APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2016/2017

GRA 6038 Applied Business Ethics

Responsible for the course
Øyvind Kvalnes

Department
Department of Leadership and Organizational Behaviour

Term
According to study plan

ECTS Credits
6

Language of instruction
English

Introduction
This course explores ethical challenges in business, and presents conceptual tools to handle dilemmas and polarities in the workplace.

Learning outcome
Acquired knowledge:
The student will become familiar with the basic concepts of business ethics, and their links to core business objectives and strategies. They will learn about the triple-bottom line of business, the responsibility towards owners, society and the environment. Communication culture is a key element in working with ethics in a business community, and the students will gain knowledge about ways to enhance dialogue about ethics in the workplace. They will also learn about the current debate concerning Homo Economicus and alternative conceptions of human nature and moral psychology.

Acquired skills:
Dilemma training will be a core activity in the course. The purpose of the training will be to prepare the students for the dilemmas they will encounter in future employment situations. They will learn to provide justification for their choices, and to analyze disagreement about moral issues. Through familiarity with ethical theories, concepts and principles, they will become better equipped to navigate in business environments where dilemmas are commonplace.

Acquired competence:
The students will be able to view their own professional education and practice in the light of possible effects on society and the environment. They will gain insight into the requirements necessary to establish sustainable business, and recognize ethics as an integral part of any high level professional competence. The course will encourage them to acknowledge that the triple-bottom line of business has personal ramifications, shaping the individual's responsibilities at work.

Prerequisites

All courses in the Masters programme will assume that students have fulfilled the admission requirements for the programme. In addition, courses in second, third and/or fourth semester can have spesific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.

Compulsory reading
Books:
Crane, Andrew, Dirk Matten. 2016. Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. 4th ed. Oxford University Press
Øyvind Kvalnes. 2015. Moral Reasoning at Work. Palgrave Macmillan. Selected chapters. Free copy available online

Collection of articles:
A compendium of scientific articles will be made available before the course starts.

Other:
During the course there may be hand-outs and other material on additional topics relevant for the course and the examination


Recommended reading

Course outline
Business Ethics: Tools, Concepts and Principles
Dilemma Training
Homo Economicus and Moral Psychology
Corporate Social Responsibility
Countering Corruption
Ethics in the Professions: Coping with Conflict of Interest
Communication, Reputation and Identity
Ethics and Investment

Computer-based tools
Not applicable

Learning process and workload
A course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of 160-180 hours.

The course will consist of four 3-hour plenary sessions, four 3-hour group sessions and two 6-hour dilemma workshops. The plenary and group sessions will present the main concepts and ideas, and provide the students with cases to discuss. In the group sessions the students will be devided into 4 groups, while in the dilemma workshops they will be devided into 8 groups. Each student can participate in 12 hours of plenary teaching, 12 hours of group teaching and 12 hours of dilemma workshop activities.

Please note that while attendance is not compulsory in all courses, it is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course homepage/It's learning or text book.

Coursework requirements

Examination
A 24-hour take-home examination concludes the course. The examination will require the students to analyze a case through the use of theories, concepts and principles from the curriculum.