This course explores the concept of business ethics and social responsibility from a societal perspective. It suggests that corporate sustainability is better executed as a system of related strategies, as opposed to a series of piecemeal initiatives. It will allow students to reflect upon the ethical implications of their decisions, and to analyze and evaluate the economic, social, and environmental responsibilities of their organization.
Outline
The course is divided into eight lessons:
Lesson 1: Ethics and Responsibilities in the Business and Society Context
Lesson 2: Stakeholder Theory and Relationships with Business
Lesson 3: Theoretical and Applied Ethics of Business
Lesson 4: Corporate Social Responsibility
Lesson 5: The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
Lesson 6: Ethics and Climate Change
Lesson 7: The Socialization of Capitalism
Lesson 8: Work on Assignment 2
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
identify business social/ethical responsibilities to society
integrate knowledge of ethical frameworks and social responsibility concepts into managerial decision-making
apply stakeholder theory to explain the forces that exert pressure on an organization
use conceptual frameworks to analyze and understand the ethics of business and related social responsibility issues
demonstrate that economic and social responsibilities are not mutually exclusive by explaining why they are both legitimate outcomes that society should expect from organizations
discuss practical examples of how to apply ethical and social responsibility considerations to individual and organizational decision-making
Materials
Sexty, R. (2020). Canadian business and society: Ethics, responsibilities, & sustainability (5th ed.). McGraw-Hill Ryerson. (eText)
All other course materials will be accessed online.
Evaluation
Your grade will be based on the successful completion of two individual case study assignments and on your participation in moderated group discussions.
Activity
Weight
Discussion Participation
40%
Assignment 1
20%
Assignment 2
40%
Total
100%
To receive a passing grade in this course, you must meet these minimum standards:
receive a minimum of 60% on the participation component; and
receive an average grade of 60% over all course components.
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized study counterparts.