Business Ethics and Sustainability

Description

Business Ethics and Sustainability explores the breadth and depth of ethical issues confronting contemporary organisations. It examines major philosophical conceptualisations of ethics and applies these to critically analyse both theory and practice. It places particular emphasis upon developing students' ethical vocabulary and ethical argumentation so that they are better equipped to successfully carry an ethically informed subjectivity into their organisational practice.

Subject objectives

Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

1. identify core ethical issues, conflicts and dilemmas facing contemporary organisations

2. apply relevant theoretical/philosophical understandings of ethics to critically appraise organisational responses to ethical issues

3. demonstrate an ability to develop, and clearly articulate in written texts, an informed ethical position on business issues

4. demonstrate awareness of the implied and explicit ethical positions in their own, others' and organisations' words and practices.

This subject also contributes specifically to the following program learning objectives:

Demonstrate an awareness of conflicting ethical demands of various stakeholders within business and related professional environments (4.1)

Evaluate business responses to ethical issues and dilemmas (4.2)

Critically analyse the core professional obligations, values and operations of organisations, including sustainability (4.3)

Contribution to the development of graduate attributes

Business Ethics is designed to develop in students an understanding of the ethical issues, conflicts and dilemmas facing contemporary organisations as well as an understanding of the conceptualisation of these ethical issues within the business ethics, corporate social responsibility and allied academic and practitioner fields. The subject contributes to the aims of the Bachelor of Business and the Management (and related) major(s) by deepening students' appreciation of the range of ethical issues and conflicts, and responses to such, in a variety of organisational settings. The subject develops skills linked to the Faculty's graduate attributes that look at developing a critical appreciation, and embodiment, of ethical attitudes and values.

Content

The origins of Business Ethics

Conceptualising the Ethical: Philosophy and Sociology

Enacting Business Ethics I: Managing Business Ethics

Enacting Business Ethics II: Ethics and the Employment relationship

Enacting Business Ethics III: Ethics and the Consumer

Enacting Business Ethics IV: Ethics and Sustainability

Challenges to Business Ethics: Individual and Systemic pressures towards immorality

Reassessing Business Ethics: Business Ethics and Business Futures

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Presentation (Group)

Objective(s):

This addresses subject learning objective(s):

2

Weight: 20%

Length:

Maximum length of 10 minutes (with 2 minutes for questions). The presentation must contain academic content and be professionally presented. There is no maximum amount of number of slides that are required. However, each presentation must contain: the group name, group members, the tutorial time and date, and name of tutor.

Each presentation must incorporate the following slides - Introduction, Class Discussion, Conclusion, References - in addition to the presentation requirements. Citations of academic articles must follow the Harvard or APA Style Guide. Appropriate YouTube videos from authorised and well-known organisations (ie not just someone's individual upload) and URLs must be cited and referenced properly.

Assessment task 2: Essay (Individual)

Objective(s):

This addresses subject learning objective(s):

1, 2, 3 and 4

This addresses program learning objectives(s):

4.2 and 4.3

Weight: 50%

Length:

2500 words (+/- 100 words) excluding Cover Sheet, Table of Contents, Appendices and References.

Assessment task 3: Final Exam (Individual)

Objective(s):

This addresses subject learning objective(s):

1

This addresses program learning objectives(s):

4.1

Weight: 30%

Minimum requirements

Students are required to attend 80% of all tutorials.

Students must achieve at least 50% of the subject?s total marks.