The cases of Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, Adelphia, Rite Aid, Health South, Arthur Andersen, Earnest and Young, J.P Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Xerox, Boeing corporation, the most recent case of Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy of the 158-year old company, and the Rs.7800/- crore fraud by the former CEO, Satyam Computer System, clearly illustrate the perilous consequences of corporate misconduct. Financial institutions globally have been suffering write-downs and credit losses as the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis has engulfed other markets. The financial greed and lust for power in the last decade of 20th century not only ruined some organizations but also injured the society at large. They have done irrevocable damages to creditors, employees, and the share holders (particularly the small investor and community). The root cause of the problem lies in the ethical -break down of the organization.

2. Student Learning Outcomes :

· Provide precise and better understanding of complex managerial dilemma
· Provide conceptual clarity of ethical concepts, and the application of moral theories to business
· Learn how to handle complex and tricky moral problems/dilemmas
· Relevant and interesting case studies presentation will sharpen their idea and able to see clearly the moral problems involved in business
· Build the confidence and capacity to prepare themselves to become good corporate citizen

Text Books and Reading Material

Ethics and the Conduct of Business by John R. Boatright and Bibhu Prasan Patra, Pearson, 2011 (6th Edition)

SESSION PLAN

SessionsTopic/ActivityProject Milestones

Introduction to Business Ethics Adam Smith to Milton Friedman (Why Friedman was rejected?) The Myth of Amoral Business Reading: Ethics and Conduct of Business-Chapter.-1

Are profits and ethics truly related? Surviving and Thriving in Business. [Video-The Eagle’s Secret, by: David McNeil] Quiz related to the video

Session-3 (Student participation through case presentation Business ethics in practice Some affirmative cases: Case discussion by students (Groups 1,2 & 3) 1. Johnson & Johnson and the Tylenol Affair, 2. Malden Mills and 3.Infosys Technologies

Session-4 (Student participation through case presentationBusiness ethics in practice Some vicious cases: Case discussion by students (Groups 4,5 & 6) 1. The rise and fall of Arthur Andersen, 2. Enron and 3. Satyam Computer (negative cases)

Session-5 [Lecture] Some conceptual clarifications: Nature and scope of ethics., understanding moral conduct concepts e.g. Fact and Value, Moral and Non-Moral Value Judgment, Morality and LawMilestone-1 (Project abstract submission)

Unstructured ethics and rational ethics Moral Development (Lawrence Kohlberg)

Session-6Understanding Ethical issues, dilemmas: Yudhisthir, Draupadi, Arjun and Bhishama Reading (prior to class): Difficulty of being Good by: Gurucharan Das Video (in class): The Mahabharata–(From Bharat Ek Khoj Discovery of India, by:Jawaharlal Nehru Ethical insight-1 and 2 (Class discussion following the video clip. It is expected that students will come prepared for meaningful discussion in the class.)

Session-7 (Lecture plus 2 case presentations by students) The Individual within the Organization Values, principles and virtues in human action: The Socratic Dictum The Man in the Glass By: Dale Wimbro Case discussion by students (Introductory Case:The Parable of the Sadhu) Case: Why Good Managers Make Bad Ethical Choices? [Three caselets and four rationalizations: Manville Corporation, Continental Illinois Bank and E.F.Hutton] (Groups 7 & 8)

Session-8 [Lecture]An overview of mainstream ethical theories and their application Practical rationality: Deontology, Immanuel Kant [ ET-1] The Principle of Utility Teleology, J.Bentham and J.S.Mill[ET-2] Ethical insight-3 & 4

Session-9 An overview of mainstream ethical theories and their application The foundation of human character :Virtue Theory, Aristotle[ET-3] Video - Character is Destiny

Business within the market economy: Justice and the Market System Free and Perfect market, fare competition and Market regulations, Ethics in practice: Case: 1.Marketing Infant Food Formula in LDCS Case:2.ToyWars (Danner’s dilemma) (Groups 9 & 10)

Session-10 Frequent Ethical Violations in Business: Morality of bribery and extortion Business contracts, misappropriation and fraud; Conflicts of interest Case:1-2G Spectrum Scam; 2-HLL Insider Trading,3-Ford and Firestone (Groups 11 & 12)

Session-11 Individual right and duty inside the firm: Whistle blowing Responsibility, accountability and reliability Judgments in Business (Clear conscience key to one’s moral strength), Cases: Cynthia F. Cooper(WorldCom), Satyendra Dubey and S. Manjunath, [Students could be selected randomly for presenting these cases]

Session-12-13 Ethical Leadership The firm as a community of persons: Moral character in leadership Serving and fostering a sense of service in others: Wisdom from leading organizations HBR Article: Level 5 of Leadership [HBR-January-2001],[ Discussion by Faculty] Insight: Parable of Leadership[July-August-1992]Student presentation Groups 1,2,3,4,5[There are five stories on leadership and each group will present one story]

Session-14-14HBR, Article Review Presentation

Evaluation:

Quizzes - 20

Case Presentation (Group) -10

Project (Individual) – 10

Mid-Term – 20

End-Term – 40

6. Academic Integrity

Class Participation:

The nature of the course is such that much of the learning comes from the students’ participation in the class discussion. Basically it is a critical thinking class. Better understanding of the course is possible through your thoughtful deliberations in the class.
*Attendance is compulsory.

**Any team member absent on the day of their group presentation will get 0 in the component.
***Violation of academic discipline (i.e. proxy in the class, cheating in examination etc.) may lead to “F” grade in the course.