Instructor: Daniel W. Skubik,
PhD JD
Office: James Bldg. Room # 364
Voice: 909.343.4288 / Fax: 909.343.4520
Web: http://www.calbaptist.edu/dskubik
E-Mail: dskubik@calbaptist.edu
Business Ethics
MBA 520 (Main Campus)
Sep 14 – Oct 13 (Fall
2001)
Fridays/Saturdays, 6:00pm-10:00pm / 8:00am-4:00pm
This course in business ethics is not primarily about how to stay out of jail, although legal concerns will be given some coverage. Neither is it devoted to simple functional calculations of how to take the moral and other values of your potential customers or employers/employees into account for marketing purposes, although some of these considerations will be touched upon, as well. The import of the course is to cover what it means to say that businesses and professionals ought to engage or not engage in particular activities with reference to value claims other than the ledger's bottom line. Students will thus come to comprehend the various bases from traditional philosophical and theological sources for discerning professional, ethical practices. Application of these studies will follow, with individual and team-oriented case studies that highlight contemporary ethical conundrums in business and technology settings, nationally and globally.
By the end of the course, the student should be able to
· differentiate between moral and non-moral values in decision making
· differentiate between theological and moral values in decision making
· utilize theological, moral and non-moral values in specific decision making contexts
·
utilize theological, moral and non-moral values to
construct the beginnings of a code for ethical business practices
Required Texts
O.C. Ferrell, John
Fraedrich & Linda Ferrell, Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and
Cases (2000)
Tom Morris, If Aristotle Ran General Motors (1998)
Various handouts may be
distributed and Web pages will be referenced throughout the term, for which you
also will be responsible.
Class Schedule
|
Sep 14-15 |
Introduction to course and to ethical & theological theory |
|
Sep 21-22 |
Read FFF, 96-111; 115-138; & 224-240 |
|
Sep 28-30 |
Read FFF, 166-187 |
|
Oct 6 |
Review of Morris due to me via email by midnight |
|
Oct 12 |
Read FFF, 192-219 |
|
Oct 13 |
Concluding discussion of theology, ethics and business |
Assessment & Grading Scale
|
Individual Project = 25% |
90 - 100 = A (90-94 = A-) |
|
Group Project #1 = 15% |
80 - 89 = B (80-82 = B- / 87-89 = B+) |
|
Group Project #2 = 20% |
70 - 79 = C (70-72 = C- / 77-79 = C+) |
|
Final Exam = 25% |
60 - 69 = D (67-69 = D+) |
|
Review of Morris = 15% |
0 - 59 = F |
Individual
Project
One individual project will
be due at the beginning of class on October 12th. You are welcome initially to
work in collaboration with others, but the final product must be personally
completed by each student and submitted for individual assessment. With an eye
to your own business operations and the business plan that comprises your MBA
coursework, you are to draft an ethics code
or ethics program addressing the
mission and needs of the business or organization and its employees. The code
or program should be presented in summary form, followed by detailed
explication and justification for each provision drafted. Actual length can vary given the nature of
the product, but a typical code or program can be expected to run 1-2
typewritten or computer-generated pages, with details running an additional 5-7
pages. Further instructions about preparation and format of the project, along
with sample codes and programs for review, will be presented on September 21st.
[Note: Individual projects for non-MBA students are to be arranged with the
instructor, and will take different research product form as well as be set a
different submission date.]
Group Projects
Two
group projects will be completed during the term.
Group Project
#1
(September 15th): Mattel case in FFF. “Group” means two to
three persons working together, pooling their knowledge and judgments, to reach
one or more conclusions about what ought to be done given the circumstances of
the case. [Details to be provided by the instructor on the case date. Too, I
prefer you self-select, but lots will be drawn if necessary to create and fill
needed groups.] You will be responsible as a group to write-up your analyses
and conclusions, and to be prepared to present a synopsis of those analyses and
conclusions to the class in an open session at the end of the day. You will
have at least 2 but no more than 3 hours to complete all your group work;
presentations should be timed to take 15-20 minutes each. All members of the
group will share the same project grade.
Group Project #2 (October 13th): Mitsubishi
case in FFF. “Group” means two to three persons working together, pooling
their knowledge and judgments, to reach one or more conclusions about what
ought to be done given the circumstances of the case. [Details to be provided
by the instructor on the case date. Too, I prefer you self-select, but lots
will be drawn if necessary to create and fill needed groups.] You will be
responsible as a group to write-up your analyses and conclusions, and to be
prepared to present a synopsis of those analyses and conclusions to the class
in an open session at the end of the day. You will have at least 2 but no more
than 3 hours to complete all your group work; presentations should be timed to
take 15-20 minutes each. All members of the group will share the same project
grade.
Final Exam
There will be a final
examination during the afternoon of October 13th. The exam comprises objective (true/false,
multiple choice, short answer, etc) and essay questions dealing with all the
topics and issues we will have covered in our time together. The exam will take
~2 hours to complete, but you will have up to 3 hours to write the exam.
The exam is closed book,
open notes. Meaning of open notes: you are permitted to prepare and bring to
class one (1) sheet of standard-sized paper (8.5”x11”), with notes on it in any
form, front and back, handwritten or computer generated or photocopied, with no
regard for margins.
Review of Morris
You are to submit to me via
email no later than midnight (per my received time stamp, not your send stamp,
so hit the “send” button with a conservative clock in mind) on Saturday,
October 6th, a substantive review of Morris’ book on business
ethics. Your essay should run 6-8 pages (maximum 12-point Arial/Helvetica font
with 1-inch margins on standard 8.5” x 11” paper). Send the review as an
attachment to your email, noting the word processing software and version used
(e.g. MS Word ’97). Make sure you check your review for viruses: documents
submitted with a virus are subject to a 5% penalty.
The review should be
presented in two parts: (1) provide a brief overview of the main claims and
features of the book, so that anyone who had not read it would know what it was
all about (max. 2.5 pages); and (2) provide a sophisticated critique of a
selection of Morris’ analyses and advice to business owners about how to
structure their business operations, indicating any strengths or weaknesses or
blind spots evident in his reasoning or applications.
Attendance
& Participation
You are expected to attend all six (6) face-to-face
class sessions, and to participate in all email and web-based activities. Attending the sessions and participating as
outlined will not directly earn points toward a final grade, but failure to
attend or participate are subject to penalties being assessed against your
final score and so can have an impact on your final course grade: failure to
attend a Friday evening session—2% points; failure to attend a Saturday morning
or afternoon session—2% points each; failure to participate in web discussion
of Morris—2% points. Of course, failure to attend and participate on dates of
group projects means no points can be earned for those activities, either.
Caveat
This syllabus is composed in good faith, with a
schedule of readings, etc. which will guide us throughout the term. Still, the
instructor reserves the right to make adjustments to this schedule as deemed
necessary for the overall enterprise of the class. Any changes will be
communicated as far in advance as feasible, and you are responsible for knowing
if and when any changes have been made. Always
check the Web site if you have questions about readings, assignments or meeting
dates and times.
Make-Ups
Individual
Project :
if it happens that you cannot avoid being absent on October 12th,
you should fax, email, or send via courier your project so that it reaches me
by the due date and time. If you cannot accomplish submission by any of these
methods, you can submit the project to me no later than the subsequent Monday
morning (10:00am deadline), October 15th, subject to a 20% penalty
for late submission.
Group Projects : if it happens that you
cannot avoid being absent for a group project period, you must negotiate and
sign a contract with me to complete an individual research assignment before the project session to earn a
mark.
Morris Review : late submission of Morris review is subject
to 20% penalty
Final Exam : if it happens that you cannot avoid
being absent on October 13th, you should arrange to take the exam
early. An exam administered late is subject to 20% penalty.