Business Ethics. By: Aims Community College - Oil & Gas Dept.

Business Ethics By: Aims Community College - Oil & Gas Dept.

Business Ethics By: Aims Community College - Oil & Gas Dept. Online: < http://cnx.org/content/col11561/1.3/ > C O N N E X I O N S Rice University, Houston, Texas

This selection and arrangement of content as a collection is copyrighted by Aims Community College - Oil & Gas Dept.. It is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Collection structure revised: August 30, 2013 PDF generated: August 30, 2013 For copyright and attribution information for the modules contained in this collection, see p. 13.

Table of Contents 1 Business Ethics - Introduction................................................................... 1 2 Business Ethics - Week 1......................................................................... 3 3 Business Ethics - Week 2......................................................................... 5 4 Business Ethics - Week 3......................................................................... 7 5 Business Ethics - Week 4......................................................................... 9 6 Business Ethics - Week 5........................................................................ 11 Index................................................................................................ 12 Attributions......................................................................................... 13

Chapter 1 Business Ethics - Introduction1 Business Ethics and Values - Introduction This short one-credit course introduces students to the foundations of business ethics. It was built around information contained in the Pearson Publishing textbook, "Ethics at Work" by Robert Hunt, Mathew Hunt and Barbara Cox, Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2005. Does business have any legitimate role other than making a prot? What else matters... or should matter? Can you tell the dierence between honorable and inappropriate behavior in the workplace? In this course, we will examine traits of ethical people and ethical organizations, e.g., integrity, character, honesty, and self-control. In small groups and individually, you will reect upon how these values play out in real life. Business Ethics is not about the technical expertise needed to rm up a drill site or secure a patient's medications. You need not worry about touchy-feely discussions. This course is about real skills you demonstrate that enable your boss and teammates to trust you to "do the right thing." Here, you will explore guidelines for making sound, ethical decisions. You will go back to home, school and work with PRACTICAL knowledge. Learning objectives For most people, doing a good job at work requires consistent eort. We all have stories of a business owner, supervisor, employee, or supplier performing really well one day, then seeming to cut corners the next. What explains this? In these ve weeks, insight will come to you from course content, classroom discussion and reection on your own life. As you read, watch and listen to others, you can expect to: Gain understanding of how values and ethics are formed... and nd that exercising ethics is a skill you can improve. Appreciate the distinction among taste, manners, morals and the law... and learn why obeying the law is only the rst step in behaving ethically. Compare results with intent... and see how some people weigh options and determine their priorities dierently from you. Deepen your understanding of stereotyping and cultural bias as you witness some people being encouraged and others challenged. Dene integrity and describe how leadership can develop corporate character. Business ethics primer: four short videos 2 Plan of work, evaluation of performance - for use as a graded course: Think of this class as an orientation to the business world. All things being equal, do you expect companies to do the right thing? Are you skeptical? In our short time together this semester, you will confront 1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m47316/1.3/>. 2 http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/business/introduction.html 1

2 CHAPTER 1. BUSINESS ETHICS - INTRODUCTION potentially controversial attitudes and behavior, on the news, in school or on the job. In your online conversations, there is nothing wrong with disagreement, so long as it is expressed maturely. Please try to listen respectfully and engage alternative points of view with an open mind. Performance measures for this short session include: Weekly Discussion: 80 points (4) Assigned questions will drive your weekly online discussion. Expect to post one original response AND ALSO respond to the opinions of your classmates. Please come to your keyboard prepared, having read the related chapter or chapters in your text. Feel free to draw upon real life experience and examples that support your point of view. Team activities: 120 points (2) In small groups (3-4) you will work through hypothetical cases and activities based on your progressive understanding of textbook content and online discussions with the class as a whole. Each team will have its private space to compare notes, share les, and interact with the instructor. Final exam: 75 points You will submit your concluding assignment individually. This one-time exam will include true-false, multiple choices, and short essay questions based on the wrap up reviews found at the end of every chapter in your text. Personal progress report: 25 points Your instructor appreciates knowing your expectations of the course going in, which you may provide in the ungraded discussion forum... and your level of satisfaction at the end. By submitting a short how it went summary at the end of the term, you are eligible for up to ve percent of the total points attainable in this ve-week course.

Chapter 2 Business Ethics - Week 11 Read Read the chapter on Theory and Practice. Discuss Sharing your observations and constructive criticism with classmates is a great way to master content and demonstrate learning. For the following topic, you will be responsible for at least one original post based on your reading and one or more responses to the posts of other students. Focus on critical analysis, clarity of expression, and responsiveness to the question posed. Can ethical behavior be learned? Among people you know personally, identify one or two (you need not use their name) whom you believe to be the "most ethical." Do you believe their ethical behavior comes naturally to them... was learned... or both? Share your reasoning or your intuition. 1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m47495/1.2/>. 3

4 CHAPTER 2. BUSINESS ETHICS - WEEK 1

Chapter 3 Business Ethics - Week 21 Read Read the chapters on Values, Principles, and Sources of Inuence. Discuss Sharing your observations and constructive criticism with classmates is a great way to master content and demonstrate learning. For the following topic, you will be responsible for at least one original post based on your reading and one or more responses to the posts of other students. Focus on critical analysis, clarity of expression, and responsiveness to the question posed. Does religious faith equate with ethical behavior? Has it been your experience that religious people are generally more ethical, less ethical, or about the same as "the rest of us?" What explains this? Team Project - Conicting Loyalties Form small groups of 3 or 4 to collaborate on this project. Using private team discussion "rooms", share your opinions and your reasoning enroute to writing a conclusive 500-word essay, one per team. Each student should review the seven practices below and write "R" for Report it or "I" for Ignore it. Discuss your answers within your team. When you achieve mutual understanding or consensus, move on to collaborate on your essay. If you discovered that one of your co-workers was doing the following, would you tell a supervisor or let it go? (R = Report and I = Ignore). 1. Use the company copier to invite friends - including some colleagues - to a weekend barbecue. 2. Take oce supplies home for personal use. 3. Spend 20-30 minutes of company time daily to send personal email. 4. Leave a half hour early each day without docking it. 5. Use the company car, contrary to policy, for short weekend trips. 6. Look at pornography on a company computer during break time. 7. Date a subordinate employee, contrary to company policy, even though the relationship is voluntary. 1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m47502/1.2/>. 5

Chapter 4 Business Ethics - Week 31 Read Read the chapter on Ethical Judgments, and the chapter on Justication, Rationalization and the Analysis of Moral Choices. Discuss Sharing your observations and constructive criticism with classmates is a great way to master content and demonstrate learning. For the following topic, you will be responsible for at least one original post based on your reading and one or more responses to the posts of other students. Focus on critical analysis, clarity of expression, and responsiveness to the question posed. Pick your poison... Judging our own and others' behavior comes relatively easy for some of us, and uncomfortably hard for others. Please comment on EITHER of the following maxims from your reading: A. "I don't care about people's intentions; I care about what they do." or B. "Rules are meant to be broken." For either statement, please give an example from work or school. 1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m47508/1.2/>. 7

Chapter 5 Business Ethics - Week 41 Read Read the chapter on Guidelines for Decision Making. Discuss Sharing your observations and constructive criticism with classmates is a great way to master content and demonstrate learning. For the following topic, you will be responsible for at least one original post based on your reading and one or more responses to the posts of other students. Focus on critical analysis, clarity of expression, and responsiveness to the question posed. Am I responsible? View the fourth video at this link: Am I Responsible? 2 How valid or relevant do you nd Prof. Hanson's protrayal of ve conditions under which an individual might feel bound to take action? 1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m47505/1.2/>. 2 http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/business/introduction.html 9

Chapter 6 Business Ethics - Week 51 Read Read the chapters on Individual Traits, Corporate Character and Role of Leadership. 1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m47497/1.2/>. 11

12 INDEX Index of Keywords and Terms Keywords are listed by the section with that keyword (page numbers are in parentheses). Keywords do not necessarily appear in the text of the page. They are merely associated with that section. Ex. apples, Ÿ 1.1 (1) Terms are referenced by the page they appear on. Ex. apples, 1 B business, Ÿ 1(1), Ÿ 2(3), Ÿ 3(5), Ÿ 4(7), Ÿ 5(9), Ÿ 6(11) E ethics, Ÿ 1(1), Ÿ 2(3), Ÿ 3(5), Ÿ 4(7), Ÿ 5(9), Ÿ 6(11)

ATTRIBUTIONS 13 Attributions Collection: Business Ethics Edited by: Aims Community College - Oil & Gas Dept. URL: http://cnx.org/content/col11561/1.3/ License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Module: "Business Ethics - Introduction" By: Aims Community College - Oil & Gas Dept. URL: http://cnx.org/content/m47316/1.3/ Pages: 1-2 Copyright: Aims Community College - Oil & Gas Dept. License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Module: "Business Ethics - Week 1" By: Aims Community College - Oil & Gas Dept. URL: http://cnx.org/content/m47495/1.2/ Page: 3 Copyright: Aims Community College - Oil & Gas Dept. License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Module: "Business Ethics - Week 2" By: Aims Community College - Oil & Gas Dept. URL: http://cnx.org/content/m47502/1.2/ Page: 5 Copyright: Aims Community College - Oil & Gas Dept. License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Module: "Business Ethics - Week 3" By: Aims Community College - Oil & Gas Dept. URL: http://cnx.org/content/m47508/1.2/ Page: 7 Copyright: Aims Community College - Oil & Gas Dept. License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Module: "Business Ethics - Week 4" By: Aims Community College - Oil & Gas Dept. URL: http://cnx.org/content/m47505/1.2/ Page: 9 Copyright: Aims Community College - Oil & Gas Dept. License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Module: "Business Ethics - Week 5" By: Aims Community College - Oil & Gas Dept. URL: http://cnx.org/content/m47497/1.2/ Page: 11 Copyright: Aims Community College - Oil & Gas Dept. License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Business Ethics This is a ve-week course on Business Ethics authored by Louis Cartier. This course is aligned to the text "Ethics at Work" by Robert Hunt, Mathew Hunt and Barbara Cox, Pearson / Prentice Hall, 2005, ISBN 0-13-045031-6. About Connexions Since 1999, Connexions has been pioneering a global system where anyone can create course materials and make them fully accessible and easily reusable free of charge. We are a Web-based authoring, teaching and learning environment open to anyone interested in education, including students, teachers, professors and lifelong learners. We connect ideas and facilitate educational communities. Connexions's modular, interactive courses are in use worldwide by universities, community colleges, K-12 schools, distance learners, and lifelong learners. Connexions materials are in many languages, including English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Vietnamese, French, Portuguese, and Thai. Connexions is part of an exciting new information distribution system that allows for Print on Demand Books. Connexions has partnered with innovative on-demand publisher QOOP to accelerate the delivery of printed course materials and textbooks into classrooms worldwide at lower prices than traditional academic publishers.