Meeting times:
Classroom:
Professor:
Office:
Office hours:
Email:
Required Textbook:
MWF 1:00-1:50 pm
UH 25
Gloria Zúñiga y Postigo
314 Carlisle Hall
M & W 2-3 pm gloria.zunigaypostigo@uta.edu
Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases
Seventh Edition, Pearson
Manuel G. Velasquez
(The Bookstore set is priced at $81.50 and it comes with a three-hole punched loose leaf textbook, a digital version of the textbook and online study guides. You also have the option to purchase instead only the digital book for $71.50 and you can do this directly from www.mythinkinglab.com
)
This class examines the relationship of ethics and moral problems in business. Typically, individuals understand ethics to be their homegrown values and norms that determine their behavior when confronted with moral problems. This course shall expand this understanding of ethics with the systematic approach to moral reasoning set forth in a few philosophical theories called ethical theories. Each of these establishes one unique meaning of the moral good or the moral right in normative or “ought” claims. Part of our examinations of moral problems in business will involve the evaluation of economic activity. The dominant attitude of most intellectuals and ordinary people alike is that, while free markets enhance material production and economic growth, they do so at the cost of some moral values. We will critically examine this attitude by the filter of ethical theories. We shall also set aside the ordinary understanding of economics as constituted by differential equations, data collection and prediction, and take a deeper look at economics as a science of human action in order to find what theoretical insights economics can offer ethics.
Some of the topics that we will examine include the nature of business, markets and capitalism, ethics in the sports and entertainment business, ethics in the food production and manufacturing business, the effects of business activities to the environment and employment, and moral challenges in the workplace such as discrimination, affirmative action, labor unions, sexual harassment, insider trading and whistleblowing.
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To examine various moral problems that arise in business in order to arrive at their possible resolution. The material for this course will guide students in acquiring a basic understanding of the philosophical argument and of classical ethical theories. This will equip students with the necessary tools for developing a systematic approach for applying moral reasoning when confronted with moral problems in business, whether as a business owner or manager, or as an employee.
Learning will occur by means of several activities. First, learning will first occur by the careful reading of the material for the course. Each student should expect to devote at least three hours per week reading and taking notes from the reading. Second, learning will occur by the student’s participation in informal discussions and formal debates in class. Third, students will also be introduced to the philosophical argument structure, which will be the fundamental tool of analysis of problems that concern business ethics. Fourth, the writing for this course is minimal
—just one short writing assignment—but the preparation for this will require time for research and reflection. The short writing assignment will present the structure of the student’s planned argument for the debate in which he or she will participate. (See Appendix
B.) Fifth and finally, there will be two exams that will consist of questions with multiple choice answers.
Due to the central role of in-class discussions and debates in this course, attendance is not optional. An absence means being away from class for one full class session. If a student is present in class for only part of the class session, then this partial attendance will be counted as an absence.
A maximum of two classes can be missed without any penalty and these can be either planned or circumstantial (due to illness or another personal emergency), so they count equally as an absence regardless of cause.
However, if a student has previously scheduled surgeries, or baby delivery dates, or some other expectation of adversities during this semester, then the student must meet with me immediately in order to determine whether participation in this class will be possible at all.
Any other sudden emergencies should also be brought to the professor’s attention as soon as they occur. Otherwise, penalties for absences will be as follows:
3 absences = total grade drops to a maximum of B
4 absences = total grade drops to a maximum of C
5 absences = total grade drops to a maximum of D
6 absences = total grade drops to a maximum of F
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Evaluation will be based on performance. In class discussions performance is measured by the student’s knowledge of the assigned reading material either by voluntary participation or when asked to volunteer. Students find the discussions not only fun but a good preparation for the examinations, as well as the debates. In the examinations performance is measured by the student’s knowledge of the ethical theories covered in class and their applications In the short paper, performance is measured by the (a) the presentation of the argument structure as indicated in Appendix B to this Syllabus, (b) the formulation of a clear thesis and two strong premises, and (c) the inclusion of at least three academic sources that were found in ethics journals in the UTA lib rary’s databases (no Wikipedia or Internet sources please).. In the debates performance is measured by the student’s (a) clear delivery of the argument sketched out in the short paper, (b) strong defense against counterarguments, and (c) strong counterarguments to the opposition. The schedule for the debates is outlined in Appendix A to this Syllabus. Even students who might not be inclined to participate in debates will find that this is an enjoyable and enlightening experience, so do not worry about these.
The following is the breakdown of the point value for each graded assignment adding to a total of 100 points:
Discussions in class
Exam I
30
20
Exam II
Short Paper
Debate
20
10
20
The schedule for this course is presented in Appendix A so you have a clear idea from the beginning of what you are expected to do and when. You will be asked to choose the topic for your debate by the third week of the semester. All of this gives you the benefit of being able to plan the work for this class around other responsibilities that you may have. Consequently, no late work will be accepted barring a documented family or medical emergency.
Please take into consideration that if you have missed assignments, no any extra credit work be offered to make up for such oversights. The reason is simple. All other students will have planned and submitted their work on a timely basis, so to give extra credit to someone who has not turned in an assignment on time is essentially to give a reward for lateness. This would not be a just measure for assigning grades.
If, however, you have submitted your work on a timely basis, then the potential for extra credit may exist in the form of participating in an additional debate. But this will depend on the vacancy in the debate schedule.
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Final Review Week has been designated for the period of five class days prior to the date scheduled for the final examination. During this time there shall not be any other scheduled activities for the course other than the review of the material.
Students with disabilities can enjoy the same opportunities enjoyed by all other students and, toward this end, they shall receive reasonable accommodation. This policy complies with the federal equal opportunity legislation (Public Law 93112 —The Rehabilitation Act of
1973 as amended) and the passage of new federal legislation entitled Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA). Students that qualify under ADA provisions have the responsibility to inform me at the beginning of the semester and to provide me with the authorized documentation through designated administrative channels.
Academic dishonesty is not an acceptable mode of conduct for UTA students and will not be tolerated at the University of Texas at Arlington. Any student involved in academic dishonesty will be disciplined in accordance to University regulations and procedures. Such measures may include suspension or expulsion from the University. In order to clarify what is academic dishonesty the university has published the following definition. “Scholastic dishonesty includes but it is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an examination for another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such acts.” (Regents Rules and Regulations, Part One,
Chapter VI, Section 3, Subsection 3.2, Subdivision 3.22)
Student Support Services are available at the University of Texas at Arlington, providing a variety programs designed to help students connect with the University and achieve academic success. These programs include learning assistance, development education, advising and mentoring, admission and transition, as well as federally funded programs.
Students seeking academic assistance or personal assistance in adjusting psychological and socially to the campus environment should contact the Office of Student Success Programs at 817-272-6107 for more information and referrals.
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Aug 24 Introduction to the course
Aug 27
Sep 24
Sep 26
Sep 28
Oct 01
Oct 03
Oct 05
Oct 08
Oct 10
Oct 12
Oct 15
Oct 17
Aug 29
Aug 31
Sep 03
Sep 05
Sep 07
Sep 10
Sep 12
Sep 14
Ethics and business
Labor Day Holiday
Utilitarianism
Duty Ethics
Justice
Sept 17
Sep 19
Sep 21
Virtue Ethics
Exam
The Business System
Adam Smith
Free Trade
Marx
Competition
Ethics and Factory Farming
Review of Debate Format and Schedule
Debate 1
Syllabus
Ch. 1
No class
Ch. 2 – Section 2.1
Ch. 2
– Section 2.2
Ch. 2
– Section 2.3
Ch. 2 -- Sections 2.3-2.5
Ch. 2
– Section 2.6
Ch. 2 – Section 2.7
In class examination
Ch. 3 – Section 3.1
Ch. 3 – Section 3.2
Ch. 3 – Section 3.3
Ch. 3 – Sections 3.4-3.5
Ch. 4
Ch. 5
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Nov 14
Nov 16
Nov 19
Nov 21
Nov 23
Nov 26
Nov 28
Nov 30
Dec 03
Dec 05
Dec 10
Oct 19
Oct 22
Oct 24
Oct 26
Oct 29
Oct 31
Nov 02
Nov 05
Nov 07
Nov 09
Nov 12
Debate 2
Consumer Production and Marketing
Debate 3
Debate 4
Review of Austrian economics
Austrian economics session
Debate 5
Labor and Management
Debate 6
Debate 7
Ethics of the Employee
Debate 8
Thanksgiving Holiday
Debate 9
Debate 10
Review of ethical theories
Final exam
Ch 6
Location tba
Ch. 7
Ch. 8
No class
Meet 11 am – 1:30 pm
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Title of Paper
Student’s Name
I. Presentation of the moral problem at Issue
II. Thesis
III. Premise 1
IV. Premise 2
V. Presentation of the fundamental tenets of the ethical theory used in support of the thesis
VI. Application of the chosen ethical theory to Premise 1
VII. Application of the chosen ethical theory to Premise 1
VIII. References (at least 3 from sources drawn from ethics journals found in the UTA library’s databases)
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