PHIL 1317: Business Ethics SECTION: 003 COURSE DAYS: M/W/F CLASS TIMES: 10:00 a.m. – 10:50 a.m. CLASS LOCATION: Hyer Hall 0201

PROFESSOR: Kirsten Egerstrom EMAIL: [email protected] OFFICE: Hyer Hall, Room 210E OFFICE HOURS: Thursday 3-6 p.m.

TEXTBOOK: Most of the readings can be found in the course textbook. I will provide students with any additional readings ('CR' on course schedule). The following required textbook is available in the university bookstore: Ethical Theory and Business (9th Edition) Authors: Denis Arnold, Tom L. Beauchamp, and Norman L. Bowie Publication Year: 2013 Publisher: Pearson ISBN-13 9780205169085 COURSE DESCRIPTION: The primary topic addressed in this course is what (if any) responsibilities businesses (especially corporations) have toward various entities, such as their: employees, communities, the international community and the environment. While we will occasionally discuss legal responsibilities that businesses may have, we are primarily concerned with their ethical responsibilities. In doing so, we will discuss various ways in which businesses can fail to act ethically. At the start of the semester, I will provide an overview of major ethical theories that will be discussed throughout the semester in the context of each of the topics. We will use these theories in order to evaluate the ethical behavior of businesses. COURSE GOALS: Business Ethics satisfies the Philosophical and Religious Inquiry and Ethics Pillar (Level I). As a result of taking this course, students should be able to describe, explain and/or employ some of the principles and theoretical methods of ethics. Students will be expected to explain and evaluate arguments in support of, or against, various positions in business ethics. The level of mastery of these principles and methods will be tested on exams. GRADING POLICY • PARTICIPATION: 40 points possible • QUIZZES/“BUSINESS ETHICS IN THE NEWS”: 60 points possible • EXAM 1 (MIDTERM): 150 points possible • EXAM 2 (FINAL): 150 points possible TOTAL POINTS: 400 points possible

COURSE REQUIREMENTS: PARTICIPATION: Worth a possible 40 points (10% of grade). Attendance will be taken at the beginning of every class. Students are allowed to miss six class periods before their absences affect their grade. These absences include sick days and absences for extracurricular activities that are not officially sanctioned by SMU (or days you just don’t attend). I will count you absent even if you email me informing me that you are sick. If you are dealing with a medical crisis that will result in your missing more than six class periods, you must provide documentation from a doctor/hospital. Students are also expected to participate in class. Students who are uncomfortable participating in class may obtain their participation points through attendance at my weekly office hours. Students who engage in disruptive behavior in class (e.g., involving cell phones or laptops, or inappropriate comments) will lose participation points. QUIZZES/“BUSINESS ETHICS IN THE NEWS”: Quizzes: Worth a possible 50 points. There are a total of 5 quizzes, each worth a possible 10 points. The quizzes will be administered at the start of a class period. The purpose of the quizzes is to make sure students are understanding the course material. They give students practice for the exams. “Business Ethics in the News” (BEN): Worth a possible 10 points. Students will only have to do one BEN during the semester. Students must find an article in a mainstream newspaper (e.g., New York Times) or news/business magazine that they believe addresses an ethical issue in business practice. The topic of the article must be related to topics discussed in the present unit (e.g., corporate responsibility). The student should print out the article to hand in. Additionally, students should provide a two-paragraph (typed) description of the article. In the first paragraph, the student should briefly summarize the main ideas discussed in the article. In the second paragraph, the student should explain why he or she believes the article is relevant to topics or issues discussed in the present unit. The article should be attached to the document. During the week that students are assigned their BEN, they will be asked to briefly describe their article during their assigned class period (1-2 minutes). MIDTERM EXAM: Worth a possible 150 points. This exam is presently scheduled for Friday, March 18. The date may change depending on our rate of progress throughout the semester. There will be a review session for the exam on Wednesday, March 16 (in class). This exam will cover all of the material through the corporate responsibility unit. The exam will have true/false, fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice and short answer questions. FINAL EXAM: Worth a possible 150 points. This exam is scheduled for Tuesday, May 10. There will be a review session for the exam on the last day of class, Monday, May 2. This exam will cover all of the material after the corporate responsibility unit. The exam will have true/false, fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice and short answer questions.

CLASSROOM POLICIES: LATE WORK: Quizzes/ “Business Ethics in the News”: if you are not in class to take a quiz or present your article, you will not be able to make it up. The only exceptions are emergency situations (that I accept) and absences approved in advance. Students are allowed to switch BEN dates with another student. However, you need to inform me of this change ASAP (and not on the day of the presentation). Exams: Exam accommodations will only be provided for students with disabilities and students experiencing a family or medical emergency. You will have to provide documentation of your family/medical emergency in order for me to change the time/date of your exam. Students who sleep through an exam may be able to make up the exam. However, their grades will be penalized. LAPTOPS Students are allowed to use laptops in class only for the purpose of taking notes. Other types of laptop use (e.g., Facebook) can be distracting to other students in the course. If you are distracted by another student’s inappropriate use of his or her laptop, please see me after class. If I catch you looking at websites on your computer during class, I will deduct participation points. CELL PHONES Cell phone use is prohibited in the classroom. You will lose participation points if you use your cell phone in class. If you use your cell phone during an exam, I will assume that you are cheating. DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS: (from the university) “Students needing academic accommodations for a disability must first register with Disability Accommodations & Success Strategies (DASS). Students can call (214) 7681470 or visit http://www.smu.edu/Provost/ALEC/DASS to begin the process. Once registered, students should then schedule an appointment with the professor as early in the semester as possible, present a DASS Accommodation Letter, and make appropriate arrangements. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive and require advance notice to implement.” RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE: (from the university) “Religiously observant students wishing to be absent on holidays that require missing class should notify their professors in writing at the beginning of the semester, and should discuss with them, in advance, acceptable ways of making up any work missed because of the absence. (See University Policy No. 1.9.)” EXCUSED ABSENCES FOR UNIVERSITY EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: (from the university) “Students participating in an officially sanctioned, scheduled University extracurricular activity should be given the opportunity to make up class assignments or other graded assignments missed as a result of their participation. It is the responsibility of the student to make arrangements with the instructor prior to any missed scheduled examination or other missed assignment for making up the work. (University Undergraduate Catalogue.)”

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: Students who are caught cheating on either the midterm or final exam will, at a minimum, fail the exam. Additionally, the Honor Code prohibits “facilitating academic dishonesty.” This involves “intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to help another to violate any provision of the Honor Code.” In other words, if you allow another student to cheat off your exam or copy from your writing assignment, you are also guilty of an Honor Code violation. The Honor Code can be found at www.smu.edu/StudentAffairs/StudentLife/StudentHandbook/HonorCode . SCHEDULE: Note: if a reading is due on a particular day, you should show up on that day having done that reading assignment. For example, on Wednesday, January 20, you should show up in class having already read “An Introduction to Moral Theory” (CR). Week

Topic(s)

Week 1: Friday, Jan. 15Friday, Jan. 22

Introduction to course; introduction to moral theory; egoism

Normative ethical theory Week 2: Jan. 25 – Jan. 29

Week 3: Feb. 1 – Feb. 5

Week 4: Feb. 8 – Feb. 12

Week 5: Feb. 15 – Feb. 19

Reading(s)

Assignments/Quizzes

Mon: No Class (Martin Luther King Jr., Day) Wed: “An Introduction to Moral Theory” (CR) Fri: Chapter 1, pp. 12-17 (TB); Plato in “The Ring of Gyges” (CR) Mon: Case #3 (43-44); NYT Monday: “Business Ethics article, “Facebook Tinkers in the News” (You choose) with Users’ Emotions in News Feed Experiment, Stirring Outcry” and “Blue Bell Workers Detail Unsanitary Conditions Inside Plant” (CR) Wed: Chapter 1, pp. 17-21 Fri: Chapter 1, pp. 22-25

Basic economics; social and Mon: “Three Great economic justice Economists” (CR), pp. 2632 Wed: “Where Markets Fail” (CR) Fri: Chapter 10, pp. 600607

Monday: “Business Ethics in the News” (Adam Smith or Market Failures)

Social and economic justice Mon: John Rawls, pp. 608614 Wed: Robert Nozick, pp. 614-618 Fri: Review Rawls & Nozick

Monday: “Business Ethics in the News” (Inequality)

Social and economic justice; documentary: Inequality for All

Mon: Documentary Wed: Documentary Fri: Jeffrey Moriarty, pp. 618-627

Wednesday: Quiz; covers intro to moral theory, egoism, and normative ethical theory

Friday: “Business Ethics in the News” (Inequality)

Week 6: Feb. 22 – Feb. 26

Week 7: Feb. 29 – March 4

Corporate responsibility:

Mon: Milton Friedman, pp. 53-57 Wed: NYT: “Why Conservatives Should Reread Milton Friedman” Fri: R. Edward Freeman, pp. 57-68

Monday: quiz on social and economic justice unit Wednesday: “Business Ethics in the News” (corporate responsibility; corporate “social responsibility” (e.g., corporate philanthropy)

Corporate responsibility; Mon: John Boatright, pp. documentary: Wal-Mart: 69-78 The High Cost of Low Price Wed: Documentary Friday: Documentary

Wednesday: quiz on corporate responsibility theorists

Corporate responsibility; midterm exam

Monday: “Business Ethics in the News” (Walmart)

Week 8: Mar. 7 – Mar. 13 No Class All Week Spring Break Week 9: Mar. 14-Mar. 18

Mon: Wayne F. Cascio, pp. 79-87 Wed: Review for midterm Fri: Midterm exam

Wednesday: “Business Ethics in the News” (A different unethical corporation)

Week 10: Mar. 21-Mar. 25 Ethical Treatment of Mon: Chapter 3, pp. 139Monday: “Business Ethics (No Class Friday, Mar. 25) Employees: employment at 144 in the News” (employment will Wed: Werhane & Radin, pp. at will) 145-152 Fri: No Class Week 11: Mar. 28-Apr. 1 Ethical Treatment of Mon: Richard Epstein, pp. (No Class Wed., Mar. 30 or Employees: employment at 152-159 Fri., April 1) will Wed: No Reading Fri: No Reading Week 12: Apr. 4 – Apr. 8

Week 13: Apr. 11-Apr. 15

Week 14: Apr. 18 – Apr. 22

Ethical treatment of employees: sexual harassment; ethical treatment of consumers: marketing and advertising

Mon: Larry May, pp. 230237 Wed: Leeser & O’Donohue, pp. 238-244 Fri: David M. Holley, pp. 263-269

Ethical treatment of Mon: Robert Arrington, pp. consumers: marketing and 269-276 advertising Wed: George Brenkert, pp. 276-284 Fri: Denis Arnold, 294-305 Ethical treatment of environment

Wednesday: “Business Ethics in the News” (sexual harassment in business) Friday: quiz on ethical treatment of employees: employment at will and sexual harassment Monday: “Business Ethics in the News” (marketing/advertising ethics)

Mon: Norman Bowie: 456- Monday: quiz on ethical 462 treatment of consumers Wed: Arnold & Bustos, pp. 462-475 Fri: Allan Holland, pp. 476-

483 Week 15: Apr. 25-Apr. 29

“Blind Spots”

Mon: “The Gap between Intended and Actual Ethical Behavior” (CR), pp. 1-13 Wed: “Why You Aren’t as Ethical as You Think You Are” (CR), pp. 61-76 Fri: “Narrowing the Gap” (CR), pp. 152-159

Monday: “Business Ethics in the News” (a “positive” article discussing a business acting ethically) Wednesday: “Business Ethics in the News” (a “positive” article discussing a business acting ethically) Friday: “Business Ethics in the News” (a “positive” article discussing a business acting ethically)

Week 16: May 2

Tuesday, May 10

Last day of class: review for Monday: No reading final; reading day Tuesday: Reading Day Final exam

Time: 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. (in classroom)

Monday: “Business Ethics in the News” (you pick) Exam