GEN2004 Business Ethics – Common Core Curriculum Office (CCCO)

Department

Social Science

Semester

AY2011/12 Sem 2, AY2012/13 Sem 2, AY2013/14 Sem 1, AY2013/14 Sem 2, AY2015/16 Sem 1, AY2015/16 Sem 2, AY2016/17 Sem 1, AY2016/17 Sem 2, AY2017/18 Sem 1, AY2018/19 Sem 1, AY2018/19 Sem 2, AY2019/20 Sem 1, AY2019/20 Sem 2, AY2020/21 Sem 1, AY2020/21 Sem 2, AY2021/22 Sem 1, AY2021/22 Sem 2, AY2022/23 Sem 1, AY2022/23 Sem 2, AY2023/24 Sem 1, AY2023/24 Sem 2, AY2024/25 Sem 1

Method

Lecture 3 hours

Cluster

4 (Moral Reasoning)

Prerequisite

GEN1000 Perspectives on General Education

Exclusion

Nil

Module Description

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.

Module Intended Learning Outcomes (MILO)

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.

Module Content

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

Assessment Methods

1. Short assignment(s) (10%)
2. Test (20%)
3. Group Project (20%)
4. Final Essay (50%)

Texts & References

1. Hoffman, W. Michael., Frederick, Robert (2014). Business Ethics: Readings and Cases in Corporate Morality. Chichester, West Sussex : Wiley Blackwell.*
2. Jennings, Marianne M. (2015). Business Ethics: Case studies and Selected Readings. Australia: South-Western.
3. Lippert-Rasmussen, Kasper. (Ed.). (2018). The Routledge Handbook of the Ethics of Discrimination. New York: Routledge.
4. Shaw, William H. (2011) Business Ethics: A Textbook with Cases, 7th edition, Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
5. Timmons, M. (2013). Moral theory: An introduction (2nd ed.). Plymouth, UK: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
6. 葉保強 (2016),《企業倫理》,三版,台北:五南圖書。*
7. 葉保強 (2016),《組織倫理》,高雄:巨流圖書。
8. 陳勁甫、許金田 (2010) ,《企業倫理 : 內外部管理觀點與個案》台北縣三重市 : 財團法人信義文化基金會。