Learning Objectives and Class Prep - Ethics and CSR
Introduction
Business ethics is a delicate subject for many. While we do not purport to be able to teach you to be ethical in one lesson in one course, we do hope to give you an appreciation for the topic. In a day in which it is virtually impossible to open a copy of the Wall Street Journal and not see an article related to some type of ethics case, the subject deserves at least that much coverage in this course.
Learning Objectives
Upon completing the learning activities associated with this lesson, class participants should be able to:
- Define business ethics and explain what it means to act ethically in business.
- Explain why we study business ethics.
- Identify ethical issues that you might face in business, such as insider trading, conflicts of interest, or bribery, and explain rationalizations for unethical behavior.
- Identify steps you can take to maintain your honesty and integrity in a business environment.
- Define corporate social responsibility and explain how organizations are responsible to their stakeholders, including owners, employees, customers, and the community.
- Discuss how you can identify an ethical organization, and how organizations can prevent behavior like sexual harassment.
- Learn how to avoid an ethical lapse, and why you should not rationalize when making decisions.
Preparation for Class
To complete this lesson, you will need to do the following activities:
- Review the Learning Objectives
- Read Chapter 4 from the Press Books site
- Watch the Video Presentation linked at the end of the chapter.
- Read the article at this link Links to an external site. after watching the video
You will also read the Living Wage case study in today's module (next page) in preparation for Wednesday's class, where we will discuss and debate the issue of living wage. Be sure to read the case study before class!
Optional
- The Dow Jones Sustainability Index ranks the most sustainable companies. What criteria do they use? You don't need to read this, but look at the infographics that show what is used to judge companies' sustainability. Links to an external site.
- We will talk about Unilever in class, but if you're interested in seeing a company really setting the bar in the context of global living wage, take a look at Unilever's site explaining its living wage initiative. Links to an external site.