Fairleigh Dickinson University
School of Administrative Science
Bachelor of Administrative Science (BAIS)
ONLINE 3 CREDIT COURSE SYLLABUS
Course Name: White-Collar Crime Issues, PADM 4565
Grading Policies:
Grade Scale A = 95-100 B- = 80-82
A- = 90-94 C+ = 75-79
B+ = 87-89 C= 70-74
B= 83-86 F= Below 70
Activity Weight: Activity Value
Class Participation / Discussion Boards 30%
Midterm Paper 30%
Final Paper 40%
Course Resources:
Text: White Collar Crime in America.
Author: Albanese, Jay (1995)
Publisher: Prentice Hall ISBN: 9780023012617
Text: White-Collar Crime Reconsidered.
Author: Schlegel, Kip, & Weisburd, David (editors) (1994)
Publisher: Northeastern University Press, ISBN: 1555531997
Videos: Rent or purchase: Serpico (1973) directed by Sidney Lumet.
Wall Street (1987) directed by Oliver Stone.
General Course Description:
White Collar crime has both direct and indirect impacts on individuals. This course will examine the nature of corporate non-profit white-collar criminal organizations. Students will gain an understanding of the nature and problems of white-collar crime as well as the detection and deterrence aspects of white-collar criminals, which will include criminal liability sanctions and policing strategies. Areas to be addressed include: money laundering; securities fraud; political corruption; professional misconduct; organizational misconduct; and numerous other related topics.
This course will also explore legal, law enforcement, and societal responses to white-collar crime.
Exit Competencies:
This course will be taught assuming the student has no prior knowledge about white-collar crime. It is expected that each student develop and understand the course material and be able to perform successfully during each week of this course.
Midterm Paper:
A lot of the course material deals with “why” a person commits white-collar crime. Many concepts have been presented in this course. Therefore, your assignment is to pay close attention to Sutherland’s theory of differential association then watch the movies Serpico and Wall Street. Write a five page paper following the guidelines presented by the instructor.
Final Term Paper:
Select an area of personal interest regarding white-collar crime and present a complete and through analysis of your topic and position. This paper should be a minimum of ten typed double spaced pages following the Fairleigh Dickinson University Academic guidelines. Instructor will elaborate more about this during the course. Paper proposals are due no later than the beginning of week seven.
Here are some examples of topics:
1. Understanding White-Collar Crime: Past, present, and future perspectives.
2. The Enron Scandal: How self-regulation facilitates corruption.
3. The Church Child Molestation Scandal: The failure of self-regulation.
4. The Space Shuttle Challenger Tragedy: Cause and governmental pressures.
5. Greed: When massive amounts of money can’t keep them honest.
6. White-Collar Crime: Enforcement, prosecution and defense alternatives.
7. White-Collar Crime: Organizational crime infiltration of business.
Weekly Schedule
Week One
● Course Identification – What is white-collar crime?
● “Hot” crime vs. “Cool” crime discussion.
● Discussion Boards One and Two
Week Two
● The Nature of White-Collar Crime.
● Conspiracy, The Characteristic White-Collar Crime.
● Discussion Board Three
Week Three
● Crimes of Fraud
● Embezzlement, extortion, Forgery, and Fraud.
● Discussion Board Four
Week Four
● The Causes of White-Collar Crime
● Differential Association and Classical and Positivist Approaches.
● Discussion Board Five
● Watch the movie Serpico, and Wall Street. Midterm paper due next week.
Week Five
● Offense Against Public Administration / The Watergate Scandal
● Bribery, Obstruction of Justice, Official Misconduct, and Perjury
● Discussion Board Six
● Midterm papers due.
Week Six
● Regulatory Offenses
● Administration, Environmental, Labor, and Manufacturing Violations.
● Unfair Trade Practices / The Role of Compliance
● Discussion Board Seven
Week Seven
● The Extent of White-Collar Crime / Assessing the true Extent
● Discussion Board Eight
Week Eight
● Enforcement, Prosecution, and Defense Alternatives.
● Criminal Sentences and Other Remedies / Prosecution and Sentencing.
● Discussion Board Nine
Week Nine
● Women in White-Collar Crime.
● Opportunity Factors: Economy, Technology, Demography and Organizational Crime Infiltration of Business
● Discussion Board Ten
Week Ten
● The Future of White-Collar Crime / To Regulate or Deregulate?
● Discussion Boards Eleven and Twelve
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