Many and varied are the paths to the summit of corporate greatness. One path is that of ethical business, involving issues such as: why there is a need for ethics in business; what moral principles are available to decision markers; how does moral development take place; how do we create an ethical culture in the organization; how can corporate management excel with ethical business practices and how business ethics have a cash value for the organization. Further Business ethics addresses the problem of corporate social responsibility: why must corporations step beyond profit; step into altruistic activities such as sustainable development, community development, equal opportunity or meeting national priorities? Is corporate social responsibility a drain on profits or can it augment profitability? This notion (i.e. Corporate Social Responsibility) is based on the philosophy that business ought to give back to society and “give back to society” is a moral percept.
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. sub prime 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.
The main aim of the course is to sensitize the students to different ethical issues involved in contemporary business. Students will learn how to maintain firm moral values while dealing with moral problems. This course is devoted to instill conceptual clarity of some basic moral conduct concepts like; right, wrong, good, bad, just, unjust, obligation, responsibility, virtue, vice and moral dilemmas and moral problems will be discussed through critical analysis. They will be able to understand moral theories and justify their action in a logical manner.
2. Student Learning Outcomes:
· Be able to get conceptual clarity of moral concepts, and moral theories
· Be able to Learn how to handle complex and tricky moral problems/dilemmas in HRM
· Be able to foster moral values in the organization
· Be able to carry out practices that promote good corporate citizenship(act more caringly and responsibly towards others)
· Be able to understand that business ethics is an essential part of business and is inescapably present in all management decisions.
· Relevant and interesting case studies presentation will sharpen their idea and able to see clearly the moral problems involved in business

SESSION PLAN

SessionsTopic/ActivityProject Milestones

Session-1 Introduction to Business Ethics Adam Smith to Milton Friedman (Why Friedman was rejected?) Reading: Ethics and Conduct of Business-Chapter.-1PROJECT-RELATED GUIDELINES (Collect list of suggested topics.)

Session-2 The Myth of Amoral Business 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-6 Understanding 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)Milestone-2 (Mid-course review of projects. Deliverables: 2-page status report highlighting the work in progress)

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 Ethical Leadership: The firm as a community of persons: Moral character in leadership Serving and fostering a sense of service in others: 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] Wisdom from leading organizations: HBR Article: Level 5 of Leadership [HBR-January-2001],[ Discussion by Faculty]

Session-13 &14 CSR: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and business accountability ,CSR and support for the bottom line ,Stakeholders Theory Virtue Matrix: HBR;March 2002;Regulation vs. Voluntary CSR Measures Environmental Ethics: Bringing the Environment Down to Earth[HBRAugust-1999] [Student presentation]

Session-15The Human Side of Management: HBR-Nov-Dec 1996[Student presentation] How Free are Free Agents: HBR June 2001Milestone-3 (Packaged deliverables before final presentation Final report (6-10 pages); Presentation material including videos in CDs.

Session-16 Discipline of Building Character: HBR –March April 1998, 2)Lead for Loyalty,HBR July- August-2001

Session-17Ethics in Information Technology :Cyber Ethics: Seven Short Cases Student presentation Groups 6,7,8,9,10,11and 12[There are seven cases on cyber ethics and each group will present one case]

Session-18Relevance of Indian ethos and values for businesses participating in globalization.

Sessions-19 & 20Final Project Presentations


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

Evaluation:
Quizzes - 20
Case Analysis and HBR article review Presentation (Group) -15
Project (Group) – 10
Mid-Term – 20
End-Term – 30
Class Participation 5%
Quizzes:
Quizzes will be of objective (MCQ) type and will be based on lecture notes and class discussion.

Mid Term Examination
The midterm examination will be closed book and will cover all the topics covered till the end of 10th session. It will application oriented (i.e. analysis of cases) and few subjective questions.
Group Presentation : Case Analysis and HBR, Article review
Grading of the case analysis will be based on:

1. Description of Case facts.
2. Use of moral theories
3. Clarity of thoughts
4. Handling of counter arguments
The instructor will allot cases to each group for analysis.
The nature of the course is such that much of the learning comes form 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.
Any disturbance in the class may lead to “F” grade in the course
Course Material:
For Case Analysis and Article Review each group will be given one spiral bound volume for the entire term by the instructor. One of the group members should take the responsibility of issue and return of the volume to the library. Additional reading materials and class notes will be provided to students through course web.

END TERM:

(Read carefully the Cases and HBR,Articles and grasps the concepts)

Best of Luck