Spring Quarter 2015 - PHIL 120

Schedule: TR 10:00-11:20am (240A MCK) & Discussion Sessions on FR with
Brock Baines, Jon LaRochelle, &TBA.

Office Hours:

Nicolae (250B SCH), Wed, 10:30-12:20pm 

Brock (161 SCH), Wed, 11:00-1:00pm

Jon (158A SCH), FR 12:00-2:00 pm

Required Books (will be available at the Duck Store & on reserve at Knight Library):

1) Robert Audi, Business Ethics and Ethical Business (Oxford UP, 2009)

2) Daniel Cohen, Globalization and Its Enemies (MIT Press, 2006)

3) Additional Required Readings will be available on Canvas [CAN]

Midterm & Final Exams:

1. 1.Midterm Exam - Questions will be posted on Canvas on Friday April 24th. Midterm papers are due on Friday, May 1st before 4pm on Canvas.
   

2. 2.Final Exam - Questions will be posted on Canvas on Thursday June 4th. Final papers are due on Thursday, June 11th before 4pm on Canvas.
   

Extra-credit Opportunities:
Rule: Go to the event, write 1p single-spaced (normal margins) and email it (doc or pdf) to your GTF before the end of the term => it contributes 1.5% towards your final grade.

Last Day of Class = Friday, June 5th by 5pm (submission deadline for extra-credit).

1. 1)Success or Significance: Can you have both? with K. Westaway & E. Beck
   

When: April 30 from 7:00-8:00 pm

Where: EMU Ballroom

2) Mind and Freedom: Why the Brain Matters for Politics & Social Issues with G. Lakoff

When: Friday, April 24 from 4:00-5:30 pm

Where: PLC 180

3. 3)What is College for? A Defense of Liberal Arts with W. Deresiewicz
   

When: May 13th at 7:30pm

Where: 156 Straub Hall

Additional suggested readings/podcasts:

For another general introduction to Business Ethics, you can also read this great entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy by Alexei Marcoux - link.

Week 1 - We have mentioned the importance of equality and economic freedom as two central variables constructing our social space. The Economist points out here some of the risks of inequality - Income inequality in America: The 99 percent.

Week 2 - Ethics Bites has realized a great podcast on Business Ethics with Alex Oliver (Cambridge) , David Edmonds and Nigel Warburton (The Open University). Their central question is: Should companies consider anything but their shareholders? (available also on iTunes).

Week 3 - The documentary about the Enron Case - called - “The Smartest Guys in the Room” is available also online (here).

Week 4 - Topic 1: Women and Work.
The Economist had a great special report in their Print Edition of Nov 26th, 2011.

Below a few articles: 1) Closing the Gap; 2) Female Labour Markets - The Cashier & The Carpenter; 3) Women in China - The Sky’s the limit; 4) Looking Ahead - Here’s to the next half century.

Topic 2: Affirmative Action -The Economist had a very recent article on this subject - “Time to scrap affirmative action”, April 27, 2013

Week  6 - Topic: Sweatshops & Child Labor

For an economic argument defending the existence of sweatshops, I encourage you to read
Benjamin Powell, In Defense of Sweatshops (along with Paul Krugman’s In Praise of Cheap Labor)

John Oliver has also tackled the question of sweatshops on his show “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” - Fashion.

Week 7 - Topic: Globalization

We talked about Jaggar’s article “Is Globalization Good for Women?”. Part of Jaggar’s argument is that globalization is not good for women (and, also children and men) because instead of producing more prosperity and social justice, it produces more poverty and inequality. Catherine Rampell shows that “inequality is most extreme in wealth, not in income” (March 30, 2011 - The NYT).

We have also mentioned higher frequency trade. If you are interested in, you should definitely listen to Radiolab’s podcast Million Dollar Microsecond and read their short article Fast-Cash-Flash-Crash-Mad-Dash-Clash.

Week 8 - Topic: Globalization

We continue to discuss about globalization and labor conditions in third world countries.

Last year, the Apple story made the headlines. See, David Pogue’s recent post “What Cameras Inside Foxconn Found” on NYT and, a reply from Adam Ozimek, Taking the Broader Perspective on Foxconn - as well as a recent post Using Globalization For Good from The Economist.

ABC also visited Foxconn. See here the video.

Week 9 - Topic: Globalization & Poverty

The Guardian was mentioning that Cambodian workers have been hurt in Nike factory clash.

Week 10 - Topic: The End of Poverty
The Economist has dedicated a whole issue to the question of poverty. One of the articles - “The World’s Next Great Leap Forward” is available here.

Syllabus PHIL 120

(updated)