Course Description
Provides an introduction to ethical foundations and the ways ethics influence business decisions, including an examination of the philosophical concepts of ethics, the practical applicability of ethics to business, and the challenges of business ethics on a global scale. Students consider the impact of moral responsibilities as they relate to individuals, businesses, and regulatory organizations; and explore the regulatory and market-based approaches to ethical financial, marketing, labor, and environmental business practices. Finally, students examine the way that difficult decisions people face in business affect ethical behavior.
Course Textbook(s)
Hartman, L. P., DesJardins, J., & MacDonald, C. (2024). Business ethics: Decision making for personal integrity and social responsibility (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education. https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781265810153
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
Analyze philosophical ethical concepts.Explore the responsibilities of moral agents involved in all aspects of business.Examine the ethical foundations for controversial issues in business.Analyze the challenges of business ethics on a global scale.Formulate ethical solutions for real-world situations using ethical theories and concepts.
Academic Integrity
Honesty and integrity are taken very seriously at Waldorf University. All students should be familiar with the Waldorf University Academic Integrity Policy (found in the current Student Handbook) and the consequences that will result from breaches of this policy.
Credits
Upon completion of this course, the students will earn 3.00 hours of college credit.
Course StructureStudy Guide: Course units contain a Study Guide that provides students with the learning outcomes, unit lesson, required unit resources, assignments, and supplemental resources.Learning Outcomes: Each unit contains Learning Outcomes that specify the measurable skills and knowledge students should gain upon completion of the unit.Unit Lesson: Unit Lessons, which are located in the Study Guide, discuss lesson material.Required Unit Resources: Units contain Required Unit Resources from one or more chapters from the textbook and/or outside resources.Suggested Unit Resources: Suggested Unit Resources are listed within the Study Guide. Students are encouraged to read the resources listed if the opportunity arises, but they will not be tested on their knowledge of the Suggested Unit Resources.Discussion Boards: Students are required to submit Discussion Board posts in Units I-VIII. Discussion Boards provide students the opportunity for student-to-student and professor-to-student interaction based on relevant course concepts and ideas. Specific information about accessing the Discussion Board rubric is provided below.Unit Assessments: This course contains Unit Assessments, which test student knowledge on important aspects of the course. These tests may come in many different forms, ranging from multiple choice to written response questions.Unit Assignments: Students are required to submit for grading Unit Assignments. Specific information and instructions regarding these assignments are provided below. Grading rubrics are included with each assignment. Specific information about accessing these rubrics is provided below.Ask the Professor: This communication forum provides students with an opportunity to ask their professor general questions or questions related to course content.Student Break Room: This communication forum allows for casual conversation with other classmates.
LibGuides
Think of a LibGuide (a Library Guide) as a mini-website to help you with your assignments. It has relevant information such as databases, e-books, and websites specific to your courses. If you have any questions, please reach out to your friendly library staff.
Click here for the LibGuide for this course.
Unit Assignments
Unit I Scholarly Activity
Leadership Reflection
Your scholarly activity for Unit I is to write a leadership reflection involving the qualities necessary in an ethical leader. Include the following three components in your scholarly activity:
In your introduction, describe the qualities you believe are necessary in an ethical leader. Provide support from the textbook for your point of view, and explain why a leader should display these qualities in order to be considered ethical. Identify someone you believe embodies these qualities in her or his leadership, and provide examples of the relevant behavior.
Provide an example of someone whom you believe does not possess these qualities, and describe that person’s leadership.
At least one of your exemplars—positive leader or negative leader—must be someone from public life about whom details have been reported in credible sources. Your completed scholarly activity must be at least two pages in length. You are required to use at least two outside sources, one of which may be your course textbook. Adhere to APA Style when creating citations and references for this assignment. APA formatting, however, is not necessary.
Unit III Article Review
Using the Waldorf Online Library, locate a scholarly article that discusses ethics and corporate culture. Article topics might include employee morale, creativity and innovation, ethical scandals, mergers and acquisitions, or company performance.
Note these are ideas; please expand within the parameters of topics as they relate to ethics and corporate culture. If you are unsure about a topic, then contact your instructor.
Include the following information in your review:
Summarize the main point of the article and the reasons offered in support of the main point.
How does this article characterize the impact of corporate culture on ethical decision-making?
What role does corporate leadership have in establishing the culture according to this article?
How can you apply information in this article to your own field? Identify a real-world situation, and explain how you could apply the information.
Your completed article review must be a minimum of two pages in length. You must use a minimum of one academic or peer-reviewed reference source in addition to your textbook. The How to Find Peer Reviewed Sources presentation from the Waldorf Online Library may help with your search efforts. Adhere to APA Style when creating citations and references for this assignment. APA formatting, however, is not necessary.
Unit V PowerPoint Presentation
For this assignment, you will take on the role of the Vice President of Human Resources of Columbia Consulting, a firm of under thirty employees that serves a relatively diverse community. The company also has plans to open its first office abroad later this year, so it will have a globalized workforce. Your upper-level management—the top six executives—are all white males. Of the employees in other professional positions, your workplace has only one African American, no other employees of color, and three women. The firm has an additional fifteen lower-level support staff (administrative assistants and other clerical workers), of whom fourteen are women and eleven are either African American or Latino. You would very much like to better represent the community in which you do business.
Prepare a PowerPoint presentation for Columbia Consulting executives introducing a program that will increase the numbers of minorities and women in professional positions as soon as possible. The tone of the presentation should be of a persuasive nature as you will asking your leadership for their support in instituting the program. As you compile this presentation, include the following:
Define exactly what it means to have a diverse workforce.
Describe the business benefits of a diverse workforce.
Explain the steps you will undertake to increase the proportion of minorities and women in professional positions within Columbia Consulting.
Justify the legal and moral grounds for the steps you propose to undertake. Point out the pitfalls you must avoid.
Your PowerPoint presentation should be 12 slides, not including the title slide and reference slide. You must use a minimum of one academic or peer-reviewed reference source from the Waldorf Online Library in addition to your textbook. Adhere to APA Style when creating citations and references for this assignment.
Use of speaker notes is required as well. In the speaker notes, you will provide what you would say if you were actually giving the presentation to an audience. Please write your notes in complete sentences and adhere to typical grammar and/or punctuation rules.
The PowerPoint Basics tutorial from the Success Center is a great resource to help with creating your presentation.
Unit VII Scholarly Activity
For this assignment, you will read an article and answer a series of questions concerning the ethics and moral responsibilities involved with a controversial marketing strategy. Begin by researching the Waldorf Online Library to find an article about marketing to vulnerable populations, stealth or undercover marketing, ambush marketing, or E-lining. The article you choose must be at least three pages in length and published in the last five years.
Then, provide a written response to each of the following items:In your own words, how would you describe the marketing techniques used in the article you chose?Explain the ethical issues involved in the marketing technique from the perspective of marketers, company owners, consumers, and competitors.Describe an actual instance of the marketing technique not included in the article. What was the organization hoping to achieve through its marketing tactics? Would you consider the organization’s marketing an immoral practice or morally permissible competitive strategy? Explain your position.As a leader of an organization, would you allow this type of marketing? Explain your reasons.
Your completed assignment should be a minimum of two pages in length. You must use a minimum of one academic or peer-reviewed reference source. The Peer-Reviewed Articles presentation from the Waldorf Online Library may help with your search efforts. Adhere to APA Style when creating citations and references for this assignment. APA formatting, however, is not necessary.
Unit VIII Assignment
For this assignment, choose a real or fictional company or other organization of interest to you. In our scenario, the organization is conducting a search for a new chief executive officer (CEO). As a board member of this organization, you are in charge of drafting the environmental, sustainability, and governance (ESG) section of the CEO executive compensation package. If the organization performs sufficiently on these metrics in the first 12 months after hire, the CEO will receive the full bonus or equity award (specified in a different section of the compensation package drafted by someone else).
Begin by researching ESG executive compensation metrics in the Waldorf Online Library. Then write a memorandum by completing the Unit VIII Assignment Template with the following information:
Header: Complete the Company Name, To, From, and Date sections.
Introduction: Describe your organization. Explain why environmental, sustainability, and governance considerations are important in the selection and compensation of the next CEO. This section should be one paragraph.
ESG Metrics Table: Provide three ESG metrics tied to the compensation package for the next CEO. For each metric, provide a short Metric Name, a 1-3 sentence Description, a quantifiable Goal (or goals), and a process of Measurement for determining the extent to which the goal was achieved. Aim to be as clear and precise as possible in this table to avoid any disputes over the interpretation of these metrics during negotiations with a CEO candidate.
Conclusion: Describe what actions the organization must now take to implement your plan. This section should be one paragraph.
Your memorandum should be a minimum of one but no more than two pages in length. You are required to use at least two outside sources, one of which may be your course textbook. The Finding an Article (Online) Presentation may help with your search efforts. Adhere to APA Style when creating citations and references for this assignment. APA formatting for the rest of the assignment, however, is not necessary.
Submitting Course Papers/Projects
Once you have completed your papers/projects, submit your completed papers/projects by uploading through the Assignment tab in each unit. Do not e-mail your paper directly to your professor. By using the Assignment tab, your record will automatically be updated to indicate you have submitted your papers/projects, and the assignment will be provided to your professor for grading. Instructions for submitting your assignment can be found under the Assignment tab in each unit.
APA Guidelines
Waldorf University requires that students use the APA style for papers and projects. Therefore, the APA rules for formatting, quoting, paraphrasing, citing, and listing of sources are to be followed. Information about using APA style can be found in APA Style Help in the Course Menu. This area provides links to Internet sites, tutorials, and guides that provide comprehensive information on APA formatting, including examples and sample papers.
Grading Rubrics
This course utilizes analytic grading rubrics as tools for your professor in assigning grades for all learning activities. Each rubric serves as a guide that communicates the expectations of the learning activity and describes the criteria for each level of achievement. In addition, a rubric is a reference tool that lists evaluation criteria and can help you organize your efforts to meet the requirements of that learning activity. It is imperative for you to familiarize yourself with these rubrics because these are the primary tools your professor uses for assessing learning activities.
Rubric categories include (1) Discussion Board, (2) Assessment (Written Response), and (3) Assignment. However, it is
possible that not all of the listed rubric types will be used in a single course (e.g., some courses may not have Assessments).
The Discussion Board rubric can be found within Unit I’s Discussion Board submission instructions.
The Assessment (Written Response) rubric can be found embedded in a link within the directions for each Unit
Assessment. However, these rubrics will only be used when written-response questions appear within the Assessment.
Each Assignment type (e.g., article critique, case study, research paper) will have its own rubric. The Assignment rubrics are built into Blackboard, allowing students to review them prior to beginning the Assignment and again once the
Assignment has been scored. This rubric can be accessed via the Assignment link located within the unit where it is to be submitted. Students may also access the rubric through the course menu by selecting the “Grades” link.
Again, it is vitally important for you to become familiar with these rubrics because their application to your Discussion Boards, Assessments, and Assignments is the method by which your instructor assigns all grades.
Communication Forums
These are non-graded discussion forums that allow you to communicate with your professor and other students.
Participation in these discussion forums is encouraged, but not required. You can access these forums with the buttons in the Course Menu. Instructions for subscribing/unsubscribing to these forums are provided below.
Click here for instructions on how to subscribe/unsubscribe and post to the Communication Forums.
Ask the Professor
This communication forum provides you with an opportunity to ask your professor general or course content questions. Questions may focus on Blackboard locations of online course components, textbook or course content elaboration, additional guidance on assessment requirements, or general advice from other students.
Questions that are specific in nature, such as inquiries regarding assessment/assignment grades or personal accommodation requests, are NOT to be posted on this forum. If you have questions, comments, or concerns of a nonpublic nature, please feel free to email your professor. Responses to your post will be addressed or emailed by the professor within 48 hours.
Before posting, please ensure that you have read all relevant course documentation, including the syllabus, assessment/assignment instructions, faculty feedback, and other important information.
Student Break Room
This communication forum allows for casual conversation with your classmates. Communication on this forum should always maintain a standard of appropriateness and respect for your fellow classmates. This forum should NOT be used to share assessment answers.
Schedule/Grading
The following pages contain a printable Course Schedule to assist you through this course. By following this schedule, you will be assured that you will complete the course within the time allotted.
