Business Ethics
Philosophy 260A
Course Description: In this course, we will analyze and synthesize the role of
ethics in business organizations. We
will emphasize the way ethical theories affect thinking, relationship development,
policy formation, and professional conduct in the workplace. Students will develop the skills to
understand and integrate ethics into practices that support the success of the
employee and the organization.
Course Objectives: Review major theories of ethics.
Identify the variety of approaches of ethical theories.
Explain the relation of each ethical approach to business practice.
Explain the relation between ethical theory and values.
Examine the relation between ethics and organizational performance.
Identify current ethics issues in business organizations.
Develop a methodology for evaluating moral events in business.
Apply critical thinking to business ethics issues.
Major Topics: *Ethical theory (especially utilitarianism, Kantian deontology, and the ethics of virtue).
*Corporate social responsibility (especially the positions of Milton Friedman and the stakeholder theorists).
*The regulation of business.
*Acceptable risk (and strict products liability).
*Rights and obligations of employers and employees (especially the “employment-at-will” doctrine, drug testing, genetic screening, and whistleblowing).
*Hiring, firing, and discriminating (including pay equity and sexual harassment).
*Gathering, concealing, and gilding information (including business bluffing, as well as truth and deception in advertising).
*International business (especially in relation to ethical relativism).
Required Texts: James Rachels, The Elements of Moral Philosophy (3rd),
McGraw-Hill, 1999.
Tom L. Beauchamp and Norman E. Bowie, eds., Ethical Theory and Business (6th), Prentice Hall, 1997.
Instructor: Dr. Kevin C. Boileau, J.D., Ph.D., LL.M.
Contact Students may contact me at:
Information: *(206) 297-9137
Office Hours: Office hours and location will be announced in
class. Please always feel free to make
an appointment with me.
Attendance: prepared notes and comments for class discussion, are to be completed prior to class. Attendance is mandatory. Students who have very good reasons for missing a class should contact me prior to the class they will miss.
Assignments: Final Term Paper & Oral Presentation: 35%
Final Exam (take-home) 35%
Information: sharp insight into material and initiates thoughtful questions. Sees many sides of an issue. Articulates well and writes logically and clearly. Integrates ideas previously learned from this and other disciplines; anticipates next steps in progression of ideas. “A” work is of such a nature that it could be put on reserve for all students to review and emulate. The “A” student is an example for others to follow.
“B” – Grasps subject matter at a level considered to be good to very good. Is an active listener and participant in class discussion. Speaks and writes well. Accomplishes more than the minimum requirements. Work in and out of class is of high quality. “B” work indicates a high quality of performance and is given in recognition for solid work: a “B” is a high grade.
“C” – Demonstrates a satisfactory comprehension of the subject matter. Accomplishes only the mimimum requirements and displays little or no initiative. Communicates orally and in writing at an acceptable level for a college student. Has an acceptable understanding of all basic concepts. “C” work represents average work. A student receiving a “C” has met the requirements, including deadlines, of the course.
“D” – Quality and quantity of work in and of class is below average and barely acceptable. “D” work is passing by a slim margin.
“F” – Quality of work is unacceptable.
Late Assignments: Late papers and missed midterm examinations
will receive an
“F.” If a student demonstrates an
appropriate, documented excuse, this penalty will not apply. Appropriate excuses include serious medical
emergencies or a recent death in your immediate family. There will be NO make-up final examinations
given.
Writing Standards: fonts, with serifs (e.g., Courier, New
Roman, Helvetica, etc.) with one-inch margins on all sides. Each paper is to have a title page
identifying the subject, student, date, class, assignment, and the
instructor. Misspellings, inappropriate
punctuation, grammar usage, and the like will negatively impact your grade. Use a dictionary and a writing resource guide
for style, such as the Little, Brown
Handbook (LBH). If you cite
references in your essays, make sure you use a standard style, such as MLA or The
For grading
guidelines, please refer to B.C.C.
Philosophy Department Writing Guidelines, which is available in the
Philosophy Department, and to the handout entitled “Written Assignment Feedback.”
Cell Phones, If you must respond to a page or a telephone call during class time,
Pagers, & Laptops: please leave the room. To minimize disruption to others, all pagers and portable telephones must be in an unobtrusive mode during class time. If your instrument cannot be put into an unobtrusive mode, please leave it elsewhere, to minimize disruption. Use of a computer during class is inappropriate, because it is disruptive.
Academic Honesty: B.C.C. trusts each student to maintain high standards of honesty and ethical behavior. All assignments submitted in fulfillment of course requirements must be the student’s own work. All assignments are individual efforts.
Academic honesty is highly valued by B.C.C. A student must always submit work that represents his or her original words or ideas. If any words or ideas are used that do not represent the student’s original words or ideas, then the student must cite relevant sources, i.e., give credit to them. The student should also make clear the extent to which these other sources were used. Words or ideas that require citation include, but are not limited to, all hardcopy or electronic publications, whether copyrighted or not, and all verbal or visual communication when the content of such communications clearly originates from an identifiable source. All submissions to class fall within the scope of words and ideas that require citations if used by someone other than the original author.
Academic honesty at B.C.C. could involve the following acts: 1) having someone else complete a portion of your assignments; 2) having a reviewer make extensive revisions to your assignment; 3) copying work submitted by another student as a class assignment; 4) using information from any commercial or private data base service, without proper citation or credit; and 5) using someone else’s academic work and passing it off as your own. When in doubt, always provide a citation to another’s work!
Any of these practices could result in charges of academic dishonesty and the imposition of severe sanctions. For more information, consult the policies and procedures of B.C.C.
Hostile-Free To assure a safe learning environment and to enhance the academic
Environment: freedom of expression, I request that the classroom setting and its
Proceedings be harassment-free and vigorously non-discriminating on the basis of race, gender, religion, national origin, disability, and all other pejorative stereotypes. We will challenger one another by our ideas on the intellectual level rather than on the personal level, learn in good faith and honor, respect one another as adults, value our diversity of opinion and talents, and never demean each other by our critical comments as we focus on the theory and practice of business ethics.
Assignments: Week 1: (9/23-27). Introduction to the course, review of syllabus, presentation and discussion of ethical theory. (Rachels, pp. 1-52, 70-142, 175-193; Beauchamp, ch. 1).
Week 2: (9/30-10/4). Continued presentation of ethical theory. Purpose of the corporation. (Beauchamp, ch. 2).
Week 3: (10/7-11). NO CLASS 10/11. The regulation of business. (Beauchamp, ch. 3). [We will especially discuss and analyze the “prisoner’s dilemma.”]
Week 4: (10/14-18). Acceptable risk. (Beauchamp, ch. 4).
Review of basic ethical theory and theories of corporate social
responsibility.
Week 5: (10/21-25). Midterm Examination on Monday, 10/21. Review Midterm Examination on Tuesday. Rights & obligations of employers and employees. (Beauchamp, ch. 5). [We will especially cover the employment-at-will doctrine, drug testing, genetic screening, and whistleblowing.]
Week 6: (10/28-11/1). Continued discussion of rights & obligations of employers and employees.
Week 7: (11/4-8).
Hiring, firing, & discrimination. (Beauchamp, ch. 6).
Week 8: (11/11-15). NO CLASS 11/11. Marketing
& disclosure. (Beauchamp, ch. 7). We will especially cover disclosure in sales,
business bluffing, and truth & deception in advertising.
Discuss and distribute Final Examination.
Week 9: (11/18-22). International business.
(Beauchamp, ch. 8; Rachels, ch. 2). [We will especially discuss issues of
cultural and ethical relativism. Review. Work on
papers and final exams.]
Week 10: (11/25-29).
Social and economic justice. (Beauchamp, ch. 9). [Work on papers and final exams.] NO CLASS 11/28, 29. Turn in final draft of Term Essay 11/27.
Week 11: (12/2-6). Oral presentations of final Term Essays. Take-home Final Examination due on or before Friday, 12/6. There will be no in-class, final Examination during the regularly-scheduled Final Examination period (12/10-12).
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