Fall 2018 04-71-300 Business Ethics in a Global Context Prof.

Donally

04-71-300
Business Ethics in a Global
Context (Fall 2018)

General Information:

Class meetings Tuesday and Thursday:

Section 3
14:30 – 15:50
Room 110 Odette School of Business

Instructor Mr. Ryan Donally

Office hours Tuesday & Thursday E-mail rdonally@uwindsor.ca
16:00 – 17:20
326 OB
And by appointment

Telephone 226-346-8919 Full Time HK 130

Office
TA: Paul Vitella E-mail vitellap@uwindsor.ca

Secretary Ms. My (May) Nhan

Office 405 Odette E-mail nhan@uwindsor.ca

The Odette School of Business and the University of Windsor sit on the Traditional territory of the Three Fires
confederacy of First Nations, comprised of the Ojibway, the Odawa, and the Potawatomie.

Calendar Description
This required third year course examines ethical issues encountered in the management of business
organizations operating domestically and globally. The course is designed to increase student awareness
of the ethical dimension of business and to provide a decision making model for resolving ethical
dilemmas encountered in business operations. The course begins with an examination of the basic
philosophical perspectives on ethical behavior and then focuses on issues such as discrimination and
employee equity, environmental effects of business activities and advertising ethics. The overall goal of
the course is to contribute to the development of the moral manager.

Course Pre-requisites
It is your responsibility to withdraw from this course during the two week add/drop period if you have
NOT successfully passed the pre-requisite course: 71-243 – Human Resources management. Failure to

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Fall 2018 04-71-300 Business Ethics in a Global Context Prof. Donally

withdraw will result in your automatic withdrawal by the Registrar’s Office at any time during the term.
NOTE: The student is responsible for fees and tuition incurred for the course until the withdrawal date.

Learning Objectives and Expected Outcomes

1) Ethical Theory Self-Awareness: Identify, describe, and differentiate your ethical theory of choice
from other ethical theories.

2) Ethical Recognition and Analysis: Recognize an ethical dilemma, identify different stakeholder
perspectives, and suggest a holistic and practical recommendation(s).

3) Application of Ethical Concepts: Independently apply ethical concepts to an ethical dilemma

4) Evaluation of the Role of Business in Society: Evaluate the role of business in society in the past,
present, and future while taking into account economic, social and environmental
considerations (triple bottom line).

Bachelor of Commerce Assurance of Learning (AOL) Goals and Course Outcomes

Each Odette Program has learning goals and learning objectives. Together, these define the
knowledge, skills and values possessed by our graduates. Rubrics for each program learning
outcome are available on the Odette School of Business Course Policies document on the
Blackboard Learn site for this course. This course contributes to the following BComm program
learning outcome(s) through the course learning objectives listed below. For 71-300 the
following program learning objectives are taught and tested:
Bachelor of Commerce 04-71-300 Course Learning Objectives Tested Using
Assurance of Learning
(AOL) Outcomes

5.3 Milestone 3
Business Ethics: Students will
analyze an ethical dilemma and
develop practical
recommendations and
solutions
Recognize the activities of
business as an ethical dilemma
within a specified socio-
economic and environmental
situation.
1) Ethical Theory Self-Awareness: Identify, Quiz
describe, and differentiate your ethical theory
of choice from other ethical theories.
2) Ethical Recognition and Analysis: Recognize an
ethical dilemma, identify different stakeholder
perspectives, and suggest a holistic and
practical recommendation(s).
3) Application of Ethical Concepts: Independently
apply ethical concepts to an ethical dilemma

Develop and explain a

recommendation for action,
4) Evaluation of the Role of Business in Society:
Evaluate the role of business in society in the
past, present, and future while taking into

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Fall 2018 04-71-300 Business Ethics in a Global Context Prof. Donally

taking multiple stakeholder account economic, social and environmental

perspectives into account. considerations (triple bottom line).

Secondary Data Use, Evaluation, Interviews and Focus Groups REB Approved
This course can be expected to be evaluated as part of either an internal or external
quality assurance process and reporting requirements to funding agencies, and as
research data for scholarly use. As a student in this course your online student data (e.g.
data from Blackboard) will be used for evaluating the course delivery and your
engagement in the various aspects of the course. This will only occur after final grades
have been submitted and approved so it will not have an effect on your grade. This course
data provides information about your individual course usage and activity during the
time that you are enrolled in the course. Your anonymized, aggregated data may also be
used in the future in reports, articles or presentations.

During the final weeks of the course you may also be invited to participate in further
research about the course. If you decide to participate you may be asked to fill out
anonymous online questionnaires that solicit your impressions about the course design
and student learning in the course. The survey participation is voluntary and no
questions of a personal nature will be asked. Your participation will have no effect on
your grade and your instructor will not know who participated in the surveys.

Finally, at the end of the survey you may also be asked if you want to participate in a focus
group or in interviews after final grades have been assigned in order to gather yours and other
student opinions about specific course delivery methods and technologies used.

Reading List (Recommended):

Crane, A., Matten, D. (2016). Business Ethics: Managing Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability in the
age of Globalization (Fourth Edition). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Available at Leddy Library Course Reserves – 2 Hour Loan – Main Building – 1st Flr. – Information Desk
HF5387.C73 2016

Crane, A., Matten, D. (2016). Business Ethics: Managing Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability in the
age of Globalization (Fourth Edition). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Available at Leddy Library Course Reserves – 2 Hour Loan – Main Building – 1st Flr. – Information Desk.
ZPR198 .B001 (2 copies on 2 hr. loan, 2 copies on 3 Day loan)

Recommended Course Readings

• Course readings and video are listed in the class-by-class schedule on Blackboard.
• Coming to class prepared will allow you as a student to participate in the class discussions
• ***Course readings and video may be used for “Discussion Questions” outlined below.

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Fall 2018 04-71-300 Business Ethics in a Global Context Prof. Donally

Expectations of you
• Be respectful of others and their ideas and opinions at all times
• Come to class prepared and on time.
• Act professionally in class.
• You are welcome to use laptops in class for note taking or to support your learning.
• Please do not use other communication devices during class time.
• I would like to learn your names. Please display a name card which I will provide to you at the
beginning of each class.
• Be participative in class. This class will only succeed if healthy discussion and opinion is shared.

Expectations of me
• I will be prepared and on time for each class
• I will do my best to ensure that the content provided is relevant and topical to your learning of
the course material.
• I will respond to email as soon as possible. In the event that I do not return your email within 24
hours (excluding weekends), please follow up with me as I may have missed your email. I do
receive a lot of email with my full time position with the University so the odd email may slip
through the cracks.
• I will make every effort to meet with you outside of class time. I am almost always on campus,
and when I am not, I am in a meeting.
• Slides will be posted after class and will be accessible on Blackboard
• I will come with a positive attitude.

Course Assignments and Weighting

Level (individual or Due Date Percent of Total

team assignment) Course Mark

Quizzes Individual September 20, 10% Total

October 18 (2x 5% each)
Participation Individual Ongoing 10%

Experiments Team of 2 November 8 20%

(Presentations on Nov
8 & 13)
Cases Team of 3 October 2, October 30% Total
30, November 22, 27, 2 x 7.5% each)
or 29 (1 x 15%- includes
presentation of case
at end of term)
Final Exam Individual December 14 30%

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LATE ASSIGNMENT POLICY- Important

I will not accept late Case Reports and Experiments as the content of the assignment will be discussed
or presented in class immediately following the due date and time (unless extenuating circumstances
have been presented.) I am EXTREMELY reasonable, but I must be kept in the loop. Due dates are not
negotiable. Only a doctor’s note or other similar proof of extenuating circumstance (see Bylaws) will
excuse absences for exams or presentations. Any other absence will result in a mark of zero.

Tentative Class Schedule and Assignment Calendar

Any assignments or due dates change for ‘marks’ the class will be notified well in advance.

Date Deliverable/ For Marks/ Exam Expected Class Topic

Sept. 6
Sept. 11 Intro to Business Ethics
Sept. 13 Ethical Theories
Sept. 18 Ethical Theories
Sept. 20 Quiz 1 Case Practice
Sept. 25 CSR, Stakeholders, Shareholders
Sept. 27 The Natural Environment
Oct. 2 Case 1 Due Case 1 Discussion
Oct. 4 Group Evil
Oct. 9 Reading week Reading Week
Oct. 11 Reading week Reading Week
Oct. 16 Social Inequality
Oct. 18 Quiz 2 Social Inequality
Oct. 23 Social Entrepreneurship
Oct. 25 Guest Speaker
Oct. 30 Case 2 Due Case 2 Discussion
Nov. 1 Consumer/ Marketing Ethics
Nov. 6 Consumer/ Marketing Ethics
Nov. 8 Experiments Due- Presentation Group 1 Video Presentation of Experiments
Nov. 13 Experiments Present Group 2 Video Presentation of Experiments
Nov. 15 Ethics in Action
Nov. 20 Sustainability 2.0
Nov. 22 Final Case Presentations
Nov. 27 Final Case Presentations
Nov. 29 Final Case Presentations
Dec. 4 Exam Review Class
Dec. 14 Final Exam ( 3:30 pm)

Expected Course Topics (not in a particular order)

• Introduction to Business Ethics • Social Inequality
• Ethical Theories • Managing a not for profit (Guest
• Group Evil speaker)
• The Natural Environment • Social entrepreneurship
• CSR Stakeholders, and Citizenship • Ethics in the Healthcare Industry (Guest
• Digital Ethics speaker)

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Fall 2018 04-71-300 Business Ethics in a Global Context Prof. Donally

• Digital Ethics • Sustainability 2.0

• Advertising, Greenwashing, Marketing • Evaluating Business Ethics
Ethics & Consumers • Managing Business Ethics
• Ethics in Action • Shareholders

Assignment Detail

Participation
Ongoing

“Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I learn.”- Benjamin Franklin

Class participation, discussion and debate are integral to the success of Business Ethics. Each student will
have multiple opportunities to speak during the class and interruption to open the class to a discussion is
encouraged.

My intention as a professor is to facilitate a learning environment that is open and free from judgement.
Throughout Business Ethics we will discuss multiple controversial and potentially polarizing topics. I will
guide the discussion, but in the end, this class and content must be discussed to truly learn.

Participation marks will be collected each class. Detail of how the marks are compiled is located in
Appendix A- Participation Tracking Sheet

Cases
Due: Sept 20, October 18 and November 22, 27, or 29th

“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” –Mark Twain

Teaching cases provide students with the opportunity to apply their course knowledge in a simulated
practical application. Assigned cases will always correspond to course material previously taught.
Throughout the course you will be required to complete two cases.

You select your team member for the case submission. You may change team members for each case if
you would like.

A rubric will be provided for the cases. The final case presentation rubric will be posted on blackboard.

Experiments in Sustainability, Kindness, and Value

Due: November 8th. 18th @ 11:59 PM
Teams of 2 (50% report + 50% class evaluation)

“You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.”
-Winston Churchill

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This assignment should be started immediately as there are multiple deliverables which require a
dedicated timeline. You will be required to complete three tasks. The first two tasks are completed
individually, the final task is completed as a team. Only the third experiment will be presented to the class.

The goal of this assignment is aligned with the first learning objective in this course: To develop self-
awareness for what it means to be a moral, caring and compassionate manager. You will develop greater
self-awareness for: (1) the waste you create; (2) the impact of kindness on others and yourself; (3) your
ability to ‘make a difference’. You will be required to complete three tasks.

First, you will measure the amount of waste you personally create during a week (e.g., number of items
discarded, number of garbage bags, compostable versus non-compostable). In the subsequent week you
will try to reduce the amount of garbage and again measure your total weekly waste. You might set a goal
for zero-waste, or to reduce your waste in half. There are many resources online to help you discover how
you can reduce your waste. This first task requires two weeks. To achieve a top mark, ensure that the
waste is actually measured and not estimated. The measure by which you choose to use is up to you.

Second, you will be required to conduct three random acts of kindness (RAKs) per day for one week (3
RAKs per day x 5 days= 15 total). You can decide whether this will occur within your home, school, city,
etc. Ensure to track your activity.

Third, this assignment is an opportunity for greater awareness and to match the newfound
awareness with action. During the course students will be presented with information about the
negative socio-ecological consequences of capitalism as practiced in North America. Within your
team you will determine what you can do to create positive change for yourself and society.

Each team will present their idea and exactly what they did and what impact they had. This will
be done using video. Then everyone in the class will give the team a mark from 1-10, and the
average of each “vote” will determine the team’s mark out of 10 percent. This will be half of the
20% allocated to this assignment. The instructor has the right to change the class-determined
mark if he perceives any unfair bias or if the final mark is markedly different from his own
evaluation.

After completion of the experiments students are required to write an individual self-reflection report (no
more than 5 pages double-spaced; submitted via Blackboard). It is highly recommended that students
take notes during all three experiments for ease of writing the final assignment. Your report must
including the following. This section will be marked individually:

1) Introduction (10 marks): Two to three paragraphs describing the experience and the impact it had
on you, if any.
2) Experiments:
a. Sustainability/Waste Reduction (20 marks) : Describe three or more experiences/insights
(e.g., what did you learn about yourself, about others, interesting story or stories, will you
continue to reduce waste in the future, will it change your behaviour going forward, has it
changed your perspective, etc.).
b. Kindness/Random Acts of Kindness (20 marks): Describe three or more
experiences/insights (e.g., what did you learn about yourself, about others, interesting

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story or stories, will you continue to reduce waste in the future, will it change your
behaviour going forward, has it changed your perspective, etc.).
c. Making a Difference: (20 Marks) Describe three or more experiences/insights that will
influence/ change your perspective moving forward.
3) Conclusion (10 Marks): One to two paragraphs describing the overall experience and final
thoughts.

Peer Evaluation for cases and experiments

The overall final grade received by each group member will equal the product of the overall grade
awarded for the project by the instructor multiplied by the average contribution factor received by the
group. E.g., The team gets 100% however one of the three team members only contributed 50%.
Therefore, their final mark is 50%. Any undue influence attempts or intimidation in this process will be
treated as cases of academic misconduct. The Professor has final judgment on final marks.

Appendices

Appendix A- Participation & Attendance Tracking Sheet

Name Student Number:

Date Attendance Comment(s)

(X for yes)

Sept. 6 No Marks – introductions

Sept. 11

Sept. 13

Sept. 18

Sept. 20

Sept. 25

Sept. 27

Oct. 2

Oct. 4

Oct. 9 READING WEEK

Oct. 11 READING WEEK

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Oct. 16

Oct. 18

Oct. 23

Oct. 25

Oct. 30

Nov. 1

Nov. 6

Nov. 8 Video Presentation – no marks

Nov. 13 Video Presentation – no marks

Nov. 15

Nov. 20

Nov. 22 Final Case Presentation – no marks

Nov. 27 Final Case Presentation – no marks

Nov. 29 Final Case Presentation – no marks

Dec. 4 Exam/ Assessment Review- No Marks

There are 17 classes where participation is considered. To achieve 10/10, a student must accumulate 10
full marks over the span of the semester. A student will receive 0.5 mark for attending class and 0.5
mark for commenting. Comments cannot be ‘carried over’ to the next class. It is the student’s
responsibility to track his or her participation on a class by class basis. Students can pick up and return
their participation sheet at the beginning and end of each class. Students cannot achieve a mark higher
than 10/10 including bonus marks.

Appendix B- Case Marking Rubric

Case Marking Rubric
Cases graded out of 100 marks
Individual marks are dependent on peer evaluations

Your case will be marked on four aspects as per the rubric below, pay particular attention to the value of
each aspect:

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Fall 2018 04-71-300 Business Ethics in a Global Context Prof. Donally

1. Issue Identification: 20%

Key questions: What are the relevant facts? What are the ethical issues? What is the primary issue?
What are the secondary issues?

Briefly summarize the organization and explain what issue(s) they are dealing with that you have
identified as ethical or moral in nature.

*Typically does not have subsections but may be multiple paragraphs

2. Analysis: 45%

Key questions: Who are the primary stakeholders? What are the possible alternatives? What are
the ethics of the alternatives?

In this section (or subsections) you must apply class materials, frameworks and constructs to
identify, analyze, and understand the issues the organization is facing. Identify relevant
stakeholders, use at least two of the Normative Ethical Theories, and apply class concepts to
support any part of your analysis (i.e. CSR, sustainability, fear, greed, interconnection, group evil,
etc.)
Subsections may include:
- Stakeholder analysis
- Ethical analysis (often within stakeholder analysis)
- Internal analysis
- External analysis
- Alternatives
- Evaluation of alternatives

3. Action: 25%

Key questions: What is your recommendation? What actions should be taken? How should they be
taken? In this section you provide a detailed, holistic, and practical recommendation to the lead
protagonist in the case. Be sure to link your recommendation to your findings in Part 1 & 2 (i.e. your
choices should be based firmly on what you analyzed above, they should not ‘come out of the blue’).
Subsections may include:
- Recommendation
- Implementation
- Contingency plan
- Appendices to follow (if applicable)
4. Clarity: 10%: Spelling, grammar, citations and referencing (if applicable).

Appendix C- Team Member Evaluation Form

04-71-300
Team Member Evaluation Form

(NOTE: Confidential When Completed) Team Number: _____________

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Guidelines for Completion: The total number of points you must award is the number of group
members x 1.0 (e.g., 5 group members x 1.0 = 5.0 points, 4 group members x 1.0 = 4.0 points). You are
to award each group member (including yourself) a grade, based on the value you attribute to each
individual’s relative contribution to the overall group project, i.e., written and presentation
components combined. Check that the total points you assigned adds up to the total number of
group members! Individuals cannot score higher than 100% on any individual assignment.

Please print clearly and legibly.

Team Member Name: Score: Comments:

Student Name: Total Certification: I have completed this evaluation form on

Score: an individual and independent basis. The scores above
represent my true assessment of the relative value each
member of my team contributed to the team project.

Date: Signature:

Appendix D- Odette School of Business Policy Document

Odette School of Business Policy Document

Information about each of the following topics is given in the Odette Policy Document. This document is
available on the CLEW course website, and in hard copy form outside each Area Secretary office on the

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4th floor of the Odette building. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of all information in the Odette
Policy Document.
● Academic integrity and Code of Conduct
● Missed examinations, late assignments, and conflicts with the final examination date
● Registration, adding, and dropping courses
● Odette School of Business grade conversion scale
● Odette School of Business grading policy
● Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET)

As discussed in the Odette Policy Document, copying assignments or examinations is a serious academic
matter. Students suspected of academic misconduct, plagiarism, or copying on assignments and
examinations will be reported by professors and sanctions may be taken against these students under
University Senate Bylaw 31.

Use of SafeAssign® Plagiarism-Detection Service in this Course

1. Rationale. The University believes in the right of all students to be part of a University community
where academic integrity is expected, maintained, enforced, and safeguarded; it expects that all
students will be evaluated and graded on their own individual work; it recognizes that students often
have to use the ideas of others as expressed in written, published, or unpublished work in the
preparation of essays, papers, reports, theses, and publications. However, it expects that both the data
and ideas obtained from any and all published or unpublished material will be properly acknowledged
and sources disclosed. Failure to follow this practice constitutes plagiarism. The University, through the
availability of SafeAssign®, desires to encourage responsible student behaviour, deter plagiarism,
improve student learning, and ensure greater accountability.

2. Procedure. SafeAssign® will be used for the group project. You will be advised how to submit your
papers to SafeAssign® yourself. Other aspects relating to the use of SafeAssign® will be provided in
class.

3. Originality Reports. If the results of an originality report may be used to charge you with academic
misconduct, you will be notified of the result of the report, and you will be given the opportunity to
respond before any disciplinary penalty is imposed.

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