The objectives of this course are: (1) to raise the student's understanding of the complex nature of certain prevalent problems in business ethics, (2) to enable students to communicate in an intelligent manner on issues in business ethics, (3) to increase the student's adeptness in critiquing an ethical position, and (4) to have students refine their own positions on many topics in business ethics.

The text we will use for this class is Ethical Theory and Business edited by Tom L. Beauchamp and Norman E. Bowie (6th edition).

All work submitted for this class is expected to be your own original work. Any idea that is not your own must be documented (i.e. the source must be cited). Any cheating or plagiarizing will result in an F.

Contact me to set up an appointment.

In order to pass this class you will need to write a satisfactory business ethics paper of about 6-7 pages in length. I will collect a first version of your paper on Tuesday, October 23rd and will give it back to you with constructive feedback on Thursday, November 1st. The final version of your paper is due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, November 20th. You may write your paper on any topic that interests you, provided that it is directly related to business ethics. If the topic you would like to write on is not listed under the general schedule, then you should see me to discuss it before you turn in your first draft.

Exams will consist of short answer questions and your choice of several essay questions. More specific information regarding the questions asked on the exam will be provided as the time of the exam nears. Materials asked on each exam are discussed thoroughly in class lectures. No make up exams will be given unless prior permission of the instructor has been granted. If an exam has been missed due to an illness, then documentation of the illness must be presented. Do not assume that a missed exam can be made up in the LRC.

If you have a certifiable learning or physical disability and require special accommodations please make an appointment with Joanne Boyer, ADA Coordinator, Admin. 178. As considerable lead-time is required for some accommodations it is important that the request is received within the first two weeks of the semester. YOUR REQUEST WILL BE HANDLED CONFIDENTIALLY.

Provided that you write a satisfactory ethics paper, grades for this class will be calculated as follows:

Exam #1 15%
Exam #2 15%
Exam #3 15%
Final Exam 20%
Paper 25%
Classroom Participation 10%

100-98 A+
97-93 A
92-90 A-
89-88 B+
87-83 B
82-80 B-

79-78 C+
77-73 C
72-70 C-
69-68 D+
67-63 D
62-60 D-

Class 1 (Thursday, August 23): Introduction to Business Ethics

Class 2 (Tuesday, August 28): Utilitarianism vs. Kantian Approaches to Business Decisions.
For class read pp. 17-29. Also read "The Wall Street Effect" (pp. 100-1) and "The Conventions of Lying on Wall Street" (pp. 524-5).

Class 3 (August 30): Contemporary Social Contract Theory.
For class read John Rawl's "An Egalitarian Theory of Justice" on pp. 649-57. Also read "South Africa and Pharmaceutical Companies" on p. 693.

Class 4 (September 4): Feminism and Natural Law Approaches to Business Ethics.
For class read pp. 29-38. Also read "The Health Business" on pp. 101-4.

Class 5 (Thursday, September 6): Pay Equity.
For class read "Pay Equity" by Judith M. Hill (pp. 401-6). Also read the legal ruling of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) v. State of Washington (pp. 438-42).

Class 6 (September 11): Comparable Worth.
For class read "Resolving the Debate over Comparable Worth: Some Philosophical Considerations" by Ellen Frankel Paul (pp. 406-14).

Class 7 (Thursday, September 13): Exam #1

Class 8 (Tuesday, September 18): The Classical U.S. View
For class read "The Social Responsibility of Business to Increase Its Profits" by Milton Friedman (pp. 51-5). Also read the legal ruling of the Michigan Supreme Court in the Doge v. Ford Motor Co. (pp. 86-7).

Class 9 (September 20): Problems with the Classical U.S. View
For class read "Fiduciary Duties and the Shareholder-Management Relation: Or, What's So Special About Shareholders?" by John R. Boatright (pp. 75-85).

Class 10 (September 25): Stakeholder Theory of the Corporation
For class read "A Stakeholder Theory of the Modern Corporation" by R. Edward Freeman (pp. 56-65).

Class 11 (September 27): Problems with the Stakeholder Theory
For class read "Business Ethics and Stakeholder Analysis" by Kenneth Goodpaster (pp. 66-75).

Class 12 (October 2): A real world perspective.
For class read TIAA-CREF's Policy Statement on Corporate Governance (pp. 90-5)

Class 13 (Thursday, October 4): Exam #2

Class 14 (Tuesday, October 9): Consumer Risk & Business Duties to Consumers.
For class read Manuel Velasquez's "The Ethics of Consumer Protection" on pp. 181-9. Also read the legal ruling of the Supreme Court of New Jersey in the Henningsen v. Bloomfield Motors, Inc. and Chrysler Corporation (pp. 237-41).

Class 15 (October 11): Product Liability & Free Enterprise.
For class read George G. Brenkert's "Strict Products Liability and Compensatory Justice" on pp. 189-95. Also read "The Nestle Corporation" on pp. 629-30.

Fall Break

Class 16 (Thursday, October 18): Occupational Risk.
For class read "The Right to Risk Information and the Right to Refuse Workplace Hazards" by Ruth R. Faden & Tom L. Beauchamp (pp. 195-202.). Also read the legal ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States in the Automobile Workers v. Johnson Controls, Inc. (pp. 241-4).

Class 17 (October 23): OSHA and the Workers Right to Know.
For class read "The Nature of the Workers Right to Know" by Thomas O. McGarity (pp. 203-10).
First Version of Paper Due

Class 18 (October 25): Environmental Risk.
For class read "Safety, Risk, and Environmental Protection" by Richard T. DeGeorge (pp. 210-6). Also read the legal ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States in the United States, Petitioner v. Bestfoods et al. (pp. 244-7).

Class 19 (October 30): Profitability vs. the Environment.
For class read "Shades of Green: Business, Ethics, and the Environment" by R. Edward Freeman, Jessica Pierce, and Richard Dodd (pp. 216-23). Also read "Texaco in the Ecuadorean Amazon" on pp. 637-9.

Class 20 (Thursday, November 1): Exam #3

Class 21 (Tuesday, November 6): International Free Trade and Capitalism.
For class read "Exporting Mental Models: Global Capitalism in the 21st Century" by Patricia H. Werhane (pp. 562-8). Also read the legal ruling of the Supreme Court of Texas in the Dow Chemical Company and Shell Oil Company v. Domingo Castro Alfaro et al. on pp. 617-23.

Class 22 (November 8): International Sweatshops.
For class read "The Campus Anti-Sweatshop Movement" by Richard Applebaum and Peter Dreier (pp. 586-93). Also read "The Gap" on pp. 632-7.

Class 23 (November 13): Assisting the Poor in the Global Economy.
For class read "Rich and Poor" by Peter Singer (pp. 661-7).

Class 24 (November 15): International Debt.
For class read "The Ethics of Conditionality in International Debt" by Thomas Donaldson (pp. 680-8).

Class 25 (November 20): Transnational Corporations and Free Trade Agreements.
Video: "Global Village or Global Pillage"
For class read "Negotiating Justice" by Richard T. DeGeorge (pp. 675-80).
Final Version of Paper Due

Thanksgiving Break

Class 26 (Tuesday, November 27): Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
For class read "Making Sense of Sexual Harassment Law" by Andrew Altman (pp. 415-21). Also read the legal ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States in the Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson, et al. (pp. 442-6)

Class 27 (November 29): Sexual Harassment in the Corporate Workplace.
For class read "Sexual Harassment: Why the Corporate World Still Doesn't 'Get it'," by Vaughana Macy Feary (pp. 421-7).

Class 28 (Tuesday, December 4): The Manipulation of Consumers
For class read "Manipulative Advertising" by Tom L. Beauchamp (pp. 476-84).

Class 29 (December 6): Manipulative Advertising and Autononomy
For class read "The Inconclusive Ethical Case Against Manipulative Advertising" by Michael J Phillips (pp. 485-90).

Final Exam: to be announced.