facilitation
Payments” (handout)
·
Problem
2: Guanxi and
Gift-Giving (handout)
·
Problem
3: Political Contributions (handout)
May 29/30
Module 3: Ethical Consumption, Ethical Investing, Fair
Trade
·
·
·
·
Problem
4: Fair Trade Flowers (handout)
·
Problem
5: Child labor (handout)
·
Problem
6: A “Living wage” (handout)
June 12/13
Module 4: Environment, health and safety – compliance
vs. responsibility
·
·
Problem
7: Shell in
·
Problem
8: CO2 Emissions and Going ‘Beyond
Compliance’ (handout)
Module 5:
·
·
Reading: Krogh, Integrity:
Good People, Bad Choices and Lessons from the White House, (Introduction and Chp.
1, excerpt)
·
Problem
9: Sexual Harassment (handout)
·
Problem
10: Making Ethical Decisions in
Hierarchies (handout)