Business Ethics(session E)
Business Ethics
4th Module Spring 2013
Thomas Weidenbach, Visiting Professor, HSBC School of Business, Peking University Shenzhen
Office Hours by Appointment
Ethics is the branch of philosophy that examines standards of conduct from the perspective of morality, i.e. what is considered to be right or wrong. Everyone has such standards personally, and we are all affiliated with or affected by organizations that promote or discourage behavior they believe to be morally acceptable or unacceptable. Ethical issues are present in every aspect of the existence of the legal person known as the business corporation. They affect its relations with owners and employees, clients, customers, consumers, government regulators and the general public, even with generations yet unborn. Therefore you already feel the impact of ethical decisions made by corporations, and as you become more involved in the business world you will be called upon to weigh ethical considerations in professional decisions you make every day, big and small. The goal of this course is to prepare PHBS students to make more thoughtful and well-grounded ethical choices in the great diversity of workplaces in which they will find themselves after graduation.
Our principal text will be Business Ethics and Ethical Business by Robert Audi, a well-known American academic philosopher who has appointments in both the philosophy department and school of business at the University of Notre Dame. Because the focus of his book is on Western ethical traditions, we will supplement it with essays on the ethical traditions of China written by Donald Munro, another distinguished American philosophy professor and who is also a respected Sinologist at the University of Michigan.
The course grade will be based principally on quizzes given each day in class and on a final written assignment. While the lectures will finish at the end of May, the assignment will be due the end of the module via e-mail to the instructor. Though I am always happy to discuss student concerns outside of class, I encourage in-class discussion. I consider questions asked or observations made by students to be an integral and welcome part of the lecture, and those who participate in this way will rewarded when grades are decided. Attendance is required. Students may miss one class without penalty. Students who miss no class will receive extra credit, while students who miss more than one will have points deducted from their final grade for each additional absence. No excuse for penalized absences will be accepted.
4th Module Spring 2013
Thomas Weidenbach, Visiting Professor, HSBC School of Business, Peking University Shenzhen
Office Hours by Appointment
Ethics is the branch of philosophy that examines standards of conduct from the perspective of morality, i.e. what is considered to be right or wrong. Everyone has such standards personally, and we are all affiliated with or affected by organizations that promote or discourage behavior they believe to be morally acceptable or unacceptable. Ethical issues are present in every aspect of the existence of the legal person known as the business corporation. They affect its relations with owners and employees, clients, customers, consumers, government regulators and the general public, even with generations yet unborn. Therefore you already feel the impact of ethical decisions made by corporations, and as you become more involved in the business world you will be called upon to weigh ethical considerations in professional decisions you make every day, big and small. The goal of this course is to prepare PHBS students to make more thoughtful and well-grounded ethical choices in the great diversity of workplaces in which they will find themselves after graduation.
Our principal text will be Business Ethics and Ethical Business by Robert Audi, a well-known American academic philosopher who has appointments in both the philosophy department and school of business at the University of Notre Dame. Because the focus of his book is on Western ethical traditions, we will supplement it with essays on the ethical traditions of China written by Donald Munro, another distinguished American philosophy professor and who is also a respected Sinologist at the University of Michigan.
The course grade will be based principally on quizzes given each day in class and on a final written assignment. While the lectures will finish at the end of May, the assignment will be due the end of the module via e-mail to the instructor. Though I am always happy to discuss student concerns outside of class, I encourage in-class discussion. I consider questions asked or observations made by students to be an integral and welcome part of the lecture, and those who participate in this way will rewarded when grades are decided. Attendance is required. Students may miss one class without penalty. Students who miss no class will receive extra credit, while students who miss more than one will have points deducted from their final grade for each additional absence. No excuse for penalized absences will be accepted.