Business Ethics (1 ECTS)

Introduction

A course on business ethics does not demand justification. Corporate scandals, the experience of
pervasive malpractices, growing social expectations on business, and open questions about justice and
human dignity on the eve of a new technological revolution are more than enough justifications.
However, in the pragmatic context of business education, a course on Ethics may demand an
explanation. Let us give one.

Business Ethics is not mainly about fraud and corruption or other negative business phenomena. Ethics
is –in a way- like Medicine: it is not about curing diseases and mitigating pain.; it is about helping
people and organizations to live long, happy, and productive lives, preventing future trouble, and
developing healthy habits. Nonetheless, it is also helpful for avoiding major reputational crises or even
jail.

Business Ethics is not another technical field of business education, providing instrumental tools to
achieve business purposes (profit or otherwise). Ethics is transversal and normative-evaluative. It
provides the occasion to discuss the ultimate aims of business in human life and society, the reason
behind your whole management career. All the other sciences and techniques are instrumental.
Business Ethics is not about black or white principles. It is about applying those principles to real-life
situations with imperfect agents in imperfect environments.

Business Ethics is not about having abstract conversations about artificially defined dilemmas or
learning theories and applying them. It is about human beings making decisions in particular situations
by taking the perspective of life as a unity, and by looking at the impact of business management over
time and across the different dimensions of human flourishing.

Business Ethics is not about expressing your opinions without rigor or rationally valid thoughts. Debate
and discussion are necessary to broaden our perspective, refine our reasoning, and eventually be open
to changing our minds. Hence, a course like this one focuses on how to think rather than what to think
about the issues discussed.
Business Ethics is not only about principles, rules, and responsibility for consequences. It is mainly
about pursuing human excellence and contributing to social welfare by shaping character, driving
cultural change, and leading by example.
Business Ethics is not a purely philosophical field. It intends to develop skills and intellectual
competencies to broaden our diagnostic capabilities beyond the economic dimension of firms and
markets, by understanding the connections between financial, relational, legal, and moral dimensions.
Business ethics also provides specific managerial tools (such as stakeholder management) for dealing
with complex problems in human organizations.

Business ethics is a call to leave a trace, to have an impact, to change the world —but not in a merely
aspirational way. It pushes you to think in what direction you want to lead organizations and society
through your daily work in business, shoulder-to-shoulder with many people —but starting with yourself.

Objectives

This course has three main objectives:

• First, analyzing organizational dynamics associated with ethically problematic situations such as
corruption, mobbing, sexual harassment, etc.
• Second, learning how to develop personal leadership skills and how to design effective policies to
prevent and eventually manage ethically problematic situations.
• Third, developing a critical and positive perspective of the social impact of business activities, as well
as managers’ responsibilities and liabilities.

This course intends to nurture a critical and alternative perspective of traditional managerial processes
through:
• Assessing the ethical dimension of business problems.
• Using specific tools for enhancing the culture of organizations.
• Critical Thinking: not WHAT to think, but HOW to think.

Content
This course consists of three parts:
• In the first part, we will discuss cases focused on individuals dealing with morally ambiguous and
corrupted environments, also introducing organizational perspectives and tools to deal successfully with
fraud.

• In the second part, we will focus on the relationship between individual character, organizational
culture and formal rules, and the exercise of leadership in driving organizations towards higher levels of
excellence.

• The third part introduces new instrumental tools for multiple-stakeholder management -beyond merely
shareholder-oriented management- and a normative discussion on the mission and purpose of the
business firm in society in a context of increasing social demands towards businesses and
technological disruption.

Evaluation

Students will be evaluated in the following manner:

Individual class participation (40 %)
• Quality is more important than quantity. For quality, I understand reasoned and considered opinions.
The right to disagree implies the duty to justify one's opinions.

Individual short case (30%)

• Students should write a business ethics case and analyze it. For this analysis, they may use the
frameworks presented in the readings for the course, exploring the pros and cons of the decision to
make, and proposing a solution.
• This assignment evaluates your sensitivity to ethical dilemmas and your analysis capacity: the more
complex and real the dilemma, the better grade you will get.

Team project on SGDs and Responsible Leadership (30%)

Competences

Basic
CB6. Possess and understand knowledge that provides a basis or opportunity to be original in the
development and / or application of ideas, often in a research context.
CB7. The students know how to apply the knowledge acquired and their ability to solve problems in
new or unfamiliar environments within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to their area of
study.
CB8. The students can integrate knowledge and face the complexity of formulating judgments based on
information that, being incomplete or limited, includes reflections on social and ethical responsibilities
linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments.
CB9. Students know how to communicate their conclusions and the knowledge and ultimate reasons
that support them to specialized and non-specialized audiences in a clear and unambiguous way.

General
CG2. Identify, address, and resolve interpersonal conflicts promptly and deeply without damaging the
personal relationship within the organization and in its immediate environment of stakeholders
(shareholders, customers, suppliers, etc.)
CG4. Understand and apply the mechanisms that generate an environment of collaboration,
communication, and trust between the members of a team or organization.
CG7. Effectively distinguish and categorize relevant information for business decision-making.
CG9. Interpret the global context to analyze and judge the threats and opportunities for the
organization.
CG11. Formulate and evaluate business strategies in decision making, anticipating the economic
consequences of action plans.
CG14. Analyze, discuss, and apply ethical criteria to behave honestly in any situation.

Specific
CE01. Apply a structured and rigorous process of analyzing business situations that integrates all the
business dimensions (personal, strategic, financial, etc.) and concludes with a reasonable and feasible
action plan.
CE02. Prepare structured, synthetic, and clear executive reports for the analysis and decision-making
of business situations.
CE04. Transfer quantitative optimization tools to unstructured business environments with uncertainty
to help decision-making.
CE05. Measure and become aware of the personal attitude towards risk and uncertainty through
methodologies to identify risk factors, evaluate them, and study their impact on decisions. Some of the
methodologies are based on sensitivity studies, advanced simulations, and scenario analysis.
CE11. Learn the instruments and control mechanisms to prevent, detect and resolve fraud, corporate
scandals, and crime in organizations.
CE12. Formulate a personal ethical framework for decision-making in the organization through critical
reflection and discussion of traditional ethical thought systems.
CE13. Understand the opportunities associated with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and
develop a strategic CSR plan using different planning tools.