INTRODUCTION
Brief Description of Aims and Content
The course aims to introduce students to an ethics-based value system in business and
organizations. Students become more effective decision makers by examining the meaning and
role of ethics in the business environment, and the social responsibility of business
organizations.
Indicative Content
1) Lesson 1: Overview: What is ethics? An overview of types of ethics, giving a context
for business ethics. Definition of Business Ethics;
2) Lesson 2: Business ethics Theories: Normative and Descriptive Ethical Theories
Approach: Making Decisions in Business Ethics: Descriptive Ethical Theories,
Normative Ethical Theories: Moral Relativism and Divine Command Theory.
3) Lesson 3: Stakeholder: Stakeholders, and Citizenship- primary and secondary
stakeholder groups; the impacts of various organizational-stakeholder relationships, the
varying levels of responsibility of stakeholder groups.
4) Lesson 4: Ethical Decision Making in Business: Managing Business Ethics,
Tools/Techniques of Business Ethics Management. Human person and ethics, Criteria
for evaluating the ethical character of actions (teleological, deontological, rights based,
care ethics, development of ethical personality), Mutuality of Criteria for Ethical
Reasoning.
5) Lesson 5: Morality of Corporations: The Moral Status of Corporations,
6) Lesson 6: Corporation Governance: Definition and importance of Corporate
Governance, Theories of Corporate Governance, Corporate Governance mechanisms,
Corporate Governance and corporate performance.
7) Lesson 7: Ethical Relationships in Business: -Employer-employee relationship:
management structures, loyalty rewards, work conditions and facilities, unfair
dismissal, sexual harassment, Employees rights (to work, privacy, health & safety,
participation, just wage, and to Due process), Employees Responsibilities, Equal
opportunity and Affirmative action. -Company-consumer relationship: honesty in
advertising, value for money, after sales care.
8) Lesson 8: Corporate Social Responsibility: -Relationship between business and the
community (local and global) - look at aims and responsibilities of business, long-term
benefits of ethical business, Sustainable Business for sustainable world.-Ethical Issues
in Marketing, Advertising and Product Safety.-Ethics in Accounting and Finance,
Financial Services, Financial Markets, Hostile Takeovers, Insider Trading, Trade
Secrets and Conflict of Interests).-Environmental Ethics.-Whistle blowing.-Shareholder
and Business Ethics.-Suppliers, Competitors, and Business Ethics.-Civil Society and
Business Ethics.-Government, Regulation, and Business Ethics. -The Ethics of the
Globalization of Business.
9) Economics and Business Law. Justice and the market system; -Aristotelian Analysis
of Justice-Utility and Justice-The Libertarian/Egalitarian Theory of John Rawls-Utility
and the Market System-Libertarian Justification of The Market: Nozick’s Theory.
SUGGESTED READINGS
# Title Author Year of Publisher
Publication
1. Business Values and Ferrel O.C 2012 Cengage
Ethics, I Learning
2. An Investor’s Guide to John Hancock 2005 Kogan Page
Ethical and Socially Publishers
responsible Investment
Funds
3 Business & Society: Lawrence, A., & 2017 New York, NY:
Stakeholders, Ethics, Weber, J. McGraw-Hill
Public Policy. (15th ed.). Irwin,
4 Business in ethical focus: Allhoff, F., & 2008 Peterborough,
An anthology. Vaidya, A. J. ON: Broadview
(Eds.). Press.
5 The Business Guide to Andrew 2019 Kogan Page
Effective Compliance and Hayward, Tony ISBN
Ethics: Why Compliance Osborn 9780749482985
isn't Working - and How to
Fix it
