EMBA 7350: Business Ethics
Summer 2012
Professor and Contact Information
Professor:
Dr. Christine Shropshire
Office:
411 Brooks Hall, Department of Management
Phone:
(706) 542-0114
E-mail:
shropshire@terry.uga.edu, preferred method
Course Information
Materials:
Coursepack to be purchased from www.study.net (CourseID: EMBA7350, course link
http://www.study.net/r_mat.asp?crs_id=30025565)
Course Times: M/T/W (6-9p); Saturday (9a-12p; 1-4p)
Location:
Buckhead: M/T 6-9p Room 121; Saturday 9a-12p ‘Terry Third Thursday’ Room
Gwinnett: Wed 6-9p and Sat 1-4p, Room 121
*Saturday, July 14, Gwinnett cohort will meet in Buckhead, Terry Third
Thursday Room (Negotiations 9a-12p and Ethics 1p-4p)
Website:
https://www.elc.uga.edu Your userid is your MyID.
Contact the Terry OIT Help Desk (706-542-6799) if you have problems.
Course Description and Objectives
This course provides an investigation of processes to resolve moral conflicts in business. The emphasis is
on guidelines to be applied toward attaining common ground among those operating from different levels
of moral reasoning. We study business ethics and social responsibility for individual managers and for
organizations.
The objectives are to (1) enable you to think systematically and rigorously about ethical issues that occur
in a business context, and (2) introduce you to ethical frameworks that will help you to clarify and
examine the ethical system you now hold. To accomplish these objectives, we will investigate formal
ethical theories closely tied to business ethics and apply those theories to business ethics issues.
Format
A “business ethics” course is not a spectator sport. To achieve the course objectives, it is important to
read assignments thoroughly and critically, to develop personal observations and insights about the
material, and to communicate those insights – constructively in class discussion and reflectively in
personal learning journals. Given the compressed nature of the course, our daily sessions will include
interactive lecture and discussion of assigned cases and other readings.
Grading
Our course includes individual written assignments, participation in discussions both online and in class,
and one group presentation. Weekly learning journals are required.
40%
30%
15%
15%
Learning Journals (5 entries)
Contribution to online and in class discussions
Group-led Discussion
Sustainability Report
The course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the
instructor may be necessary.
2
There are no extra credit assignments or other supplementary options for improving a course grade. If
you have concerns about your performance or course grade, these should be addressed with the instructor
as soon as possible. No late assignments will be accepted, and no grade negotiations will take place.
While you may discuss readings and learning with classmates outside of class, the journals are individual
assignments; you may not collaborate or consult with others on the content or writing of journals.
Course Assignments
Class Contribution includes attendance, class preparation, and participation in class and in online
discussion. Class members are expected to contribute positively to the learning environment of the class
and their team. An essential element in the adult education setting is active participation. That includes
preparing for class, participating in exercises, sharing your experiences, bringing in relevant materials,
inviting others to share their ideas, actively listening to class members, etc. Consideration of multiple
perspectives is essential for learning.
You are expected to be prepared for every class meeting. Since I occasionally call on students whose
hands are not raised to ask a specific question or to summarize one of the assigned readings, please let me
know before the start of class if you are not prepared so that we can avoid embarrassing you
inadvertently. Note, however, that this should only occur for exceptional reasons.
Communication is integral to general management. Therefore, your active participation in class and
online discussions is critical to your performance in this course, and you are expected to show a high level
of commitment to preparing for class each day.
Since this is a discussion-based course, I consider attendance to be very important. If you expect to miss
more than one class meeting, consider taking this course at another time, as your class contribution
grade will suffer. If you do miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out from your classmates what
material was covered and what handouts you may have missed. I understand that emergencies arise;
however, please understand that absences will significantly affect your contribution grade.
Below are a few closing tips for meaningful class contribution:



Trust your own experiences. Draw on your experiences to interpret material and illustrate your
arguments. Equally important, be prepared to reinterpret your experiences in light of new insights
gained from the course.
Be aware of your own values and biases. "Where you stand depends on where you sit." Your
values inevitably influence how you perceive and interpret situations. Rather than deny or hide
them, make them explicit (at least to yourself).
Value the contributions of others. There is never a one-best-way to manage, and different people
often come to different conclusions about how they would handle a problem. You can learn as
much from listening to your classmates as you can from any book. Recognize that rarely are there
clearcut right and wrong answers, and be respectful of others’ opinions.
Learning Journals:
To reflect on our readings and discussions, your primary deliverable for this course is a personal learning
journal. Each entry should address each assigned reading for next class and reflections of two or more
elements from prior class that stood out. Specifically, your entries should include the following items:
 Discussion of each assigned reading for next class
 Reflection on at least two distinct and substantial elements from the prior class that resonated
with you
 Your views on the class discussions and lecture material
 Other important reflections from the classroom or beyond on the day’s material and its
impact on your life
The course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the
instructor may be necessary.
3
Text-only journal entries (no images, graphs, tables, etc) should be submitted electronically through the
Assignment Dropbox on eLC. The journal entries are due as indicated in the timeline (last page of the
syllabus). Please refer to the last page of the syllabus for deadlines and submit your journal entries on
time, as late submissions will not be accepted.
Due to the compressed time of this course, it is very important that you keep your journal in a timely
fashion. I will grade journals on breadth (e.g., cover all readings; reflect on 2+ elements per class) as well
as depth (e.g., interesting and novel insights; thoughtful analysis; examples from your own experience or
current events; identification of themes or broader conclusions; your views on class discussion and
material). All journal entries will be kept confidential.
Journal entries should cover material as follows (see calendar on last page of syllabus for deadlines):
Journal #1 Reflect on readings: Is Business Bluffing Ethical? AND Conflict on the trading floor. Reflect
on class sessions 1 & 2.
Journal #2: Reflect on readings: Merck Vioxx AND Ford Pinto. Reflect on class sessions 3 & 4.
Journal #3: Reflect on readings: Values in Tension AND Google in China. Reflect on class session 5.
Journal #4: Reflect on readings: Friedman, Handy, AND Virtuous Mouse. Reflect on class sessions 6 - 8.
Journal #5: Reflect on class sessions 9 & 10. Course wrap-up, takeaways, final reflections.
Sustainability Report:
Interview a colleague, friend, or other businessperson about what his/her company is doing with regards
to sustainability, challenges they face to sustainable growth, and trends in their industry or geographic
regions. What does the phrase “sustainable business” mean to him or her? What industries or businesses
seem particularly unsustainable and why? If s/he could give a “Sustainability” award, what companies
would they nominate and why? Organize your writeup either by interview question & answer or write as
narrative, providing headings as appropriate. Approximately 2-3pages single-spaced, including the name
and contact information of your interviewee.
Group-led Discussion:
Each group will identify an ethical dilemma in the workplace to analyze and present to the class,
analyzing the ethical issue using principles discussed in class. Please involve the class in the decision
process when you present and make a final determination as a group (or as a split vote if you do not
agree). Your presentation portion should be 15-20 minutes, though there may be extra time for questions.
Note on All Assignments
To be eligible for full credit for assignments, they must be submitted on time in a complete and error-free
fashion. Please make sure your name and the assignment name is included on your document.
Assignments will be graded based on content (how deeply you have thought about the topic, integration
of your experiences, communication of insights, accuracy of concept application, etc.) and presentation
(organization, grammar, spelling, style, etc.). Remember, you will be evaluated on both what you say and
how you say it.
The course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the
instructor may be necessary.
4
Academic Integrity
Unethical behavior by corporations has been linked with negative performance outcomes; the same is true
of unethical student behavior. It is expected that students will neither participate in nor condone activities
such as cheating or plagiarism. You are expected to do your own work on all individual assignments and
exams. I encourage you to speak to other students about the topical issues but do not share work or
answers. Failure to follow this policy may result in zero points for both the receiver and provider (if
involved). Also, the instructor may take any other action described in the academic misconduct policy.
By placing your name on an assignment, you affirm that the contents are your original work. Consulting
work done by students in this course in other platforms or in previous years is a violation of academic
integrity. This policy will be vigorously enforced. Sharing work you do in this course with others,
whether in the course with you or not, can tempt others to violate this academic integrity policy and can
result in that student’s failure in the course and dismissal from his/her program.
As a University of Georgia student, you have agreed to abide by the University’s academic honesty
policy, “A Culture of Honesty,” and the Student Honor Code. All academic work must meet the standards
described in “A Culture of Honesty” found at www.uga.edu/honesty/. Lack of knowledge of the
academic honesty policy is not a reasonable explanation for a violation. Questions related to course
assignments and the academic honesty policy should be directed to the instructor.
Other Administrative Details
 Please advise me in advance of any anticipated schedule conflicts.
 Timely attendance and attentiveness are very important. I reserve the right to lower your
participation grade if you are regularly tardy, leaving early or otherwise disruptive to class.
 If you miss class, it is always your responsibility to find out from your peers what material was
covered and what other assignments were made.
 Your performance in this class is important to me, so please contact me immediately if any problems
with the course material. I am almost always available via email.
 Late submissions will not be accepted for any assignments.
 Check the course website regularly for updates and/or changes to the class.
The course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the
instructor may be necessary.
Course Schedule
Date
7/9 10 11
7/14
7/16 17 18
7/21
7/23 24 25
7/28
7/30 31 8/1
Class
Session
Distance?
1
Readings/Activity
Syllabus.
Framework for Ethical Reasoning.
The parable of the sadhu.
Assignment Due
2
Guest Speaker.
3
Is Business Bluffing Ethical?
Conflict on the trading floor.
Journal #1 due before your class begins,
7/16 17 18.
Online discussion of assigned readings
and Enron movie, closes Midnight,
Sunday 7/22.
Watch “Enron: Smartest Guys in the Room”.
Journal #2 due before your class begins,
7/23 24 25.
5
Merck: Managing Vioxx.
Ford Pinto Case.
Journal #3 due before your class begins,
7/28.
6
Values in tension: Ethics away from home.
Google in China.
4
7
8/4
8
8/6 7 8
9
8/11
10
Distance
Distance
Distance
Distance
Assigned current event articles.
Online discussion of current event
articles, closes Midnight, Sunday 8/5.
Sustainability Report.
Sustainability Report due Midnight,
Sunday 8/5.
Group led Discussions
Friedman article.
Handy article.
Virtuous Mouse and the Wealthy Elephant.
Journal #4 due before your class begins,
8/11.
Journal #5 due Midnight, Friday 8/17.