Syllabus
Phil 399: Business Ethics
Instructor: Dr. Jeffrey J. Stolle
Work phone: 684-3800
Email: jstolle@uoregon.edu
Office: 269 PLC
Office hours: Tuesdays 2-4 pm or by appointment
Box: 338A PLC
Course Description:
In the wake of Enron, WorldCom, and other high profile corporate scandals, we find ourselves as a society facing serious and complicated ethical questions. To whom are businesses responsible, and why? Do the ethical responsibilities of businesses extend beyond the law, and if so, how far? To what extent do individuals, as stockholders, managers, employees, consumers, litigants, and citizens, share responsibility for the ethics of business?
The course has three goals. The first is to equip ourselves to navigate public policy issues surrounding "business ethics." Topics may include corporate social responsibility, acceptable risk, employee rights and responsibilities, environmental protection, international business, and others. We will read contemporary and classic articles on business ethics and public policy as well as short philosophical essays on ethical theory. We will also develop our skills analyzing cases and writing position papers.
The second goal of the course is to engage "business ethics" as working individuals. What is "meaningful work"? Where are the lines between personal identity and work roles? In this section of the course, we will discuss a novel, a provocative history of modern work, and assorted interviews of working people. We will also view and discuss two feature films and selected film clips that depict working life and its ethical significance.
The third goal of the course is to consider "business ethics" at the level of the organization. How does working in an organization both facilitate and frustrate our attempts to live ethically? How do hierarchies, group dynamics, and interpersonal work relationships shape the character of "business ethics"? We will investigate some of the current social science research on these questions.
Texts:
Films:
"Roger and Me"
"Working Girl"
Grading:
15% Paper #1 (3- to 5-pages from a choice of assigned topics)
15% Midterm exam
25% Paper #2 (3-5 pages from a choice of assigned topics)
25% Final exam
20% Participation and quizzes
Schedule:
Week 1: Introduction
Plato, "Ring of Gyges" [CP 2-4]
Beauchamp and Bowie, "Ethical Theory and Business Practice" [ETB 1-44]
Begin WL
Begin RD
Click
here for lecture notes
Week 2: Kant [CP 5-20]
Mill [CP 21-29]
Morris, If Aristotle Ran General Motors [CP 31-45]
(Optional: MacIntyre, After Virtue [CP 47-70]. We will be reading this carefully
later in the course.)
Continue WL
Continue RD
Click here for Aristotle quotes
Week 3: "The Purpose of the Corporation" [ETB 45-94]
Callahan, "Preparing Cases and Position Papers" [CP 102-104]
Continue WL
Continue RD
Film: "Roger and Me" (Optional screening 4/12, time and location TBA)
Click here for "Purpose of the Corporation"
notes
Week 4: Paper #1 due (4/19)
"Acceptable Risk" [ETB 166-256]
Continue WL
Continue RD
Click here for environmental ethics quotations
Week 5: "Ethical Issues in International Business" [ETB 532-629]
Finish WL
Finish RD
Click here for midterm study guide
Week 6: Midterm exam (5/3)
Discuss WL and RD
Week 7: Discuss WL and RD
Terkel, "Working" [on reserve]
MacIntyre, "The Nature of the Virtues" [CP 48-59]
Film: "Working Girl" (Optional screening 5/12, time and location TBA)
Week 8: Discuss WL, RD
MacIntyre, "The Virtues, the Unity of a Human Life, and the Concept of
a Tradition" [CP 60-70]
Medved, "Does Hollywood Bash Big Business?" [CP 105-112]
Week 9: Paper #2 due (5/24)
Yukl [CP 114-123]
Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, "Organizational Culture and Ethical Decision
Making" [on reserve]
Week 10: Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, "Organizational Relationships
and Conflicts in Ethical Decision Making" [on reserve]
Blake and Mouton, "Productivity: The Human Side" [CP 125-152]
Review
Comprehensive final exam at UO scheduled exam time.