My Ethics

Ethics Project

The Person/Professional I’d like to be

10%

80%

10%

Completed at the beginning of the module to help ground students existentially in ethics, and evidence of this ‘grounding’ is the key to attaining marks here.  Also, an early opportunity to gauge students writing style and ability.

500 words minimum

Continuing the Ethics module tradition of offering assessment choice, a variety of different sorts of work could fulfil this part of the portfolio; e.g.  A extended reflective piece on an issue that arose in their PT year; a critique of a particular company’s CSR annual report; a short essay on an area of concern; a critical lecture diary

 2000-2500 words

This piece would connect some reflection on the module, beginning with ‘My Ethics’ onwards, to the students vision of how they wish to develop in the future.

500 words minimum

The module will start by drawing out students own understandings of ethics, and then offer ethical theory, related research, case examples, potential scenarios, and a wide scope of debateable points, with which to explore contrast and continuity with those understandings.  While there will be much focus on arguable ethical issues associated with business, managing and organising, there will also be some engagement with how these relate to more ‘personal’ and ‘private’ matters precisely because compartmentalisation and fragmentation has been claimed as a problem for the very basis of morality in modernity.  The focus on ‘ethics’, ‘responsibility’ and ‘citizenship’ have been chosen, in part, because they particularly feature in relation to business and corporations, but also to give an opportunity, at a mature level, to relate to concepts familiar to them from early schooling.  At the end, the students will be able to relate the module to their own personal and professional development.

·              To enable students to consider their own ‘pre-module’ ethics

 ·              To provide introduction to ethical theory and related models for developing moral frameworks.

 ·              To provide links to contemporary business issues and global developments and yet relate back to ongoing and ‘classic’ moral problems.

 ·              To enable students to think about the use of the module for their future personal and professional development.

On completion of the module, students will be able to:

·              Demonstrate an understanding of the range of issues in business and corporations relating to ethics, responsibility, community and citizenship.

 ·              Apply and critique ethical theories in relation to business, through discussions and the evaluation of case-study materials, potential scenarios, etc

 ·              Attain knowledge and skills in critically assessing business situations where ethical conflicts and/or issues can arise

 ·              Develop an appreciation of Business Ethics in the globalising economy

 ·              Gain insight into broader ethical issues and approaches beyond narrow conceptions of business ethics, e.g. via discussion of ethics in the wider context in which business is located

 ·              Reflect more critically on his/her own perspective, attitudes and approach to ethical decision-making in business and management

The module will attempt to build on and bring to conclusion the ‘ethical elements’ that have featured in various parts of the student’s undergraduate programme and their broader experience.  While ensuring that the students can relate existentially and experientially to its content, a key distinction of the module will be its focus on meta-ethics and normative ethics.  In other parts of the programme students will have come across the ‘business case’ for corporate social responsibility, CSR as part of strategy, greater ‘people sensitivity’, ‘management problems and positivity related to diversity’, ‘sustainability’, etc, with ethics being included as a descriptive part of these, but the potential for ethics as an object of analysis itself being only superficially developed.  The content of the module will be substantively of this area.  Updated elements to the module content will range from issues of professional and corporate citizenship, through the climate change debate, to the ethics of nanotechnology.

The module will use a combination of delivery methods to promote learning.  These will include conventional and more inter-active lectures, web-enabled support and guest speakers.  There will be supportive elements of enquiry-based learning and activity designed to introduce students to the practice of self-directed learning, and reflection on personal and professional development.

 Assessment Strategy:

Essential Reading

 Mele, D.,(2009).  Business Ethics in Action. Basingstoke : Palgrave.

 and/or:

Crane, A., and Matten, D., (2009).  Business Ethics.  Oxford: Oxford University Press.

 Recommended Reading

 Baggini, J., and Fosl, P.S., (2007). The Ethics Toolkit.  Malden MA, Oxford, Victoria : Blackwell Publishing.

 Bakan, J., (2004). The Corporation.  London : Constable.

 Chryssides, G.D., and Kaler, J.H., (1993). An Introduction to Business Ethics.  London : International Thompson Business Press.

 Fisher, C., and Lovell, A. ,(2006).  Business Ethics and Values.  Harlow : FT/Prentice Hall.

 Frederick, R.E., (ed.) (2002).  A Companion to Business Ethics. Malden, MA, Oxford , Blackwell Companions to Philosophy.

 Hartman, L.P., (2005).  Perspectives in Business Ethics.  Boston : McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Layard, R., (2005).  Happiness: Lessons From A New Science.  London :

Background Reading

 Bales, K., (2000). Disposable People.  New Slavery in the Global Economy.  Berkley: University of California Press.

 Bowie, N., (ed.) (2002). The Blackwell Guide to Business Ethics.  Oxford and Cambridge : Blackwell.

 Leipziger, D., (2003). The Corporate Responsibility Code Book.  Sheffield :Greenleaf Publishing.

 Lovins, L., and Hawken, P., (1999). Natural Capitalism: The Next Industrial Revolution.  London :  Earthscan.

 MacIntyre, A., (1985). After Virtue.  A Study in Moral Theory.  London : Duckworth.

 MacIntyre, A., (1999). Dependent Rational Animals.  London : Duckworth.

 McIntosh, M., et al. (1998). Corporate Citizenship: Successful Strategies for Responsible Companies.  London : FT/Pitman Publishing.

 McIntosh, M., et al. (2003). Living Corporate Citizenship.  Strategic Routes to Socially Responsible Business.  London : FT/Prentice Hall.

 Naess, A., (1973). "The Shallow and the Deep, Long-Range Ecology Movement: A Summary", Inquiry.  16(1) pp.95-100.

 Packard, V., (1984) . The Hidden Persuaders.  Harmondsworth: Penguin.

 Plumwood, V., (2002). Environmental Culture.  The Ecological Crisis of Reason. London and New York : Routledge.

 Singer, P., (1986). Applied Ethics.  New York: Oxford University Press (e.g. contains Hare, R. "What is Wrong with Slavery" pp. 165-183, listed below).

 Sullivan, R., (ed.) (2003).  Business and Human Rights.  Sheffield : Greenleaf Publishing.

 Winkler, E.R., and Coombs, J.R., (1993). Applied Ethics. A Reader.  Oxford and Cambridge : Blackwell.

 Journals

 Accountability Quarterly

 Business and Society Review

 Business Ethics: A European Review

 Business Ethics Quarterly

 Journal of Applied Philosophy

 Journal of Business Ethics

 Journal of Corporate Citizenship

  Magazines

Ethical Consumer

 Ethical Corporation

 New Internationalist

 Websites

 Amnesty International – www.amnesty.org

 Anti-Slavery – www.antislavery.org

 Business for Social Responsibility – www.bsr.org

 Business in the Community – www.bitc.org.uk

 Corporate Watch – www.corpwatch.org

 CSR Europe – www.csreurope.org

 Ethical Consumer – www.ethicalconsumer.org

 Ethical Corporation – www.ethicalcorp.com

 Ethical Investment Research Services – www.eirs.org

 Ethical Trading Initiative – www.ethicaltrade.org

 Freedom to Care – www.ftc.org

 Global Compact – www.unglobalcompact.org

 Global Reporting Initiative – www.globalreporting.org

 Human Rights Watch – www.hrw.org

 Institute of Business Ethics – www.ibe.org.uk

 Interfaith Centre on Corporate Responsibility – www.iccr.org

 New Internationalist – www.newint.org

 No Logo – www.nologo.org

 SustainAbility – www.sustainability.com

 Traidcraft – www.tradicraft.co.uk