Business ethics

Abstract

Selection and arrangement of content as a collection of Business Ethics is copyrighted by William Frey. It is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 licence. While many courses using this title place emphasis on applying classical philosophical and ethical theory, this course's approach is decidedly interdisciplinary and practical. It is not designed as a socio-humanistic elective, a service philosophy course, or even an applied philosophical ethics course but as a laboratory, skills-based course where students develop, practice, and refine decision-making and problem-solving strategies that they will carry with them into the world of business practice. Emphasis has been placed on responding to the four ethical themes identified by the AACSB ethics task force: Ethical Leadership, Ethical Decision-Making, Social Responsibility, and Corporate Governance. Modules include (1) theory building activities (responsibility, rights, virtue), (2) problem specification frameworks emphasizing socio-technical system building and analogies with design, (3) specific modules responding to AACSB ethics themes (moral ecologies, corporate social responsibility, corporate governance, and a history of the modern corporation) and (4) modules that provide the course with a capstone, integrative experience (Business Ethics Bowl, Social Impact Statement Reports, and Corporate Ethics Compliance Officer Reports).