Ethics and Leadership

Syllabus

School of Management

BC 306: Ethics and Leadership

(5 Credit Hours)

Effective: October, 2009

BC 306: Ethics and Leadership

Faculty

Faculty Name:

Contact Information:

[Instructor may insert personal message if desired]

Course Description

This course provides an overview of various philosophical approaches to ethical decision-making and practical applications involving ethical problems that arise in business. In addition, it introduces the student to the theory and practice of leadership. Topics include the major ethical constructs, approaches to self-knowledge and practical leadership skills. Students will be able to find solutions to ethical dilemmas they may confront during a business career, and have the self-knowledge and leadership skill to follow through with the solution.

Course Resources

Required and recommended resources to complete coursework and assignments are listed on the My.CityU portal at Library>Resources by Course.

CItyU Learning Goals

This course supports the following CityUniversity learning goals:

• Professional Competency and Professional Identity;
• Strong Communication and Interpersonal Skills;
• Commitment to Ethical Practice and Service;
• Lifelong Learning.

Program Context

BC 306 provides foundational knowledge for academic and business success.

The content of this course aligns with the following program outcomes:

• Access and evaluate relevant information to guide business decisions and solutions and communicate results to others;
• Deliver powerful presentations and produce examples of effective business writing for diverse audiences;
• Based on self-reflection and knowledge of relevant professional ethical codes, articulate judgments about business situations involving ethical questions.

Course Outcomes

• Identify personal values and personal decision making processes and apply them to case analyses;
• Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of various philosophic approaches to ethical decision-making;
• Demonstrate knowledge of the skills, traits and actions of an ethical leader;
• Discuss and evaluate theories of leadership;
• Construct an ethical argument with appropriate supporting data and logical consistency;
• Apply ethical analysis to a contemporary ethical issue in business.

Core Concepts, Knowledge, and Skills

1.Moral concepts – values;

2.Personal values

3. Moral concepts – relationships, community

4.Stakeholders versus stockholders

5.Social responsibility

6.Corporate citizenship

7.Ethical decision making models;

8.Ethical problems that arise in business

9.Moral concepts – honesty, fairness, equality, unethical dual relationships

10.Corporate responsibility – ethical and legal issues

11.Construct an ethical argument

12.Ethical problems that arise in business

13.Ethics versus law

14.Sarbanes-Oxley

15.Whistle blowing

16.Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations

17.Moral concepts including instrumental and intrinsic goodness, values, justice, and vision

18.Moral philosophies including consequentialist, non-consequentialist, virtue ethics and justice ethics

19.Relativism

20.Ethical and decision making models and frameworks

21.Ethical issue intensity

22.Moral intensity

23.Economic value orientation

24.Kohlberg’s theory of moral development

25.Ethical spheres of influence

26.Personal values and vision and their role in a business environment

27.Qualities of ethical leadership

28.Roles and habits of leaders

29.Transitional leader

30.Transformational leader

31.Qualities of ethical leadership

32.The role of organizational culture and corporate governance in business ethics.

33.Power – reward, coercive, legitimate, expert, referent

34.Motivation

35.Group norms – formal and informal

36.Corporate responsibility and the role of ethics audits, environmental audits and social audits

37.Ethical problems that arise in business

38.Business ethics in a global economy

39.Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

40.Self-reference criterion

Overview of Course Grading

The grade you receive for the course will be derived using City University of Seattle’s decimal grading system, based on the following:

Overview of Required Assignments / % of Final Grade
Essays (2 at 10% each) / 20%
PowerPoint Presentation / 10%
Business Ethics Research Paper / 35%
Case Studies (3 @ 5% each) / 15%
Instructor Determined Activities (including Discussion Questions) / 20%
TOTAL / 100%

Specifics of Course Assignments

Essays:

Essay #1 – Personal values and decision making (analyzing an ethical system)

Using class discussions, exercises, and relevant chapter(s) of your text as a guide, state your core values and analyze your own personal code of ethics. Based on these values and principles, briefly describe the process you use to make decisions when faced with an ethical dilemma.

Your essay must be at least four pages long. This project does not require research, but if you do use reference material or textbooks be sure to cite and document sources in APA format.

Essay #2 – Habits, Skills and Traits of Ethical Leaders

Using relevant chapters of your text and at least three professional or scholarly information sources (see Course Resources for suggested journal titles), evaluate the leadership characteristics of one of the corporate leaders in a case from the text, or a case assigned by your instructor, in light of concepts you’ve learned in the course. Your essay must be at least four pages long. APA format must be used for references.

Grading Criteria for Essays:

Clear thesis or purpose: How does the student frame the content of the report? / 15
Logical Organization / 15
Application of course terms and concepts / 20
Development of the Thesis:
Are the arguments sound? Is the thesis effectively supported with relevant and appropriate information sources, persuasiveness, analysis and well founded conclusions? / 30
Writing Mechanics: How well does the student incorporate style, professionalism and context into the assignment? / 10
APA format: Are sources cited correctly? / 10
TOTAL / 100%

Case Studies:

Case studies are used to explore various concepts in the course. They require you to apply concepts to specific business situations. Cases will be assigned by the instructor for analysis and discussion. The analysis will be one-two pages long with the first line containing the author’s name, the class designation, the date and the case title. These brief papers require no references but must demonstrate critical thinking about the case and clear, concise writing.

Grading Criteria for Case Studies:

Logical organization of response / 10
Application of course terms and concepts / 40
Sufficiently detailed responses to the issues raised by the case / 40
Writing mechanics (includes APA format if sources are used) / 10
TOTAL / 100%

Leasership Presentation:

Create a PowerPoint presentation presenting and evaluating a theory of leadership in your own words and summarizing the role of ethical leadership in creating and maintaining an ethical business organization. Focus on creating a clear and concise presentation with a minimum of ten and a maximum of twelve slides which can be presented in ten minutes or less. Online students should use the voiceover feature to add an audio explanation of the slides; if the voiceover won’t work, provide a narrative as notes to the presentation. Although you must put your slides and narrative in your own words (no quoting!), you should use at least one professional or scholarly source in addition to your text and provide a final slide that documents your sources in APA format.

You can find tips for creating professional-looking slides at

Grading Criteria for PowerPoint Presentation

Professional format of slides / 20
Content: Is the topic appropriate? Is the supporting and explanatory material relevant? / 30
Concise oral/written explanation of slides: How well is the content presented? Does the listener/reader gain insight from the presentation? / 40
Presentation Language Mechanics: Are proper grammar, spelling, syntax, punctuation, and APA used in the presentation? / 10
TOTAL / 100%

Business Ethics Research Paper:

Students will demonstrate their critical thinking skills and their business communication skills by writing a research paper that applies ethical theories to an ethical issue in business.

Begin doing some preliminary reading for your paper early in the quarter. You will select an ethical issue to research that is more common in one particular field or industry, such as misrepresentation in sales or marketing, fiduciary responsibility in accounting, etc. Your topic must be approved by your instructor.

Your research paper should:

1. Define the ethical issue you have selected and its relevance to an industry;
2. Provide an explanation of how the issue has developed or changed over time;
3. Give examples of cases involving this ethical issue;
4. Give a brief explanation about what, if any, personal experience you have had with this issue, and your thoughts and feelings at the time of the experience;
5. Give an explanation about what your opinion is, and what you think should be done;
6. Back up your opinion/solution with ethical concepts you’ve learned in the course;
7. Provide an explanation of at least one additional perspective on the issue;
8. Provide a reference list in APA format.

For further guidance in how to prepare a research paper, consult the Brief New Century Handbook.. As you prepare your research paper, follow these guidelines:

• Your topic must be related to this course of study and must be approved by your instructor before submitting a final project.
• You must use the APA format to cite the sources of all ideas, facts, and information used that are not your own, even if you have put the information into your own words. Failure to do so is plagiarism, even if the oversight is unintentional.
• Supporting your thesis is central to the task of writing a research paper. In scholarly writing, you are not merely copying information from another author, but using evidence to support the contentions drawn from your findings and critical analysis of related literature.
• All research papers must be word-processed, double-spaced, with 12-point font and one-inch margins. Papers should be approximately 8 to 10pages in length (not including title, bibliography, or contents pages). You should include at least four professional or scholarly sources (in addition to your text) from which you draw your references.

We recommend that you retain your research notes and draft pap0ers so that if a question arises as to an actual source and its location, you will be able to address that question in a timely manner.

Grading Criteria for Business Ethics Research Paper

Clear Objectives and thesis: / 10
Logical development of body and thesis: How well is the content of the paper organized? / 45
Sufficient depth of research: Did the student use scholarly sources? Are insights presented that go beyond the text? Are the selected resources appropriate and sufficient for the purpose of this work? / 25
Writing Mechanics: How well does the student incorporate grammar, spelling, syntax, punctuation, and style into the assignment? / 10
Proper APA format and reference methods: Are quotation marks used where needed? Are the citations present and in the correct format? Is the reference list present and in the correct format? Are citations and reference consistent? / 10
TOTAL / 100%

Course Policies

Late Assignments

[Instructor inserts late assignment policy here based on school and/or program guidelines.]

Participation

[Instructor inserts participation policy here based on school and/or program guidelines.]

Professional Writing

Assignments require error-free writing that uses standard English conventions and logical flow of organization to address topics clearly, completely, and concisely. CityU requires the use of APA style.

University Policies

You are responsible for understanding and adhering to all of City University of Seattle’s academic policies. The most current versions of these policies can be found in the University Catalogthat is linked from the CityU Web site.

Scholastic Honesty

Scholastic honesty in students requires the pursuit of scholarly activity that is free from fraud, deception and unauthorized collaboration with other individuals. You are responsible for understanding CityU’s policy on scholastic honesty and adhering to its standards in meeting all course requirements. A complete copy of this policy can be found in the University Catalogin the section titled ScholasticHonesty under Student Rights & Responsibilities.

Attendance

Students taking courses in any format at the University are expected to be diligent in their studies and to attend class regularly.

Regular class attendance is important in achieving learning outcomes in the course and may be a valid consideration in determining the final grade. For classes where a physical presence is required, a student has attended if s/he is present at any time during the class session. For online classes, a student has attended if s/he has posted or submitted an assignment. A complete copy of this policy can be found in the University Catalogin the section titled Attendance Policy for Mixed Mode, Online and Correspondence Courses.

Support Services

Disability Resources

If you are a student with a disability and you require an accommodation, please contact the Disability Resource Office as soon as possible. For additional information, please see the section in the University Catalogtitled Students withSpecialNeeds under Student Rights & Responsibilities.

Library Services

In order to help you succeed in this course, you have access to library services and resources 24 hours a day, seven days a week. CityU librarians can help you formulate search strategies and locate materials that are relevant to your coursework. For help, contact a CityU librarian through the Ask a Librarianservice. To find library resources, click on the Librarylink in the My.CityU portal.

Smarthinking

As a CityU student, you have access to 10 free hours of online tutoring offered through Smarthinking, including writing support, from certified tutors 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Contact CityU’s StudentSupportCenter at o request your user name and password.

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