MANAGEMENT ETHICS, MGTC59S
SPRING, 2001, THURSDAYS 3-5
Description I Course Materials
I Evaluation I Case
Presentation I
Class Participation I Schedule
Increasingly, the marketplace has come to reward -- and government regulators have come to demand -- a sophisticated managerial approach to the ethical problems that arise in all areas of management practice. The purpose of this course is to provide students with a set of skills helpful in dealing with the ethical problems contemporary managers face.
The analytical and case material we discuss should enable you to formulate well-reasoned, theoretically and empirically-based viewpoints on difficult and controversial managerial issues. There will, for the most part, be no right or wrong answers to the questions raised in this course. There will, however, be such things as "good" or "bad" answers," depending on the extent to which they are based on a thorough understanding of theories and concepts, well-constructed reasoning, and accurate information.
Business Ethics in Canada (3rd edition), edited by Deborah C. Poff and Wilfrid J. Waluchow,
Management Ethics (MGT C59S) Reading Packet
| Case Presentations | 15% |
| Class Participation | 15% |
| Mid-term exam | 30% |
| Final exam | 40% |
The class will have the opportunity to divide itself into eight groups, each of which will be responsible for "kicking off" one of the case discussions beginning January 20. Each group will have the opportunity to express its preference(s) as to which case to present. Needless to say, though, I reserve the right to assign groups cases they may not have chosen in order to ensure that all sessions have presentations, but I will do my best to honour group preferences.
Presenters should summarize the facts of the case, and then analyze those issues raised which are of interest from a broad managerial-ethics perspective. Presentations can, in whole or in part, take the form of role-playing and dialogue as well as a more straightforward discussion of the issues. They should be around 10 to 15 minutes in length. I am available and more than happy to talk, in detail, with each group as it plans its presentation.
For this course
to work, students must participate in class discussion. I want to point
out, though, that the purpose of a class discussion is to advance as a
group toward insight and understanding. Class discussion, in other words,
is a cooperative, not a competitive exercise. You will thus be assessed
on how well your remarks show that you are listening and responding to
what others are saying, not on how articulate and eloquent you are. If
you have steadily contributed to the progress of conversation over the
term -- even if you have uttered no brilliant insights -- you will do
well in your class-participation grade. Of course, I am not for a moment
suggesting that brilliant insights are unwelcome in class; they are very
welcome. But they are not expected or required. Class discussion is a
group endeavour, and you will be marked on your display of those qualities
that conduce to collective learning.
| January 11 |
Introduction
|
| January 18 |
Ethical Theory in Business
|
| January 25 |
The Problem of Dirty Hands
|
| February 1 | The
Problem of Many Hands
|
| February 8 | Health
and Safety in the Workplace
|
| February 15 | MID-TERM |
| Februrary 22 | READING WEEK |
| March 1 | Employment
Equity
|
| March 8 | Environmental
Effects of Business Activities
|
| March 15 | Ethical
Issues in International Business
|
| March 22 | Ethical
Issues in Advertising
|
| March 29 | Lying
and Deception in Business
|
| April 5 | Ethical
Issues of Insider Trading and Conclusion
|