Ethics in the Workplace

Catalog description

The course will explore ethics from both a normative and behavioral perspective. A key operating assumption of this course is that every employee of an organization has a responsibility to demonstrate ethical leadership. The course will emphasize the importance and applicability of shared mutual accountability. Four interrelated and mutually reinforcing subject areas will be explored in the course at the individual, organizational and transnational levels business ethics, ethics in unionized firms, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability. Students will develop their abilities to articulate their own moral values and to recognize and resolve ethical dilemmas within an organizational setting. Students will analyze situations using ethical theories and learn to advocate for particular management and labor relations approaches, practices and policies based on ethical considerations. While no one view of ethics is identified as "best," students learn to recognize, evaluate, compare and apply different approaches. Students also will develop their abilities to identify, read, and explain academic literature related to the topic of ethical leadership from a management and employment relations perspective.