Business Ethics

Overview

This module on Business Ethics discusses and evaluates the ethical responsibilities of managers and organisations. It will explore themes/issues from multi-disciplinary and managerial perspectives and analyse tensions, conflicts, contradictions and dilemmas via case studies and class discussion. Topics that may be developed include: the role of ethical theories, the internal ethical environment (why and how do ethical dilemmas arise and how can they be resolved?); ethical issues with regard to employees (including whistleblowing, Codes of Ethics, corporate governance), ethics and consumers, ethics and social responsibility.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the module, students should be able to: Evaluate the ethical responsibilities of organisations. Critique the core concepts of ethical thinking and ethical management practice. Evaluate the role of ethics in business, in local, national and international contexts. Analyse different ethical perspectives and theories that are used to guide decision making. Evaluate the rights, duties and responsibilities of, and relationships between, organisations and their internal (employee) and external stakeholders (customers, local and wider communities). Assess the relationship between business ethics and corporate social responsibility.

Skills

Synthesise, analyse, interpret and evaluate information from a variety of different sources. Apply critical thinking skills to a variety of different situations (through case study material, analysis of relevant policies and approaches, problem solving tasks). Plan, conduct and report a piece of original research (for continuous assessment). Communicate effectively (through essay writing, report writing and presentations). Work effectively as an individual and as part of a team (tutorial work, continuous assessment). Competent use of information technology.

Assessment

Students must achieve an overall mark of 40% in the module to pass