SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS

Transcription

1 SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS Discipline: Commerce/Business Semester and Year: Fall 2013 SEMS : Global Business Ethics Upper or Lower Division: Upper Faculty Name: Richard Castaldi, Ph.D. Pre-requisites None COURSE DESCRIPTION This Comparative Lens course on business ethics and social responsibility will be taught from a global and multi-disciplinary perspective as it integrates philosophy with management, economics, strategy, law, and public policy. Through the lens of the countries we visit we will compare and contrast business ethics and social responsibility norms and how they influence local and global business practices. Topics to be covered will include ethical theory, globalization, marketing ethics, environmental responsibilities, diversity and discrimination, corporate governance, cross-cultural values, moral rights in the workplace, and corporate social responsibility. The text, lectures and class discussions will provide a framework for identifying and analyzing the range and diversity of ethical perspectives around the globe. COURSE OBJECTIVES The objectives of this course are to: (1) introduce students to a conceptual framework that will facilitate the examination of the range of ethical and social responsibility issues that arise when conducting business in today s global marketplace, and (2) encourage student thinking, reasoning and decision making from the points of view of various stakeholders (customers, employees, suppliers, governments, society) as each of these relationships creates ethical challenges and responsibilities. Students should consider such ethical issues in terms of the type of life they themselves wish to lead and the type of public policy for governing business that they are willing to support. REQUIRED TEXTBOOK AUTHOR: Andrew W. Ghillyer TITLE: Business Ethics Now PUBLISHER: McGraw-Hill Irwin ISBN #: PUBLICATION DATE: 2012

2 SESSION TOPICS AND REPONSIBLITIES 1 & 2 Course Introduction and Understanding Ethics * Prepare chapter 1; Thinking Critically Exercises 1.1, 1.2 & & 4 Defining Business Ethics * Prepare chapter 2; Thinking Critically Exercises 2.1, 2.1 & & 6 Organizational Ethics * Prepare chapter 3, Thinking Critically 3.1, 3.2 & 3.3 7, 8 & 9 Corporate Social Responsibility * Prepare chapter 4 & app A; Thinking Critically Exercises 4.1, 4.2 & Corporate Governance * Prepare chapter 5; Thing Critically Exercises 5.1, 5.2 & Midterm Examination (chapters 1-5 & appendix A) 12 The Role of Government * Prepare chapter 6; Thinking Critically Exercises 6.1, 6.2 & Blowing the Whistle * Prepare chapter 7; Thinking Critically Exercises 7.1, 7.2 & & 15 Ethics and Technology * Prepare chapter 8; Thinking Critically Exercises 8.1, 8.2 & & 17 Ethics and Globalization * Prepare chapter 9; Thinking Critically Exercises 9.1, 9.2 & & 19 Doing What s Right in a Competitive Market * Prepare chap 10; Exercises 10.1, 10.2 & Business Ethics: Is the Term an Oxymoron? * Prepare appendix B 21, 22 & 23 Field Lab Presentations & Related Discussions * Field Lab project written report due class Final Examination (chapters 6-10 and appendix B)

3 FIELD WORK Twenty percent of your grade in this course is based on participation in the required field lab and successful completion of all field assignments. FIELD LAB The required field lab for this class will be on Day 1 in Cape Town on Saturday, October 26. South African wines are gaining an increasing share of the global wine market. We will visit Backsberg Wines Estate and Nelson s Creek Wine Estate to learn about wine production and associated ethical, environmental and social responsibility issues facing the industry. Our first stop is Backsberg Wine Estate, situated along the slopes of the Simonsberg Mountains, midway between Paarl and Stellenbosch. The estate has been producing quality wines for over 70 years. Backsberg emphasizes quality in all of their products and has been chosen as one of the Top 100 Wineries of the Year by Wine & Spirits Magazine in New York. Backsberg also has a strong environmental focus. They have a holistic approach to preservation and recently it became the first wine producer in South Africa - and one of only three in the world - to gain Carbon Neutral status by sequestering its carbon emissions. Harry Haddon, marketing coordinator of the estate, will welcome and escort us on a tour through the wine cellar. After the tour, Harry will host a talk on Backsberg s marketing strategies, as well their corporate priorities on ethical, environmental and sustainability practices. We will the continue to Nelson s Creek Wine Estate near country town of Wellington that stands upon one of the first plots of land to be selected by the French Huguenots for making wine. A deeds office entry dated 1692 records the fact that the new arrivals from the Loire Valley in France immediately recognized the potential of the area and set about making their contribution to the fledgling wine industry. These early pioneers probably had the same dream as the present owner Alan Nelson - to make wines that would proudly carry the family name, wines that would be among the finest coming out of South Africa. After touring the vineyard, cellar and facilities, we will meet with Alan Nelson and his management team to discuss topics such as international marketing, sustainable procedures and social and environmental practices. Academic Objectives 1. To apply concepts and theories covered in our Global Business Ethics Comparative Lens course to current ethical, environmental, and social responsibility issues facing firms in the wine industry. 2. To gain insights from successful top managers in two different wineries regarding management and marketing practices with particular emphasis to their perspectives on ethical, environmental and social responsibility issues. 3. To produce a final written report that compares and contrasts important academic theories and concepts of business ethics and social responsibility with issues and practices facing top managers today in the wine industry, as well as addressing such issues that face local businesses in the ports we visit.

4 FIELD ASSIGNMENTS All students are strongly encouraged to maintain a notebook that you would use to chronicle any ethical, environmental or social responsibility issues you identify that face local businesses in the ports that we visit. One goal of this Comparative Lens course is to compare and contrast differences from the lens of the countries we visit and this notebook will be very helpful to make such comparisons for your final report. Your observations could come from field labs in other courses, your own interaction with local businesses and residents during your travels, along with information and insights from secondary research sources such as periodicals, newspapers, etc. Students (in groups of three) will prepare a final written report to be graded that will also serve as a basis for class discussion during the final class meetings where all groups share their report highlights in class. METHODS OF EVALUATION Three methods of evaluations will be used to grade your performance in the course: 1. Chapters and critically thinking discussion exercises from the textbook should be prepared prior to the class for which they are assigned. Text material will be reviewed in class by lecture and class discussions where students will be called upon to discuss certain aspects of the material covered. In other words, the text material studied will not simply be rehashed in class and you will be expected to provide your insights and ideas regarding the textbook material. That is why it is critical that you prepare the reading and discussion assignments adequately prior to our class meetings. Due to its importance class participation contributes 20% to the final grade and student performance will be based on your degree of preparedness and consistency of quality contributions to discussions. Attendance and punctuality will also be included in this component. 2. Midterm and final exams will include multiple choice and short answer essay questions and each exam contributes 30% to the final grade. 3. Field lab project and respective assignments (see above) contribute 20% to the final grade. Weight Points 1) Individual class participation 20% 100 2) Midterm and final exams 60% 300 3) Field lab project 20% 100 Total Points 500

5 Final Grade: A = points B = points C = points D = points F = lower than 300 (The +/- system will be used) NOTE: all electronics (laptops, tablets, cell phones, etc) are banned from use in the classroom and on the required field trip. HONOR CODE Semester at Sea students enroll in an academic program administered by the University of Virginia, and thus bind themselves to the University s honor code. The code prohibits all acts of lying, cheating, and stealing. Please consult the Voyager s Handbook for further explanation of what constitutes an honor offense. Each written assignment for this course must be pledged by the student as follows: On my honor as a student, I pledge that I have neither given nor received aid on this assignment. The pledge must be signed, or, in the case of an electronic file, signed [signed].