Business, Society and Ethics
Business Administration 303
Section: D100
Term: 1999 Summer
Instructor: Dr. J. Sheppard
Office: WMX 4387
Phone:
291-4918
Discussion Topics: This course provides the student with an introduction to business, ethics
and society. The goal of the course is to enhance students’ ability to insightfully
articulate the issues surrounding ethics in business. The course reviews and synthesizes the
literature on moral issues in the field of business and society. The course is divided into
four parts:
a) Moral points of view in business practice;
b) Corporations in the late stages of capitalism;
c) Morality in the workplace; and
d) Externalities: the environment and consumers.
Each part explores the legal, ethical and moral issues pertaining to business and their
management. To accomplish their work students will address the question of, "What is the
proper use of power in a business context?" The first of the above parts focuses on "what is
proper" the second focuses on "the business context" and the last two parts bring together
the previous sections such that they give the students a way to interpret how individuals,
departments and organizations put together a viable ethics portfolio.
Weeks Topics
Reading Pages
Week 1 The Corporation and the Nature of Morality
Chapter 1 2 \210 25
Week 2 Normative Theories of Ethics
Chapter 2 51 - 75
Case: The A7D Affair
Reading:
28 \210 33
Solomon "It\202s good business"
33 - 41
Week 3 Justice and Economic Distribution
Chapter 3 95 - 123
Reading: Novak:
Packet 78-81
"What is democratic capitalism"
Case: The Ford Pinto
95 - 123
Business, Society and Ethics
Week 4 The Nature of Capitalism
Chapter 4 140 - 166
Read/Debate: Friedman:
Packet 224 - 229
"The social responsibility..."
Arrow:
Case:
"Social responsibility and..."
Hucksters in the Classroom
160 - 161
Week 5 Corporations
Chapter 5 188 - 208
Read/Debate:
Packet
French:
"The corporation as a moral person"
211 - 214
Week 6 Midterm
Week 7 The workplace:
Chapter 6 248 - 257
Read/Debate: Carr:
Basic issues
Case/Present:
"Is business bluffing ethical?"
Speaking out about Malt
Week 8 The workplace:
Chapter 7 294 - 312
Read/Debate:
Case/Present:
Packet
272 - 274
Today\202s challenges
DesJardins:
"Drug Testing..."
The Mommy Track
325 - 331
321 - 323
Week 9 Moral issues facing employees
Chapter 8 347 - 364
Read/Debate:
Case/Present:
Dandekar:
"Can whistleblowing be fully..."
Ethically Dubious Conduct
372 - 374
Packet
Business, Society and Ethics
Week 10 Job Discrimination
Chapter 9 410 - 436
Read/Debate:
Hook:
Case/Present:
"Rationalizations for reverse discrimination" Packet
A defense of programs of preferential treatment
437 - 441
Week 11 Consumers
Chapter 10 460 - 483
Read/Debate:
Arrington:
Case/Present:
Advertising & behavior control
Breast Implants
503 - 510
484 - 486
Week 12 The Environment
Chapter 11 516 - 543
Read/Debate:
Stone:
Case/Present:
"Should trees have standing..."
Rewrapping the Big Mac
549 - 554
538 - 540
Week 13 Review of Key Concepts
Grading: 12% Group Debate or Case Presentation
10% Group Summary and Critique of Debate or Presentation
8% Group Review of a Business Ethics Related Topic
3% Group Peer Evaluation
32% Midterm Exam
35% Final Exam
100%
Required Texts: Shaw & Barry; Moral Issues in Business, 7th ed, Wadsworth.
Recommended Texts: White; Business Ethics:
A Philosophical Reader, MacMillan: 1993.
Materials/Supplies: BUS 303 Outline and Notes
Prerequisite/Corequisite: Shaw & Barry; Moral Issues in Business, 7th ed, Wadsworth.
Notes:
This outline is derived from a course outline repository database that was maintained by SFU
Business, Society and Ethics
Student Services and the University’s IT Services Department. The database was retired in
2014 and the data migrated to SFU Archives in 2015.