EthicsandCorporateResponsibility

C001SAUT11

SubjectArea
OrganisationalBehaviour
Lecturer
CeliaMoore,S307,ext8931,cmoore@london.edu
CourseAdministrator
KimberleyTraynor,A301,ext8909,ktraynor@london.edu
CourseCode
C001S
Term
Autumn2011

1. FacultyBio

CeliaMooreisanAssistantProfessorofOrganisationalBehaviour.ShereceivedherPh.D.fromthe
RotmanSchoolofManagementattheUniversityofToronto,afterearningaB.A.inPhilosophyfrom
McGillUniversityandaMaster'sinPublicAdministrationfromColumbiaUniversity.Beforereturning
toacademiaforherPh.D.,shespenteightyearsworkinginNewYorkandTorontoasaconsultant
andresearcheronhumanresourceissues.ForfiveoftheseyearsshewasatCatalyst,anonprofit
organizationthatworkswithbusinesstoadvancewomen.Hercurrentresearchfocusesonhow
corruptionandunethicalbehaviourisfacilitatedforindividuals,groups,andorganizations,andon
theunexpectedreasonswhycorruptionissopersistent.

2. Aims&Objectives

Thecourseisdesignedtoinformandstimulatethinkingonissuesofethicsandsocialresponsibilityas
theyareencounteredinbusiness.Thematerialcoveredisintendedtohighlighttheunexpected
waysinwhichcontextcanaffectourbehaviouranddecisions,preparestudentstorecognizeand
managecomplicatedbusinessdecisionswhendifferentprioritiesconflict,andtohelpstudentsthink
throughtheirownstandardsofintegrityandcorporateresponsibilityandhowtheywillapplythem
whencalled.

Theoverallcourseobjectivesare:

1)
Tohelpstudentsunderstandthesurprisingwaysourchoices,particularlythosewithmoral
implications,canbeaffectedbyourcontextsaswellasourowncognitivebiases.
2)
Tofacilitatestudentsexplicitthinkingabouthowtheywantlivetheirlives,andhowtheywill
applythevaluesthatareimportanttothemintheircareers.
3)
Tothinkcriticallyabouttheethicalimplicationsofthedecisionsyouwillfaceinbusiness,and
oftheresponsibilitiesofbusinesswithinsociety;
4)
Tolearnfromyourclassmatesandtheirpointsofviewaboutthedepthandcomplexityof
thesedecisions,andabouttheirrelevanceandimplicationsforyourcareerinbusiness.

Weighting

3. Assignments&Assessment

Thiscourseisevaluatedpass/fail,withthefollowingelementsofassessment:

Group/
Requireme SubmissionInformation
Typeof
Submission
Individual
nttopass
assessment
date
this
individual
assessment
piece?
Class

20% Individual
Y
Pleaseseebelow.
Participation

30% Individual
Y
FirstdueMondayOctober10
Personal
SeconddueMondayOctober24
Reflections
(2)
GroupBased
50% Group
Y
DueSunday,October30
CaseAnalysis

Classparticipation.Thequality,quantityandconsistencyofyourcontributionstoclassdiscussions
willformyourclassparticipationgrade.Potentially,inclassassignmentsorexerciseswillbegiven,
whichalsoformpartofhowparticipationisevaluated.Giventhenatureofthecourse,youshould
expecttoattendeveryclassandabsencewillbesufficientforreducingtheclassparticipationgrade,
andmissingmorethanoneclasswithoutgoodreasonandpriorconsentoftheprofessorcanbe
consideredgroundsforclassfailure.

However,classparticipationcantakemanyforms.Forindividualswhoarenotascomfortableas
othersspeakingupinclass,youcanalwaysspeaktomeaftertheclass,orsendanemailwithyour
thoughts.

Personalreflections.Personalreflection,hackneyedasitmaysound,iscriticaltolearningfromour
experienceinawaythatcanguideandsustainfutureaction.Twoshortwrittenassignmentsare
requiredforthiscourse,andwillbedirectlyrelatedtodiscussionsthatwehaveinclass.Detailson
theassignmentswillbegiveninclass.

Groupcaseanalysis.Aftertheclassisover,groupswillbegivenabusinesscasetoanalysetogether.
Thecasewillbedistributedonthelastdayofclass,andthecaseanalysiswillbeduebymidnightthe
followingSunday(8dayslater).

4. Format&TeachingMethods
Wewillusereadings,cases,personalreflectionsandagroupbasedcaseanalysistoexaminereal
issuesconfrontingmanagersoforganizations,andtopracticeanalyzingandsolvingtheissues.

InvolvingtheClass

Oftenwelearnbestfromusingourselvesasexamples.Beforetheclassbegins,studentswillbesent
alinktoabriefsurvey.Reponseswillbeusedinclasstoelucidatecertainpointsoflearning.Inthe
surveyyouwillbeaskedforyourstudentnumbersothatyourresponsescanbematchedbackto
yoursectionandtootheryourresponsestoexerciseswemaydoinclass,nottoidentifyyou
specificallyinanyway.Theresultsfromthesurveywillbereportedbacktoclassesinaggregate
only.

Studentsgenerallyfindthisafunandinterestingwayofdemonstratingtherelevanceofthetheory
welearnaboutinclass.Yourparticipationinthissurveywillcountaspartofyourparticipationgrade.

Thelinkwillbelivefromforoneweekfromthedayitissentouttothestudents,inthebeginningof
Septemberbeforeclassbegins,andwilltakeapproximately30minutestocomplete.Alinkswillbe
emailedtoyousimplyfollowittothesurvey.Itisimportantthatyoutakethisexerciseseriously,
andcompleteitalone,andinasinglesitting.

CaseStudies

Oursessionsinvolvediscussionofcaseswithethicalimplicationsdrawnfromthebusiness
community.Rigorousanalysisandtheidentificationofoptionsandrecommendationswillbe
requiredpriortoclass.Learninginthiscourseishighlydependentuponyourthoroughpreparation
ofthecaseandactiveinvolvementinitsdiscussion.Groupworkisencouraged(guidedbythecase
preparationquestionsgivenbeforeeachclassandsupplementedbytheassociatedreadings).

Inatypicalcasediscussion,oneormorestudentswillbeaskedto"open"theclassbyansweringa
specificquestion,usuallyrelatedtoadecisioncentraltothecaseanditssupportingrationale.Then
thediscussionwillbeopentotherestoftheclass,aimingtobuildananalysisofthesituationand
addressthefocalproblemsandissuesinthecase. Theinstructoractsasamoderatoroftheclass
discussion, drawing the session to a conclusion with a summary of points that have emerged and
other takeaways. This approach develops a process of thinking that enhances decisionmaking
capabilitiesandcommunicationskills.

ClassDiscussion

Theexchangeanddebateofideasamongstudentsisacrucialpartofthelearningprocess.Students
areexpectedtoparticipateproactivelyinclassdiscussions,andshouldaimtocontributetotheclass
byvoicingexperientialoranalyticalinsightsandbyconstructivelychallengingdebatablefacts,
interpretationsandconclusionspresentedbyothers.Classsize/timeconstraintsmaypreclude
participationineveryclass;however,everyeffortwillbemadetoincludetheperspectivesofas
manystudentsaspossible,aswellasfindwaysthatstudentscancontinuediscussionsoutsideof
classtime(forexample,manystudentscommunicatethoughtstheyhadaboutclasswiththe
instructordirectlyoveremail).

5. Readings

Studentsareexpectedtoreadallcasescarefullypriortotheclasssession.Insomesessions,
additionalreadingsareprovidedandarebothcomplementaryandsupplementarytoclassesand
cases.Thesereadingswillnotbeformallyreviewedinclass.Rather,thecontentofthereadingswill
beconsideredstartingpointbackgroundforclassdiscussions.

Session1:Complications

Margolis,J.,DeLong,T.,&Heymann,T.(2007).Antegren:ABeaconofHope.HarvardBusinessSchool
Case,9408025.
Margolis,J.,DeLong,T.,&Heymann,T.(2007).Antegren:ABeaconofHope(B).HarvardBusiness
SchoolCase,9408026.
Tobehandedoutinclass:Margolis,J.,DeLong,T.,&Heymann,T.(2008).Antegren:ABeaconof
Hope(C).HarvardBusinessSchoolCase,9408027.

Session2:Theorganization

Gioia,D.A.(1992).Pintofiresandpersonalethics:Ascriptanalysisofmissedopportunities.Journal
ofBusinessEthics,11,379389.
Badaracco,J.L.,&Useem,J.(2006).ConflictonaTradingFloor(A).HarvardBusinessSchoolCase,9
394060.
Trevio,L.T.,&Brown,M.E.(2004).Managingtobeethical:Debunkingfivebusinessethicsmyths.
AcademyofManagementExecutive,18(2),6981.
Tobehandedoutinclass:Badaracco,J.L.,&Useem,J.(2007).ConflictonaTradingFloor(B).
HarvardBusinessSchoolCase,9394061.

Session3:Theindividual

Stewart,J.B.(2007,February19&26).TheKonaFiles:Howanobsessionwithleaksbroughtscandal
toHewlettPackard.TheNewYorker,pp.152167.
Messick,D.M.,&Bazerman,M.H.(1996,Winter).Ethicalleadershipandthepsychologyofdecision
making.SloanManagementReview,37(2),922.ReprintNo.3721.
*Moore,C.,&Sucher,S.(2011).ChrisandAlisonWeston(A).
*Moore,C.,&Sucher,S.(2011).ChrisandAlisonWeston(B).
*Moore,C.,&Sucher,S.(2011).Anoteonmoraldisengagement.

Session4:Globalviews

Bartlett,C.A.,Dessain,V.,Sjman,A.(2006).IKEAsGlobalSourcingChallenge:IndianRugsandChild
Labor.(A)HarvardBusinessSchoolCase,9906414.
Donaldson,T.(1996).Valuesintension:Ethicsawayfromhome.HarvardBusinessReview,74(5),48
62.ReprintNo.96502.
Tobehandedoutinclass:IKEAsGlobalSourcingChallenge:IndianRugsandChildLabor.(B)Harvard
BusinessSchoolCase,9906415.
*Moore,C.(2011).Militarycontractinginawarzone.

Session5:Broadersociety

Moore,C.,Fischer,L.,&McCarthy,M.(2010).innocentDrinks:Maintainingsociallyresponsible
valuesduringgrowth(A).
Rose,C.,Bergstresser,D.B.,&Lane,D.(2009).Thetipoftheiceberg:JPMorganChaseandBear
Stearns.HarvardBusinessSchoolCase,9309001.
Tobehandedoutinclass:Moore,C.,Fischer,L.,&McCarthy,M.(2010).innocentDrinks:
Maintainingsociallyresponsiblevaluesduringgrowth(B).

*Tobeemaileddirectlytostudents.