BUSINESS ETHICS 2020/2021
For decades now, news stories have brought to public attention the countless social and ethical issues raised by the operations of all kinds of businesses. The latest wave of criticism began with the rash of scandals first brought to light in late 2001, when the Enron fraud was exposed: the Enron debacle was an ethical tsunami that redefined business’s relationships with society and the global community. Since then, other corporate names have been publicly shamed: Martha Stewart, Rite Aid, ImClone, HealthSouth, WorldCom, Global Crossing, Microsoft, Monsanto, Wal-Mart, Facebook, Tyco, Adelphia, Boeing, and many others. The global economic crisis that began in 2008 has added also banks, financial operators, and insurances to the list of ethically controversial business actors. In general, companies must today grapple with highly complex and vast societal concerns that far exceed the pursuit of a satisfactory bottom-line - and do so in a globalized, highly interconnected, instantly informed, and socially conscious environment.
We shall be discussing the role of business in society, and whether business without ethics can be sustained in a world characterized by great economic uncertainty, financial insecurity, dramatic levels of inequality both within and among countries, fast-paced technological progress, stratified and sometimes contradictory legal requirements, weak global institutions, and a rampant environmental crisis. The Covid-19 pandemic will be considered, as well.
Business Ethics raises questions about a host of widely diverse issues: executive powers, corporate governance, covert monopolies, delocalized production and outsourced labor, unmet or distorted health standards, the commercial implications of genetic research, the patents and copyrights regime, the accountability of financial institutions, businesses’ employment of political action committees to influence the outcome of legislation - along with the macrotheme of the overall sustainability - ecological, economic, and social - of current production and consumption patterns
Modules
The
course includes four modules. Module 1 deals with the theoretical underpinnings
of business ethics in ethical theory and various views of the nature of
corporations. Module 2 explores various issues concerning business and global
challenges, such as pandemics, climate change, financial crises, AI and
cybersecurity. Module 3 deals with cross-cultural issues, such as genders,
works conditions, cultures and lifestyles. Modules 4 focusses on the ethics of
lobbying.
Required readings
R. Audi, “The Place of Ethical Theory in Business Ethics”, in G.G. Brenkert (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Business Ethics, OUP, 2009
Alexei Marcoux, “Business Ethics,” ed. Edward N. Zalta, The Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2008, http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2008/entries/ethics-business/
Ronald M. Green and Aine Donovan, “The Methods of Business Ethics “, in G.G. Brenkert (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Business Ethics, OUP, 2009
Hongwei He and Lloyd Harris, “The Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Corporate Social Responsibility and Marketing Philosophy,” Journal of Business Research 116 (August 2020): 176–82, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.05.030.
P.T. Mentzel, “Just Access to Health Care and Pharmaceuticals”, in G.G. Brenkert (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Business Ethics, OUP, 2009
Arnold, Denis G., and Keith Bustos. "Business, Ethics, and Global Climate Change." Business & Professional Ethics Journal 24, no. 1/2 (2005): 103-30
van den Hove, Sybille & Le Menestrel, Marc & Bettignies, Henri-Claude. (2002). The oil industry and climate change: Strategies and ethical dilemmas. Climate Policy. 2. 3-18. 10.3763/cpol.2002.0202.
S. Power, M.L. Di Domenico, G. Miller, “The nature of ethical entrepreneurship in tourism”, Annals of Tourism Research, vol. 65, 2017, pp. 36-48
B. De Bruin, Ethics and the Global Financial Crisis. Why Incompetence is Worse than Greed, CUP, 2015, Introduction, chaps. 4, 6, 8
“A Care-based Stakeholder Approach to Cybersecurity in Business”, in M. Christen, B. Gordjin, M. Loi (eds.), The Ethics of Cybersecurity, Springer, 2020
Tara J. Radin and Patricia H. Werhane, ‘Employment-at-Will, Employee Rights, and Future Directions for Employment’, Business Ethics Quarterly 13 (2003): 113–30.
J. McCall and P. Werhane, “Employment at Will and Employee Rights”, in G.G. Brenkert (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Business Ethics, OUP, 2009
Burton, B. and Dunn, C. (1996). "Feminist Ethics as Moral Grounding for Stake- holder Theory." Business Ethics Quarterly, vol. 6(2), pp. 133-48.
Derry, R. (1996) "Toward a Feminist Firm." Business Ethics Quarterly
Dobson, J. and White, J. (1995) "Toward the Feminine Firm." Business Ethics Quarterly. vol. 5, pp. 463-78
Thomas Donaldson, ‘Values in Tension: Ethics Away from Home’, Harvard Business Review 74:5 (1996): 48–62.
Stark, A., 2010. “Business in Politics: Lobbying and Corporate Campaign Contributions”, in G.G. Brenkert and T.L. Beauchamp (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Business Ethics, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 501–532.Additional readings
J. Wolff, An Introduction to Moral Philosophy, Norton & Norton, 2018, chaps. 1, 8-13
F.M. Kamm, The Trolley Problem Mysteries, OUP, 2016
R. Edmonds, Would You Kill the Fat Man?, PUP, 2015
Mike Harrison, An Introduction to Business and Management Ethics (Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire; New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005)
Lisa Herzog, “Markets,” in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed. Edward N. Zalta, Fall 2013, 2013, http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2013/entries/markets/
K. G. Goodpaster, “Corporate Responsibility and Its Constituents”, in G.G. Brenkert (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Business Ethics, OUP, 2009
L. J. Weber, Business Ethics in Healthcare: Beyond Compliance, Indiana University Press, 2001
M. Grasso, The Leopard Must Change Its Spots: Big Oil’s Responsibility for the Climate Crisis, ms.
W. Michael Hoffman, ‘Business and Environmental Ethics’, Business Ethics Quarterly 1 (1991): 169–84.
S. Massini, The Lehman Trilogy, Harpervia, 2020
M. Christen, B. Gordjin, M. Loi (eds.), The Ethics of Cybersecurity, Springer, 2020
Ian Maitland, ‘The Great Non-Debate Over International Sweatshops’, Ethical Theory and
Business, 8th ed., Eds. Tom L. Beauchamp, Norman E. Bowie, and Denis G. Arnold (Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008), 597–608
Richard A. Epstein, ‘In Defense of the Contract at Will”, in Tom L. Beauchamp, Norman E. Bowie, and Denis G. Arnold (Eds.), Ethical Theory and Business, 8th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008)
Denis G. Arnold, “Working Conditions: Safety and Sweatshops”, in G.G. Brenkert (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Business Ethics, OUP, 2009
T.L. Beauchamp, “Relativism, Multiculturalism, and Universal Norms: Their Role in Business Ethics”, in G.G. Brenkert (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Business Ethics, OUP, 2009
Sources for cases and videos
https://theconversation.com/the-trolley-dilemma-would-you-kill-one-person-to-save-five-57111
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpQYsk-8dWg
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/technology/coronavirus-purell-wipes-amazon-sellers.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0GYkKeLxGc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaiSUumOQl4
https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/business-ethics/resources/the-case-of-plant-relocation/
https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/business-ethics/resources/family-loyalty-vs-meritocracy/
https://www.scu.edu/government-ethics/resources/the-case-of-the-friendly-consultant/
Assessment
The
course is meant to stimulate active dialogue rather than merely promote the
absorption of relevant concepts and theories. Reading is therefore absolutely
essential, and will be constantly supervised in various ways, especially with
mini-quizzes in some online sessions. Moreover, the midterm exam will consist
in a case-analysis project work – on a group- or single-base. The final exam is a take-home paper (up to 6k words), to be sent by eight
days before each call. The midterm exam will yield 50% of the overall grade.