Business, Ethics, and Society

Catalog description

The course focuses upon the exploration and analysis of the ethical, political, technological, social, legal and regulatory environments of business. BUSAD 551 Business, Ethics, and Society (2-3) Students will explore and analyze the challenging issues that lie at the intersection of business, government, and society through a lens of business ethics. Topics covered include the importance of ethics in the business decision process and the types of ethical issues business practitioners face in the business environment; consequentialist and nonconsequentialist ethics principles and their application to business decision-making; the role of personal and organizational values in business decision-making and the impact that organizational culture has on the ethical dimension of decision making. Students will evaluate and analyze the ethical dimension of decision-making; become familiar with the stakeholder concept and utilize it in the business decision-making process; identify the constraints societal values place upon the firm; examine the role government plays in the marketplace; explore the social and ethical dilemmas that arise from the globalization of business; and understand and explain the process through which corporations attempt to influence societal and government institutions.