PHI 300, Sec. 1, Business Ethics
Fall 2015
Instructor: Dr. Samuel V. Bruton
Office: IC 418
Phone: 601.266.6756
Email: Samuel.Bruton@usm.edu
Office Hrs.: MWF 11:00 – 12:00 and by appt.
Course Description: A philosophical exploration of ethically sound decisions in business.
Prerequisites: None
Drop Date: Without financial penalty: Aug. 26; Last day to receive grade of W: Oct. 30 (Fair notice: I do not
give W grades to students who are failing at the time.)
Course Overview: This course is an introductory examination of various ethical issues about business and in
business. It is tailored to students who are or who seek to become part of the business world, but it would be
appropriate for anyone interested in the ethics of contemporary business practices.
Learning Outcomes: The readings and discussions are intended to foster an increased awareness and
appreciation of moral issues in business and a sharpened sense of how ethical problems can be effectively
avoided and handled.
Course Objectives: At the end of the instruction, you will be able to:
o Apply three comprehensive moral theories and two theories of justice to particular business issues.
o Articulate two justifications of capitalism and some common criticisms of it.
o Explain two prominent theories of corporate social responsibility and their shortcomings.
o Describe important employee rights and responsibilities and illustrate them with particular cases.
o Articulate some of the most important responsibilities of businesses to consumers.
Required Texts and Readings:
1. Understanding Business Ethics, 2nd ed., Stanwick and Stanwick, Sage. (UBE)
2. Additional materials from the class website (WS), which also includes the syllabus and other links:
http://brutonbuseth.notlong.com (or Google “Bruton Business Ethics”)
Class Policies:
o Students are expected to maintain a professional attitude. Cell phones, laptops, notebook and notepad
computers and the like are to be turned off and not used during class. Students caught using
electronics in class will lose a point off the next test grade, regardless of the reason for the use.
o Students are expected to familiarize themselves with academic honesty policies articulated in the
USM Undergraduate Bulletin and the CoB’s academic integrity policy (linked from the class
website). I will punish cheaters as harshly as these policies permit.
o Class sessions will involve both lecture and discussion. Students are expected to come to class
prepared to discuss the assigned reading.
o No extra credit work will be available.
o Due to student privacy concerns, I will not give out final course or exam grades either by email or
over the phone.
PHI 300, Fall 2015, Bruton, p. 2
Class Requirements:
1. Three exams - each counts for 27% of final grade, on Sep. 16, Oct. 19, and Dec. 9. Bring a clean
blue book and a scantron for each test. The last exam is not cumulative, although it is given during the
scheduled final exam time. I do not give out study guides in advance. Tests may be made up only with a
formal letter of excuse available from the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs. A link to further
information and the relevant form can be found under “AVPSA” on our class home page. If you miss a
test, get in touch with me as soon as possible to schedule a make-up. Make-ups after exams have been
returned to the rest of the class are possible only in unusual circumstances.
2. 3 Short Reaction Papers – 2 to 3 pages each. Papers are to be turned in in class in hard copy form,
single staple in the upper left hand corner, double-spaced typed. Extra credit available for documented
attendance at a Philosophical Friday event.
Evaluation Criteria: Final grades will be determined according to a standard 10-point scale: 90 – 100, A; 80
– 89, B; 70 – 79, C; 60 – 69, D; 0 – 60, F.
ADA Policy: Students with disabilities that qualify under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and
require accommodations should contact the Office of Disability Accommodations (ODA) for information on
appropriate policies and procedures. Disabilities covered by ADA may include learning, psychiatric, physical
disabilities, or chronic health disorders. Students can contact ODA if they are not certain whether a medical
condition/disability qualifies.
Mailing address: The University of Southern Mississippi, Office for Disability Accommodations, 118
College Drive #8586, Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001. Voice Telephone: (601) 266-5024 or (228) 214-3232.;
Fax: (601) 266-6035. Individuals with hearing impairments can contact ODA using the Mississippi Relay
Service at 1-800-582-2233 (TTY) or email Suzy Hebert at Suzanne.Hebert@usm.edu.
How to Study for This Class: Tests involve a mixture of “fact-based” matching questions, conceptuallyoriented fill-in-the-blanks, and very short (e.g. paragraph long) essays. Fact-based questions are drawn from
particular cases and views from class sessions and the readings. The conceptual and short essay questions
will ask you to define a key term or concept, provide an explanation of an important argument or theory, or
recall some key feature of a view or position. For example, you might be asked to explain Friedman’s
“taxation argument” for the narrow view of corporate responsibility or explain a standard objection to the
“fairness argument” against insider trading.
Class Schedule:
1. Wed., 8/19 Introduction.
2. Fri., 8/21 Movie, Inside Job, part 1.
3. Mon., 8/24 UBE, Chapter 1, Ethical Foundations, pp. 1 – 11.
4. Wed., 8/26 UBE, Chapter 1, pp. 11 – 18; Case 1 (Madoff), pp. 258 - 264.
5. Fri., 8/28 Inside Job, part 2.
6. Mon., 8/31 UBE, Chapter 2, Evolving Complexities, pp. 19 – 35.
7. Wed., 9/2 UBE, Chapter 3, CSR, pp. 36 – 43; Case 26 (Greyston) pp. 453 - 455.
8. Fri., 9/4 Inside Job, part 3.
9. Mon., 9/7 Labor Day.
10. Wed., 9/9 Reaction Paper #1 due; UBE, Chapter 3, pp. 43 - 49.
11. Fri., 9/11. No reading.
12. Mon., 9/14. UBE, Chapter 3, pp. 49 – 58.
PHI 300, Fall 2015, Bruton, p. 3
13. Wed., 9/16 Exam #1.
14. Fri., 9/18 No reading.
*Philosophical Fridays: Mark Rowlands, “Can Animals be Moral?” LAB 108, 2:00 pm.
15. Mon., 9/21 UBE, Chapter 4, Financial Reporting, pp. 60 – 70; Case 24 (Worldcom), pp. 429 443.
16. Wed. 9/23 UBE, Chapter 4, pp. 70 – 78.
17. Fri., 9/25 UBE, Chapter 5, Corporate Governance, pp. 79 – 87.
18. Mon., 9/28 UBE, Chapter 5, pp. 87 – 94; Case 22 (Kodak), pp. 412 – 418.
19. Wed., 9/30 UBE, Chapter 6, Corporate Culture, pp. 101 – 113.
20. Fri., 10/2 Case 7 (Enron), pp. 291 – 307.
21. Mon., 10/5 UBE, Chapter 7, HR Issues, pp. 114 – 115, 118 – 119.
22. Wed., 10/7 UBE, Chapter 7, pp. 121 – 127.
23. Fri., 10/9 No reading.
24. Mon., 10/12 UBE, Chapter 7, pp. 127 – 132.
25. Wed., 10/14 Case 15 (McWane), pp. 353 – 360.
26. Fri., 10/16 Case 23 (Worldcom), pp. 419 – 428.
*Philosophical Fridays: Thomas Ryan, “Pope Francis on Science and Faith” LAB 108, 2:00
pm.
27. Mon., 10/19 Exam #2
28. Wed., 10/21 UBE, Chapter 8, Environment, pp. 134 – 139; Case 25 (BP), pp. 444 – 452.
29. Mon., 10/26 UBE, Chapter 8, pp. 139 – 145.
30. Wed., 10/28 UBE, Chapter 8, pp. 145 – 153.
31. Fri., 10/30 Case 20 (Tokyo), pp. 392 – 399.
32. Mon., 11/2 Chapter 9, IT, pp. 154 – 162; Case 6 (Murdoch), pp. 285 – 290.
33. Wed., 11/4 UBE, Chapter 9, pp. 162 – 167; Case 12 (Facebook), pp. 335 – 341.
34. Fri., 11/6 UBE, Case 8 (Google), pp. 308 – 315.
35. Mon., 11/9 UBE, Chapter 10, Marketing and Advertising, pp. 174 – 179.
36. Wed., 11/1 UBE, Chapter 10, pp. 179 – 183.
37. Fri., 11/13 UBE, Chapter 10, pp. 187 – 191.
Philosophical Fridays: Robert Thompson, “Pope Francis on Science and Faith” LAB 108, 2:00
pm.
38. Mon., 11/16 UBE, Chapter 11, International, pp. 194 – 196, 200 – 202; Case 13 (Mattel), pp.
342 - 345.
39. Wed., 11/18 UBE, Chapter 11, pp. 202 - 207; Case 18 (Apple), pp. 383 – 387.
40. Fri., 11/20 No reading. (Firestone and the Warlord, PBS Documentary)
41. Mon., 11/23 No reading.
42. Mon., 11/30 UBE, Chapter 13, pp. 233 - 239.
43. Wed., 12/2 Reaction Paper #3 Due, UBE, Labor, pp. 246 – 252
44. Fri., 12/4 Review.
Final, Wed. 12/9, 10:45 am – 1:15 pm.