This course on Business Ethics explores the importance and application of ethics in the business world across 11 chapters:
- Why Ethics Matter: Discusses the importance of integrity for professionals, the relationship between ethics and profitability, and the debate over multiple versus single ethical standards.
- Ethics from Antiquity to the Present: Traces the concept of ethical business from ancient Athens and China, compares Eastern and Western virtue ethics, and introduces utilitarianism, deontology, and theories of justice.
- Defining and Prioritizing Stakeholders: Covers adopting a stakeholder orientation, weighing stakeholder claims, ethical decision-making, and corporate social responsibility (CSR).
- Three Special Stakeholders: Society, the Environment, and Government: Explores corporate law and responsibility, sustainability, and the relationship between government and the private sector.
- The Impact of Culture and Time on Business Ethics: Examines the relationship between business ethics and culture, the evolution of business ethics, the influence of geography and religion, and the universality of business ethics values.
- What Employers Owe Employees: Discusses workplace environment and conditions, fair wages, organized workforces, and privacy in the workplace.
- What Employees Owe Employers: Focuses on loyalty to the company and brand, contributing to a positive work atmosphere, financial integrity, and issues around criticism and whistleblowing.
- Recognizing and Respecting the Rights of All: Addresses diversity and inclusion, accommodating different abilities and faiths, sexual identification and orientation, income inequalities, and animal rights in business.
- Professions under the Microscope: Examines ethical considerations in entrepreneurship, advertising, the insurance industry, and healthcare provision.
- Changing Work Environments and Future Trends: Discusses telecommuting, workplace campuses, alternative work patterns, and the impact of robotics and AI on the future workplace.
- Epilogue: Why Ethics Still Matter: Concludes with a reflection on the ongoing importance of business ethics, committing to ethical views, becoming an ethical professional, and making a difference in the business world.
Each chapter includes an introduction, key terms, a summary, assessment questions, and endnotes, providing a comprehensive understanding of ethical principles and their practical implications in various business contexts.
