GEN1000 Perspectives on General Education
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This module examines various issues and dimensions of business ethics in today’s society, using major business ethical theories, such as Utilitarianism, Kantianism, Social Contract Theories, Shareholders Theory, Stakeholders Theory, and Confucianism. Topics including corporate social responsibility, meaning and value of work, rights and duties of employees, consumer ethics, and environmental responsibilities across different dimensions are discussed and analysed with the help of case studies to encourage students to connect concepts and theories to the real world.
Upon completion of this module, students should be able to:
a. identify issues of business ethics
b. explain and evaluate concepts and theories of business ethics;
c. apply theories to the real world through integrating theories with facts;
d. analyse and evaluate key business ethical issues.
1. Introduction
1.1 What is ethics?
1.2 Why study business ethics?
1.3 Business ethics and Law
2. Basic ethical theories
2.1 Shareholders and Stakeholders theory
2.2 Integrative social contract theory
2.3 Kantian ethics
2.4 Confucian ethics
3. Ethical concepts, moral reasoning and decision
3.1 Moral Relativism
3.2 Egoism
3.3 Utilitarianism
3.4 Virtues
3.5 Moral reasoning and moral decision
4. Capitalism and Corporate Social Responsibility
4.1 The moral foundation of Capitalism
4.2 Social Justice
4.3 Corporate Social Responsibility debate
5. Ethics in the organization and the workplace
5.1 Meaning and value of work
5.2 Wages and working hour
5.3 Labour union
5.4 Bribes and Kickbacks
5.5 Discrimination and Sexual harassment
5.6 Whistle blowing
6. Business and Society
6.1 Consumer rights
6.2 Advertisement
6.3 Product safety
6.4 Environmental Protection
7. Globalization and business ethics
7.1 Ethics of Multi-national corporate
7.2 The establishment of business ethics in Greater China
1. Short assignment(s) (10%)
2. Test (20%)
3. Group Project (20%)
4. Final Essay (50%)
