GRA 8163 Business Ethics in Practice (2016/2017)

APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2015/2016

GRA 8163 Business Ethics in Practice (2016/2017)


Responsible for the course
Øyvind Kvalnes

Department
Department of Leadership and Organizational Behaviour

Term
According to study plan

ECTS Credits
2

Language of instruction
English

Introduction
In a global perspective, companies can no longer operate successfully without understanding the role of ethics in management and the importance of both personal and corporate integrity and accountability. Business executives must be able to identify ethical issues in advance, and to present morally and financially viable decisions. They also need to be familiar with the moral psychology of decision making: How can it be that ordinary, decent people in business get involved in corruption and other kinds of wrongdoing?

The overall goal of the course is to strengthen participants’ ability to understand, analyze and respond to a variety of ethical dilemmas in business.

Learning outcome
Acquired knowledge:
The participants will become familiar with the basic concepts of business ethics, and their links to core business objectives and strategies. Concepts and findings from moral psychology will enhance their understanding of decision processes where ethical issues are at stake. Communication climate is a key element in working with ethics in a business community, and the participants will gain knowledge about ways to enhance dialogue about ethics in the workplace.

Acquired skills:
Dilemma training will be a central activity in the course. The purpose of the training will be to prepare the participants for the dilemmas they are likely to encounter in professional settings. 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 participants will learn to consider their professionalism in the light of how to deal with conflicts of interest and the effects on the environment and society.


Prerequisites
Granted admission to the EMBA programme.

Compulsory reading
Books:
Øyvind Kvalnes. Moral Reasoning at Work. 2015. Palgrave Macmillan

Collection of articles:
Compendium of papers

Recommended reading

Course outline
1. Ethical Navigation in Business – A presentation of tools and concepts to analyze ethical dilemmas in business.
2. Moral Psychology: The effects of personal and situational elements on practical decision making.
3. Corruption: A case based discussion of the ethical implications of fraud, corruption, and bribery in business.
4. Communication Climate: An analysis of how business managers and their organizations can encourage feedback
and dialogue concerning ethical issues

Computer-based tools


Learning process and workload
1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours.

The course is designed as a combination of lectures, case discussions, team presentations and group work.

Attendance to all sessions in the course is compulsory. If you have to miss part(s) of the course you must ask in advance for leave of absence. More than 20% absence in a course will require retaking the entire course. It's the student's own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course homepage/ It's learning or other course materials



Examination
The evauluation will be based on individual term paper.

Specific information regarding student evaluation beyond the information given in the course description will be provided in class. This information may be relevant for requirements for term papers or other hand-ins, and/or where class participation can be one of several elements of the overall evaluation

Examination code(s)
GRA 81631 - Term paper; counts 100% of the grade to pass the course GRA 8163, 2 ECTS.

The course is a part of a full Executive Master of Business Administration Program and all evaluations must be passed to obtain a certificate for the degree.


Examination support materials


Re-sit examination
Re-takes are only possible at the next time a course will be held. When course evaluation consists of class participation or continuous assessment, the whole course must be re-evaluated when a student wants to retake a exam. Retake examinations entail an extra examination fee.

Additional information