Instructor: Dr. David A. Krueger, Charles E. Spahr Chair in Corporate and Managerial Ethics
Office Hours: Kamm 109: M,W, F 10:15 - 11:15 a.m. (other times by appointment)
Telephone: (o) 216.826.5923; (h) 216.226.4324; (fax) 216.826.3868;
(e-mail) dkrueger@bw.edu
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the field of business
ethics. Students will be exposed to various sources of morality (ethical
traditions and theories, ethical decision-making
models) applicable to business and management. We also will analyze a wide
array of criticalethical issues, dilemmas, and challenges currently facing
corporations and their managers (e.g.,workforce reductions and plant closings,
the role of women and minorities, product safety, the environment, and challenges
in multinational business).
1. To develop the capacity to identify ethical issues, dilemmas, and challenges in management, business organizations, and economic life.
2. To develop familiarity with important sources of morality that can provide tools to clarify, analyze and strategize around ethical issues in business.
3. To gain confidence in making moral arguments about matters relevant to managerial decision-making, corporate policy-making, and the role of business in society.
4. To clarify and develop one's own personal "business ethic" as an important dimension of the sense of vocation and professionalism that should develop for each student within a business education grounded in the liberal arts.
5. To develop good communication skills (written, oral, and electronic).
6. To become literate in the use of electronic techology as a means to access information and communicate with each other in the class.
| 94-100 | A | 77-79 | C+ |
| 90-93 | A- | 73-76 | C |
| 87-89 | B+ | 70-72 | C- |
| 83-86 | B | 60-69 | D |
| 80-82 | B- | 0-59 | F |
1. Two written case study analyses
Each student must submit two written analyses of two case studies of your choice discussed in class beginning 9.24 (marked by a double asterisk after each case**). Each analysis is worth up to 10 points and must be submitted to the instructor no later than the beginning of the class during which the case is discussed in class. 20% of your grade for each case will be based upon writing style (e.g;, grammar, spelling). The first case analysis is due by October 3. The second case analysis is due bv October 15,
This assignment provides an opportunity to develop your ability to identify moral issues (course objective 1) and utilize various sources of morality and moral decision-making tools discussed in the first half of the course (course objective 2) in the creative analysis and resolution of those issues (course objective 3). Use the following steps to organize your written analysis.
A. Articulate the moral issue(s)/dilemma(s)/problem(s) as you see itlthem in the case. You may generate several issues, some of which you will be unable to address fully in your analysis. This step does NOT include a narrative summary of the facts of the case. Get right to defining the moral issues. In most cases, you should be able to identify at least five or six issues. Try to articulate them in the form of questions (e.g., Who is responsible for the misuse of a product, the producer or the consumer?)
B. Identify and discuss at least three sources of morality and/or decision-making models for analyzing and reaching a resolution to the primary issue or problem (e.g., libertarianism, stakeholder responsibility model, deontology, utilitarianism, DeGeorge). In your discussion be sensitive to ways in which these sources/models seem to suggest similar or different solutions. Briefly discuss how each source of morality would approach the issues in this particular case.
C. List what you see as the venous possible solutions/courses of action open to the manager/company in the case. Include all possible options, not only those that you would agree with or ultimately support. Briefly evaluate the appropriateness of each option on moral (Is it right or good?) and strategic (Is it feasible/realistic/practical in this situation?) grounds. You must use the sources of morality/decision-making models from B. to evaluate each option.
D. Select what you believe to be the optimal option and defend it on moral and strategic grounds. You must justify your solution by appealing to one or more of the ethical models to support your argument. Merely stating what you think is the best response is not sufficient; explain your reasoning.
Your written analysis should be 5-8 type-written, doubled-spaced pages in length. The instructor requires good writing style (e.g., grammar, spelling) in addition to content. 20% of the grade will be based upon writing style. Students may submit a rough draft in advance of the deadline for quick (and free) review and feedback from the instructor for purposes of revision. Submission of rough drafts almost always results in a better quality final product and almost always a better grade. As an alternative to one of the cases provided by the instructor, you may select a "real life" case from your workplace to analyze. This requires previous discussion and consent by the instructor. Your case analysis should be submitted to the instructor electronically.
Each student must submit two brief 2-4 page reports on the following topics: (1) a description and analysis of the ethical values found within the written documents of a major corporation (see instructions in syllabus for 9.22), and (2) a description and analysis of the environmental policies and practices of a major corporation (see instruction in syllbus for 10.22).
3. Small group oral and written presentation of the Levi Strauss case
This assignment requires students to work in teams of 4-6 students each. Each team is required to provide one oral and written analysis of the case entitled, "Levi Strauss Bc Co. and China". Teams will be assigned by 9.15. The team assignment will be to analyze the case from the point of view of a particular assigned constituent group, e.g., Levi Strauss and Co., the Clinton Administration, the Chinese government, Amnesty International, and the United Nations. This assignment is due and will be presented in class on 11.5. Each team will receive up to 15 points for the assignment (5 points for its oral presentation in class and 10 points for its written report). 20% of your grade for the written report will be based on writing style. Each team will have up to 15 minutes to make its oral presentation and to receive questions from classmates. All members of each team will receive the same grade unless team members propose an alternative grading method acceptable to the instructor. A separate instruction sheet will be distributed with the case material.
Ethics is a human practice that involves deliberation, give and take, active listening, questioning, probing, and creative problem-solving among participants in a community of shared values. Class participation, therefore, is an important component of our learning process in the course. Passive attendance without active participation will not result in a satisfactory participation grade.
Student participation will be evaluated according to your capacity:
· to demonstrate familiarity with the assigned readings,
· to apply foundational concepts to issues and cases under discussion,
· to think critically and creatively in the process of moral reasoning about issues and cases,
· to listen to and respond creatively to the comments of others (students and instructor) in our discussions,
· to utilize various methods of electronic communication throughout the course.
Each student will receive two participation grades, one at mid-term (13 points), the second at the end of the quarter (17 points). The mid-term grade will include concrete feedback to enable the student to develop and improve participation in the second half of the course.
Class attendance is expected. Students will have three participation points deducted for each class period missed after 1 absence. Points will not be deducted in the case of absences if the student submits a brief written summary of each assigned reading and a full written case study analysis of any cases discussed during the class missed. The case study analysis will not count toward the 3 required for the course. This make-up material is due bv the beginning of the next class period.
5. A personal statement of business ethics
See assignment description in Calendar (11.7)
A final exam, worth 20 points, will test the student's grasp of foundational materials and applied topics throughout the course. At least a week before the final, each student will be provided with a comprehensive set of possible exam questions from which all actual exam questions will be selected. The final will also include an analysis of a case provided at the exam.
SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT ACADEMIC DISNONESTY
Evidence of any act of academic dishonesty will result in an automatic grade of "F" for this course. Examples of academic dishonesty include cheating on tests and plagarism in the writing of papers (e.g., using portions of the work of others without providing adequate attribution, copying another person's written work and claiming it as one's own). Academic dishonesty does NOT include the sharing of ideas and contributions for a group project in which team members are expected to collaborate and share their work. It does NOT include student discussion of case studies outside the classroom, the sharing of notes or ideas, or group studying for exams.