IBUS6040 Special Topics: International Ethics
Course Description: The focus of this course is enhancing the capacity of students to make difficult and necessary ethical choices on the basis of limited information and frequently conflicting values. In their personal lives and future roles as professionals in a chosen field, students will face moral temptations and ethical dilemmas that resist easy answers or a simple formula for action. A major goal of this class is to prepare students to ask important questions, test the strengths and limits of various approaches to seeking answers, and act more thoughtfully, courageously, and creatively in uncertain situations. Students will explore the ethical decision-making process, personal and professional codes of ethics and accepted standards of practice, and the major ethical issues confronting professionals in their field today and in the near future. The course will also examine ethical concepts from around the world.
Course texts:
1. Kidder, R. M. (1996). How Good People Make Tough Choices, New York: Simon & Schuster/Fireside.
2. Bowie and Werhane (2005). Management Ethics, Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing
3. Newton and Ford (2005) Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Business Ethics and Society 9th ed., Guilford, CT: Dushkin/McGraw-Hill
Course Outcomes: Upon completion of this course, the student will:
1. Know the basic theories, principles, and practices of the ethical decision-making process
2. Develop a personal code of ethics and a heightened awareness of personal values and other factors influencing one’s own conduct
3. Be aware of the ethical issues and challenges facing professionals in their field of study today
4. Be familiar with the basic standards of practice and codes of ethics in their chosen profession
5. Know how to apply ethical decision making to real-life situations and act with moral courage when necessary
6. Understand the concepts of ethical management and the use of stakeholder analysis in making ethical management decisions.