Sauder School of Business University of British Columbia
BUSINESS ETHICS
BAHR 502 – Period 6 Instructor: Office: Phone: Email: Office Hours: Class: Classroom: Angela Kelleher HA 563 (604) 454-2243 (at BCIT) Angela.Kelleher@sauder.ubc.ca Wednesdays 5:00-6:00pm, by appointment Wednesdays 6pm – 9:30pm, 25 Oct – 22 Nov 2006 HA 215
Overview
This course is designed to inform and stimulate thinking and discussion about the ethical responsibilities of managers and businesses. Participants in this course will learn to anticipate issues that they will likely encounter in their business career, and to develop more confidence in their response.
Learning Objectives
After successfully completing this course, students will be able: • to describe some of the central concepts, frameworks and theories of business ethics • to identify and analyze ethical conflicts and dilemmas • to demonstrate and critique decision making about ethical issues • to communicate their position, reasoning and action plan to others in a compelling and persuasive way • to open themselves to understanding others’ positions and reasoning
Course Evaluation
Method Creation of case study for role play exercise Role play exercise Team project Take home final exam Professionalism and participation Weight 15% 15% 30% 25% 15% Due at start of: Class 2 Class 3 (during class) Class 5 Class 6 Classes 1-5
Role play exercise Students will prepare a brief (1-page MAXIMUM) mini “case study” of an ethical dilemma that they have faced, or that they expect to face in the future or that interests them. The dilemma should be of an individual nature (rather than about corporate policy) and are intended to be personal and simple. Your case may be copied and distributed to the rest of the class, so DO NOT write anything confidential or that you wouldn’t want shared with other Sauder students. Feel free to change the industry, company, names, etc. in order to bring a rich example to the class. The summary should include the following: Title: choose a title that reflects the type of dilemma, the industry and/or the main actor Background: Just give us the background that is relevant to the situation – this might be about the people involved, the industry, company, organizational structure, project, etc. Situation: A description of the incident or incidents that raise an ethical issue for the main actor. Briefly describe who is involved and how the situation came about Issues: Include a short list of the key issues and/or questions that this situation raises for the main actor. This should be a situation that is complex, challenging, and NOT resolved (you can verbally tell us how it turned out later) The case will be evaluated on the following criteria: Relevance to the course and of general interest to students Complexity of the situation (should be challenging, but not impossible to resolve) Degree of insight reflected in the description of the situation and the issues identified Clarity of writing and presentation The class will then choose some of these situations for students to “role play” in small groups during class 3. Students will be provided time in class to briefly prepare for the role play. Students will role-play in front of the remainder of the class, and the observers will record feedback that will be provided by the “actors”. We will then debrief the case, and the case writer will share with the class their positions and how the situation was resolved (if appropriate). Those performing the role-play will be evaluated for clarity and the power of their communications. Observers will be evaluated for the thoughtfulness of their critique and feedback. Because we will be using this material in the class that it is due, NO EXTENSIONS are possible on this assignment.
Team project Students will work in small teams to tackle an issue or a case study of personal interest. The issue or case study for the project is expected to be significantly more complex than those used for the role-play, and may relate to individual choices or company policies relating to ethics. The project will contain both a written and oral component. The written portion will be no longer than ten double-spaced pages, excluding appendices, and should include an executive summary and a bibliography giving full credit to any research sources. The oral portion will be 20-30 minutes long (depending on number of groups), and should include both information and a facilitated discussion of some of the key elements of the issue or case study. Papers submitted after the first five minutes of the class will be deemed late, and will be penalized 25% for each day that they are late. Groups will be asked to submit a brief (one paragraph) outline of their project by email during the first three weeks of the course. The outline should include group members’ names and the issue or case study. We want to be sure we’re looking at a range of issues, so it is “first come, first served” on topics. If your topic evolves as you work on it (and many will), just be sure to keep your instructor apprised of major changes by email (and cc all group members).
Take home final exam The final exam will be a take-home exam that will be distributed by week 5, and is due by email at the beginning of class in Week 6 (the final exam period). It will be an application of the course materials. Students are welcome to discuss the final exam generally with each other, but each student is expected to deliver an individual answer. More information will follow. Professionalism and participation Active participation in this course is extremely important. Students are expected to have read and carefully considered all cases and readings prior to class. Students may be called on to summarize key points from the readings or case study. Students will need to have developed a starting “point of view” in order for our discussion to be rich and interactive. Students must be prepared to frankly and honestly share their opinions, and to respect the differing experiences and opinions of other students. Your grade will be based on relevant and intelligent contributions given during presentations, class discussions and case studies. The stronger we can make these ties between course material and real life, the more you will get out of the course, and the more interesting the class will be. If students are unable to attend class, they should contact their instructor before class.
Tentative Course Schedule
Week 1: Tools for ethical decision making Readings: Marianne Jennings, “Recognizing Ethical Dilemmas” and Laura Nash “Ethics without Sermon” (these readings are together in your readings package as they are excerpted from the same book) and Lynn Sharp Paine, “A Compass for Decision Making” Week 2: Social responsibility of business Reading: Milton Friedman, “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits”, Sept 13, 1970, 5 pages http://www.colorado.edu/studentgroups/libertarians/issues/friedman-soc-respbusiness.html and Roger L. Martin “The Virtue Matrix: Calculating the Return on Corporate Responsibility” Cases: Jane Katz, “Levi Strauss & Co.: Global Sourcing (A)” Note: One page case study due at beginning of class. Week 3: Ethics and personal decisions Readings: Laura Nash, chapters 2 and 3 from Good Intentions Aside Week 4: Ethics and internal policies (values, employee health) Cases: Diana Barrett, “NovaCare, Inc – Helping Make Life a Little Better” and Diana Barrett, “AngloGold – Corporate Responsibility for HIV/AIDS (A)” Week 5: Team presentations (written report due at BEGINNING of class) Week 6: Final exam
Notes: The instructor reserves the right to make minor changes in the class schedule –
to accommodate guest speakers, interesting examples that arise during the course, student preferences, etc. The evaluation methodology and timing will NOT change. The reading package contains most of the readings that will be required for the course. The Friedman reading is available free on the internet. Additional required readings may be provided in class. It is the student’s responsibility to follow up with the instructor to receive any materials from a missed class.