Argosy University/Chicago
COURSE SYLLABUS
B6003
Ethics in Business
Faculty Name: Abdullah Alshboul
Campus: Chicago
Contact Information:
Abdullah Alshboul
Phone: (708) 655-0793
Email: aalshboul@argosy.edu.
Office Hours and Electronic Communication:
I will typically respond to your emails within 24 hours. Please include the Course Number (B6003) in the subject line of your email
communication. If you phone me and I am not available, please leave your name, course number and call back number.
If you would like to meet in person or have a telephone meeting, please email or call me to schedule an appointment.
Short Faculty Bio: Abdullah Alshboul is currently a DBA candidate at Argosy/Chicago University working on his dissertation.
Master of Science degree in Computer Science from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, IL, and his bachelor of Science
degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Prishtina, Yugoslavia. Abdullah Alshboul gained his professional experience, as a
team leader for AMS Wireless Solutions, realtor for C21, Liquidation manager and co-founder of USS, network engineer for UPS and
data maintenance manager for SBC (AT&T).
Course description:
This course addresses the ethical dimensions of management with a special focus on the processes managers may use to raise and
resolve ethical dilemmas and conflicts in organizational settings. Policies pertaining to treatment of those raising ethical issues will be
considered. The legal and regulatory requirements of ethical conduct will be examined. Policies and codes of conduct established by
various organizations and industry groups will be critically examined. The course will feature case studies involving alleged breaches
of ethical conduct among publicly held corporations.
Course Pre-requisites: None
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REQUIRED TEXTS:
Title
Author(s)
Publisher
ISBN

Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk About How To Do
It Right .
Nelson, Katherine A. Trevino, Linda Klebe
Wiley
10: 0471755257

Edition
13: 978-0471755258
4th ed. (August 11, 2006)
Technology: Pentium III CPU/ Windows 98; 128MB RAM printer; Microsoft Office; Adobe Acrobat Reader (full version); Microsoft
Internet Explorer 5.5 (PC), 5.0 (MAC), or Netscape Navigator 4.08; Norton Antivirus.
Course length: 7.5 Weeks
Contact Hours: 45 Hours
Credit Value: 3.0
Program Outcomes:
1. Communication
1.1. Oral/Written – Present business information orally and in writing using appropriate technology that is concise, clear,
organized, supported, and persuasive in a professional manner appropriate to the business context.
2. Critical Thinking/Problem Solving
2.1. Critical Thinking – Incorporate and synthesize information, theory, and practice in order to implement appropriate business
actions.
2.2. Problem Solving/Decision Making – Given a business situation, diagnose the underlying causes of the situation, evaluate
possible solutions, and determine and defend appropriate course of action.
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3.
4.
5.
6.
2.3. Information Literacy – Access information from a variety of sources, evaluate the credibility of the sources, and apply that
information to solve business problems.
Team
3.1. Leadership – Describe the requirements of team members and leaders to work effectively and creatively in achieving team
goals.
3.2. Collaboration – Collect, categorize, and consider the views of all stakeholders.
Ethics
4.1. Ethics – Identify the ethical principles related to personal and corporate behavior in specific business situations and explain
the potential consequences.
Diversity
5.1. Diversity – Identify the impact of both cultural and economic factors on the modern enterprise and explain the potential
consequences.
Analysis/Application
6.1. Applied Technology – Select and defend business technology solutions to typical business problems.
6.2. Integration – Describe the interrelationship of the functional business areas of statistics, accounting, finance, marketing,
operations, and strategy within the context of specific organizational goals.
Course Objectives:
1. Compare and contrast the various ethical theories and frameworks.
2. Evaluate the nature and value of business ethics in profit and non-profit organizations.
3. From a management perspective, explore, appraise and apply various alternatives and responses when observing non-ethical
practices in the workplace.
4. Assess and evaluate the role of leadership, structure, and corporate culture as mechanisms to develop and maintain a business code
5.
6.
7.
8.
of ethics.
Examine and appraise the role of ethics in human resources management, sales and marketing, finance and accounting, and
information system management.
Examine current legal and regulatory requirements of ethical conduct.
Examine case studies related to ethics in business and write in-depth analyses using APA format
Identify and solve ethical dilemmas, understand why people behave the way they do, and help you design a culture that will
promote ethical behavior in your organization.
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College of Business Mission Statement
The Argosy University College of Business is dedicated to providing practical, evidence-based, high-quality, solutions-focused
business programs at the undergraduate and graduate level, as well as continuing business education and specified certificate
training to business practitioners and educators in public, private, and non-profit sectors across industries. All undergraduate and
graduate programs of the College of Business are designed for the business practitioner and business educator, to instill excellence
of execution in knowledge, skills, and ethical values relevant to today’s global business environment. The inherent goal of these
academic programs is to foster values of social responsibility in a supportive, learning-centered environment of mutual respect and
professional excellence.
Submit Assignments
Assignments are to be submitted using APA style to the instructor at the beginning of class on the due date of the assignment. An
assignment should not contain abbreviated (e.g. int’l &, etc.) And/or Contractions (e.g. Can’t, don’t, etc.) or any slang comments or
words. Written assignments should follow the following format and written in Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.




1” margins on all Word documents
All assignments should have a cover page (a cover page includes the title of the class, due date, your name, and my name)
Font should be Times New Roman, 12 point size
Spacing should be double-spaced
 Referencing and citations for all assignments must be done in APA Style 5th Edition format
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Assignment Deadlines
In the learning environment as well as in the real-work environment, due dates are important. The assignments have due dates to
ensure that the student can in fact successfully complete the class in an accelerated timeframe while also benefiting from instructor
input before preparing each new assignment. Also important is timely participation and the components of the classroom to maximize
the learning experience for all parties.
To avoid late penalty deductions, assignments should be submitted on the due date via E-mail. Assignments submitted each day late
will be deducted with 5% late penalty deductions. A student needs to contact me prior to the due date to discuss possible options
when circumstances beyond the student’s control prevent or will be preventing him/her from completing the assignments by the
deadline. When circumstances are beyond the control of the student, we will set an alternative due date. When the assignments are
graded, late penalties will be applied based on the reasons for the late submission and the delay time frame.
Assignment Table
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Topics
Introducing Straight Talk About
Managing Business Ethics: Where
We're Going and Why
Readings
Read Chapter 1
Final Project
(Discussion)
Assignments
Assignment 1.1:
We defined ethical behavior as “behavior that is consistent with
the principles, norms, and standards of business practice that
have been agreed upon by society.” What happens if society
hasn’t agreed (as when new technologies come on the scene or
strong differences of opinion exist)? And what happens if
you’re doing business in a society different from your own?
How would you define ethical behavior then? Explain and
defend your position in a 1 -2 page paper
Assignment 1.2:
Are you convinced that business ethics can and should be taught?
Why or why not?
Explore to Stimulate Discussion
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Why be ethical? Why bother? Who
cares?
Read Chapters 2
E-mail the
professor the
topic for your
Final Project

"Is character established while we are children?”

"What kinds of knowledge or skills might influence someone's
ethical decision making?"

"If we don't teach ethics in business programs, what do we do
about unethical behavior in the workplace?"

“What do managers need to know about ‘managing business
ethics’?”
Assignment 2.1:
Do you think business ethics/social responsibility is important? Why
or why not?
Explain and defend your position in a 2-3 page paper.
Assignment 2.2:
Submit a 2-3 page paper in reference to the following topic: Do you
believe that employees are more attracted and committed to ethical
organizations? Are you? Why or why not? Make a list of the
companies you would prefer to work for and the reasons why. Are
there also companies that you would refuse to work for? Why? Are
there “ethically neutral” companies that don’t belong on either list?
Possible Answers
 Research suggests that individuals are attracted to ethical
organizations.
 Students line up to apply for jobs at J.P. Morgan, Merck, and
other highly regarded companies because of their excellent
reputations for ethical management.
Explore to Stimulate Discussion
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
"What can average employees do in an ethical environment that
they can't do in an unethical one?"

"If we believe that employees are more attracted to ethical
organizations, does that support the contention that moral
motives are every bit as powerful as economic ones in peoples'
decision making?"

"What are the flaws in thinking only about economic motives?"

"What are the flaws in thinking only about moral motives?"

"Imagine that you've been asked to describe five characteristics
of an ideal organization. What would they be? Take 3 to 5
minutes to think about this so you don't just write down the first
things that come to your mind. Is ethics among the top five
characteristics? Why or why not?"
Discussion- Viewpoint
Discuss the importance of trust in business. Can you cite
examples? What happens when trust is lost?
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Common Ethical Problems
Read Chapter 3
Assignment 3.1:
Customer Confidence Issue(Thoughts & Opinions):
You work for a consulting company in Atlanta. Your team
has recently completed an analysis of Big Co., including
sales projections for the next five years. You're working late
one night when you receive a call from an executive vice
president of Big Co. in Los Angeles, who asks you to
immediately fax to her a summary of your team's report.
When you locate the report, you discover that your team
leader has stamped "For internal use only" on the report
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cover. Your team leader is on a hiking vacation and you
know it would be impossible to locate him. Big Co. has a
long-standing relationship with your company and has paid
substantial fees for your company's services.
Assignment 3.2:
Have anti-discrimination laws helped or hurt the fair treatment of
workers? Explain and defend your position in a 1 -2 page paper.
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Chapter 6
Ethical Problems of Managers
Read Chapter 6,
E-mail the
professor a draft
of your Final
Project
Assignment 4.1:
Hiring and Work Assignments(Thoughts & Opinions)
You're planning to hire a new sales manager and one of the
leading candidates is really homely. You are concerned
about how your customers – and even his colleagues -would react to him. The specific job he's applying for
requires extensive customer contact and his appearance is
frankly disconcerting. On the other hand, his credentials are
excellent and he's certainly qualified for the job. What if the
candidate were deaf, or overweight, or longhaired, or
scarred?
Assignment 4.2:
Employment Basics(Thoughts & Opinions)
You've recently been promoted to a supervisory position and
are now responsible for coordinating the work of four other
employees. Two of these workers are more than 20 years
older than you are, and both have been with the company
much longer than you have. Although you've tried to be
supportive of them and have gone out of your way to praise
their work, whenever there is some kind of disagreement,
they go to your boss with the problem. You've asked them
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repeatedly to come to you with whatever issues they have;
they just ignore you and complain to other workers about
reporting to someone your age. Design a strategy for dealing
with these workers and your manager.
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Managing for Ethical Conduct
Read Chapter 7
Assignment 5.1:
Can you think of situations in which unethical behavior was dealt
with appropriately (punished justly) or inappropriately? What were
the reactions of others in the organization? Explain and defend your
position in a 1 -2 page paper
Generally, people will speak positively about situations where "bad
guys" were punished, and negatively about situations where people
"got away with" misconduct. This reaction supports the idea that
people want to work in “just” environments where reasonable rules
are enforced.
Probe to Stimulate Discussion

"How would you feel if someone cheated on a test and was not
disciplined?"

“Would you feel differently if the test was curved?”
This is the time to discuss the important social effects of rewards
and punishments. As
a manager, you need to think about not
only the person you're rewarding or punishing, but also the reactions
of others who are aware of the situation. They will judge your
behavior primarily in terms of its fairness to everyone. The situation
with cheating is similar to a work situation where there is a fixed pie
of benefits (e.g., bonus money) and one salesperson who is using
unethical sales tactics is likely to get the money while the honest
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salespeople will be left with nothing (but their integrity).
Assignment 5.2:
Can you think of situations in which unethical behavior was dealt
with appropriately (punished justly) or inappropriately? What were
the reactions of others in the organization?
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Managing for Ethical Conduct
Ethical Problems of Organizations
Read Chapter
7(Cont.)
Assignment 6.1:
Within the past two decades, an increasing number of U.S. Firms
have moved their corporate headquarters to Caribbean Island nations
in order to avoid U.S. taxes. In your estimation, is this an example of
good business strategy and sound tax planning or unethical
corporate behavior and tax evasion? Explain and defend your
position in a 2 – 3 page summary citing references.
Read Chapter 8
Assignment 7.1:
Do long prison sentences really help deter corporate criminals?
Explain and defend your position in a 2 – 3 page summary citing
references.
This is a tough question. Certainly a lot of senior executives, like
most other people, have a hard time believing that they will ever get
caught and go to jail. As a result, it may be naïve to think that an
executive will be deterred from wrongdoing by thinking about
Bernie Ebbers and his 25-year prison sentence. However, it’s not
unreasonable to believe that the investing public needs the huge jail
terms. In 2001 and 2002 – right after September 11 and when
companies were being indicted right and left – U.S. investors (and
indeed, investors around the world) suffered a huge loss of
confidence in the integrity of the financial markets. Convictions and
hefty jail sentences surely have played a role in the small increases
of investor confidence over the last few years.
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Probes to Stimulate Discussion
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Final Reflections
Final ProjectPresentation

What message would be sent by the courts if executives
convicted of fraud (or another corporate crime) were given
probation or suspended sentences?

Aside from lengthy jail sentences, what other measures could
be taken to deter corporate crime?

What other measures could be taken to increase investor
confidence in the integrity of markets and large
corporations?
Assignment 8.1:
Submit final paper and final presentation.
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Final Paper:
The professor will approve the topic of the Final Project during the time when the class meets.
Grading Criteria
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CF
Grading Scale
100 – 93
92 – 90
89 – 88
87 – 83
82 – 80
79 – 78
77 – 73
72 – 70
69 and below
grading requirements
Attendance
participation
Weekly Assignments
Final paper
Final Report
20%
Final Power Point
15%
Optional
15%
15%
25%
35%
10%
100%
Library:
All resources in Argosy University’s online collection are available through the Internet. The campus librarian will provide students
with links, user IDs, and passwords.
Library Resources: Argosy University’s core online collection features nearly 21,000 full-text journals and 23,000 electronic books
and other content covering all academic subject areas including Business & Economics, Career & General Education, Computers,
Engineering & Applied Science, Humanities, Science, Medicine & Allied Health, and Social & Behavior Sciences. Many titles are
directly accessible through the Online Public Access Catalog at http://library.argosy.edu. Detailed descriptions of online resources are
located at http://library.argosy.edu/misc/onlinedblist.html.
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In addition to online resources, Argosy University’s onsite collections contain a wealth of subject-specific research materials
searchable in the Online Public Access Catalog. Catalog searching is easily limited to individual campus collections. Alternatively,
students can search combined collections of all Argosy University Libraries. Students are encouraged to seek research and reference
assistance from campus librarians.
Information Literacy: Argosy University’s Information Literacy Tutorial was developed to teach students fundamental and
transferable research skills. The tutorial consists of five modules where students learn to select sources appropriate for academic-level
research, search periodical indexes and search engines, and evaluate and cite information. In the tutorial, students study concepts and
practice them through interactions. At the conclusion of each module, they can test their comprehension and receive immediate
feedback. Each module takes less than 20 minutes to complete. Please view the tutorial at http://library.argosy.edu/infolit/
Academic Policies
Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism: In an effort to foster a spirit of honesty and integrity during the learning process, Argosy University
requires that the submission of all course assignments represent the original work produced by that student. All sources must be
documented through normal scholarly references/citations and all work must be submitted using the Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association, 5th Edition (2001). Washington DC: American Psychological Association (APA) format. Please
refer to Appendix A in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition for thesis and paper format.
Students are encouraged to purchase this manual (required in some courses) and become familiar with its content as well as consult
the Argosy University catalog for further information regarding academic dishonesty and plagiarism.
Scholarly writing: The faculty at Argosy University is dedicated to providing a learning environment that supports scholarly and
ethical writing, free from academic dishonesty and plagiarism. This includes the proper and appropriate referencing of all sources.
You may be asked to submit your course assignments through “Turnitin,” (www.turnitin.com), an online resource established to help
educators develop writing/research skills and detect potential cases of academic dishonesty. Turnitin compares submitted papers to
billions of pages of content and provides a comparison report to your instructor. This comparison detects papers that share common
information and duplicative language.
Americans with Disabilities Act Policy
It is the policy of Argosy University to make reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disabilities, in accordance with
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If a student with disabilities needs accommodations, the student must notify the Director
of Student Services. Procedures for documenting student disability and the development of reasonable accommodations will be
provided to the student upon request.
Students will be notified by the Director of Student Services when each request for accommodation is approved or denied in writing
via a designated form. To receive accommodation in class, it is the student’s responsibility to present the form (at his or her
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discretion) to the instructor. In an effort to protect student privacy, the Department of Student Services will not discuss the
accommodation needs of any student with instructors. Faculty may not make accommodations for individuals who have not been
approved in this manner.
The Argosy University Statement Regarding Diversity
Argosy University prepares students to serve populations with diverse social, ethnic, economic, and educational experiences. Both the
academic and training curricula are designed to provide an environment in which students can develop the skills and attitudes essential
to working with people from a wide range of backgrounds.
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