BU.932.610 – Ethical Leadership – Instructor – Page 1 of 7

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Thought and Discourse SeminarEthical Leadership: Concepts & Conflicts
2 Credits
BU.932.610.XX
[Day &Time / ex: Monday, 6pm-9pm]
[Start & End Dates / ex: 3/24/17–5/12/17]
[Semester / ex: Spring 2017]
[Location / ex: Washington, DC]

Instructor

[Full Name]

Contact Information

[Email Address]

[Phone Number, ###- ###-#### (Optional)]

Office Hours

[Please specify the day and time of the 2 hours that will be dedicated to office hours each week. For evening classes, faculty may wish to hold their office hours by phone or email. While faculty are permitted to state “and by appointment,” office hours should not be held exclusively by appointment.]

Required TextsLearning Materials

There is no required textbook for this course. Students must purchase a course packet (link provided on Blackboard). Assigned readings are found in the course pack or on the course Blackboard site.

Other learning materials (see course calendar) will be provided by the instructor via the course Blackboard site. Students are accountable for all supplemental material.

Course Description

In this course, students will be challenged to think critically the ethics of organizational life. What is an organization’s or leader’s ethical obligation to the people they serve? How can ethics and pragmatism in business co-exist? And, why do individuals within organizations fall prey to unethical behavior? With cases and empirical research as a backdrop, this highly interactive seminar will challenge students to examine these and other fundamental questions, in an effort to cultivate the skills and dispositions that are required of an effective leader.

Prerequisite(s)

N/A

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

  1. Explain the role of human values in business leadership.
  2. Develop and justify an action plan to manage an ethical challenge they have identified.
  3. Manage work group projects and demonstrate leadership capabilities.
  4. Communicate a clearly articulated position in writing and orally.

To view the complete list of Carey Business School’s general learning goals and objectives, visit the Carey website.

Participation & Attendance
Student attendance in assigned cohorts is mandatory, and there are no excused absences. Students who need to miss class should email the instructor in advance, and should arrange to recap the class with a peer. Students are expected to come to class on time. Cell phones must be in silent mode during class. Laptops and associated devices are permitted for legitimate classroom use only. Violations of these rules will be reflected in students’ course grades.

PLEASE NOTE: Course reading is not optional; students are unlikely to do well in the class if they treat it as if it is. Students are expected to arrive prepared for engaged discussion. In-class contributions are evaluated dailybased on the degree of understanding of the assigned content; managerially useful and analytic interpretation of readings and cases; thoughtful recommendations on case problems and application exercises; regularity, relevance, and depth of comments; and also the ability to synthesize and build on the comments of others.

Research

This course is grounded in 50+ years of decision making research, much of which has been conducted in classes like this one. Because students will benefit from past research, and in the spirit of new knowledge creation, we may ask to use the results of some of the questionnaires and activities students complete inside and outside of class for the purposes of academic research.Any data you provide will be aggregated and anonymous; thus, student names will never be associated with the findings generated. Students who do not want the outcomes from any exercise used for research purposes should notify the instructor. All activities used to generate research data will be directly relevant to course objectives, and these data will be used throughout the course to demonstrate course concepts.

Assignments & Rubrics

Assignment / Learning Objectives / Weight
Individual attendance, participation, and thought questions / 1, 2, 4 / 25%
Team written assignment / 1, 2, 3, 4 / 20%
Discussionlead / 1, 2 / 25%
Individual final exam / 1, 2, 4 / 30%
Total / 100%

Individual Thought Questions: Students are responsible for responding to thought questions each week (beginning week 3) based upon the assigned reading. The goal of these questions is for students to demonstrate that they are thinking critically about course topics, and to foster vibrant discussion in the classroom. A new thread will be posted to the Blackboard Discussion Board each weekend with a thought question prompt. Students’ responses to thought questionsshould be posted by 5 PM on the Tuesday before the assigned class.Expectations for thought questions will be discussed in class. Quality of thought questionresponses will be evaluated by the instructor weekly.Students are excused from submitting thought questions on Week 5 and the week of their discussion lead.

Team Written Assignment: The teamwritten assignment is a structured opportunity for students to demonstrate mastery of course material by applying ethical theories or concepts to their analysis of a real-life ethical dilemma occurring within an actual organization. Team assignments will be made by the instructor. The prompt for the assignment will be posted two weeks prior to the due date of the assignment.

Discussion Lead:Students will work in small groups, in conjunction with the instructor, to facilitate an in-class discussion.On Monday of their assigned week, students will meetwith the instructor for a one-hour meeting, having preparedthe readings ahead of time. In these meetings, students will complete a graded mini case discussion with the instructor. Students will then be responsible for facilitating a case discussion of the same material with small groups inclass. Written evaluations of the discussion participants will be due by the end of the day (11:59 PM) of the assigned class.

Individual Final Exam: An in-class final exam will take place during Week 8. Details about the exam will be provided in class.

BU.932.610 – Ethical Leadership – Instructor – Page 1 of 7

Student performance in all aspects of the course will be graded according to the following rubric:

Component / Fair performance / Good performance / Exemplary performance
Participation and thought questions / The student demonstrates rudimentary comprehension of course material; contributions are on-point, but with minimal depth. In general, minimal synthesis across course material is apparent. / The student demonstrates good comprehension of course material;contributions demonstrate critical thinking. The student engages in some synthesis across course material. Student provides coherent defense of his or her ethical viewpoints. / The student demonstrates exemplary comprehension of course material. Contributions “cut to the core” of ethical issues, and advance the discussion to additional depths. The student articulately and logically defends his or her ethical viewpoints.
Team Written Assignment, Individual Final Exam / The student demonstrates a rudimentary understanding of the case and makes obvious connections between the specifics of the case and course content. Ethical analysis is one-dimensional, but on point. / The student demonstrates good understanding of the case and makes thoughtful connections between the specifics of the conflict and course content. Ethical analysis is detailed and insightful, going beyond the surface features of the case. / The student demonstrates exemplary understanding of the case, and draws illuminating, non-obvious connections between the specifics of the conflict and the course. Ethical analysis is carefully thought out and addresses all relevant stakeholders. The student demonstrates an impressive knack for managing the complexity of real-world ethical decisions.
Discussion lead / The student shows rudimentary grasp of concepts from the text(s), and generates adequate discussion in class. The student demonstrates that s/he is familiarwith the class’ thought questions. The student completes post-discussion evaluations on time, with adequate thoughtfulness. / The student shows good grasp of concepts from the text(s), and prompts thoughtful discussion in class. The student demonstrates that s/he has thought through the class’ thought questions, and tailors discussions to the contents of the questions. The student completes thoughtful post-discussion evaluations on time. / The student shows excellent grasp of concepts from the text(s), and prompts thoughtful discussion in class. The student tailors discussions to the contents of the class’ thought questions, pushing others’ thinking beyond what is written. Student completes thoughtful post-discussion evaluations on time.

BU.932.610 – Ethical Leadership – Instructor – Page 1 of 7

Grading

Effective Fall 2017: The grade of A is reserved for those who demonstrate extraordinarily excellent performance as determined by the instructor. The grade of A- is awarded only for excellent performance. The grades of B+, B, and B- are awarded for good performance. The grades of C+, C, and C- are awarded for adequate but substandard performance.The grades of D+, D, and D- are not awarded at the graduate level (undergraduate only). The grade of F indicates the student’s failure to satisfactorily complete the course work.

Please note that for Core and Foundation courses, a maximum of 25% of students may be awarded an A or A-; the grade point average of the class should not exceed 3.3. For Elective courses, a maximum of 35% of students may be awarded an A or A-; the grade point average of the class should not exceed 3.4. (For classes with 15 students or fewer, the class GPA cap is waived.)

Tentative Course CalendarThe instructors reserve the right to alter course content and/or adjust the pace to accommodate class progress. Students are responsible for keeping up with all adjustments to the course calendar.

Date / Topic/Content in class / Required reading prior to class / Assignments
due prior to class
The role of ethics in business
Stakeholder and Shareholder theory
Case discussion: Can an “ethical bank” support guns and fracking? / Readings 1-3 / Prepare for case discussion
Classic frameworks for ethical analysis
Case discussion: Dyadic case discussion exercise / Readings 4-5 / Case preparation assignment (due DATE; assignment link posted on Blackboard)
Power and authoritarian leadership
Case discussion: Salomon Inc. / Readings 6-8 / Thought questions posted to Blackboard by DATE
Perpetuation and normalization of unethical behavior
Case discussion: A letter from prison
Obedience to authority(materials presented in class) / Readings9-10 / Thought questions posted to Blackboard by DATE
Case discussion: Whistleblowing / Reading 11 / Team written assignment
(due DATEon Blackboard)
Ethical challenges across cultural boundaries / Readings 12-13 / Thought questions posted to Blackboard by DATE
Increasing virtuous behavior in people and organizations / Reading 14 / Thought questions posted to Blackboard by DATE
FinalExamination / Happy summer!

BU.932.610 – Ethical Leadership – Instructor – Page 1 of 7

Readings

  1. *Marquis, C.Almandoz, J. Can an “ethical” bank support guns and fracking? HBP reprint R1404X-PDF-ENG
  2. Friedman, M. (1970, September 13). The social responsibility of business to increase its profits. The New York Times Magazine.
  3. Smith, H. J. (2003). The shareholders vs. stakeholders debate. MIT Sloan Management Review, 44, 85-90.
  4. Compass Harvester mini-case (posted on Blackboard)
  5. Mattalus mini-case (posted on Blackboard)
  6. Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2015, November 2). Why bad guys win at work. Harvard Business Review.
  7. Lammers, J., Galinsky, A. D., Dubois, D., & Rucker, D. D. (2015). Power and morality. Current Opinion in Psychology, 6, 15-19.
  8. Chapter 6 “John Gutenfreund loses Salomon Inc.,” in Useem, M. (1998).The Leadership Moment. Three Rivers Press: New York.
  9. Anand, V., Ashforth, B. E., & Joshi, M. (2004). Business as usual: The acceptance and perpetuation of corruption in organizations. Academy of Management Executive, 19, 9-23.
  10. *Soltes, E. (2011). A letter from prison. HBP reprint 110045-PDF-ENG
  11. *Waytz, A., & Kilibarda, V. (2014). Through the Eyes of a Whistle-Blower: How Sherry Hunt spoke up about Citibank’s mortgage fraud, HBP reprint KEL852-PDF-ENG
  12. Donaldson, T. (1996, September 1). Values in tension: Ethics away from home. Harvard Business Review, Reprint 96502-PDF-ENG.
  13. Levi Strauss in Bangladesh case:
  14. Blind Spots, chapters 6-8.

*Readings marked with an asterisk are available through the Harvard Business Publishing Course Pack only. All other readings are available through the E-reserves course link on Blackboard.

Carey Business School

Policies and General Information

Blackboard Site

A Blackboard course site is set up for this course. Each student is expected to check the site throughout the semester as Blackboard will be the primary venue for outside classroom communications between the instructors and the students. Students can access the course site at Support for Blackboard is available at 1-866-669-6138.

Course Evaluation

As a research and learning community, the Carey Business School is committed to continuous improvement. The faculty strongly encourages students to provide complete and honest feedback for this course. Please take this activity seriously; we depend on your feedback to help us improve. Information on how to complete the evaluation will be provided toward the end of the course.

Disability Support Services

All students with disabilities who require accommodations for this course should contact Disability Support Services at their earliest convenience to discuss their specific needs. If you have a documented disability, you must be registered with Disability Support Services ( or 410-234-9243) to receive accommodations. For more information, please visit the Disability Support Services webpage.

Academic Ethics Policy

Carey expects graduates to be innovative business leaders and exemplary global citizens. The Carey community believes that honesty, integrity, and community responsibility are qualities inherent in an exemplary citizen. The objective of the Academic Ethics Policy (AEP) is to create an environment of trust and respect among all members of the Carey academic community and hold Carey students accountable to the highest standards of academic integrity and excellence.

It is the responsibility of every Carey student, faculty member, and staff member to familiarize themselves with the AEP and its procedures. Failure to become acquainted with this information will not excuse any student, faculty, or staff from the responsibility to abide by the AEP. Please contact the Student Services office if you have any questions. For the full policy, please visit the Academic Ethics Policy webpage.

Students are not allowed to use any electronic devices during in-class tests. Calculators will be provided if the instructor requires them for test taking. Students must seek permission from the instructor to leave the classroom during an in-class test. Test scripts must not be removed from the classroom during the test.

Student Conduct Code

The fundamental purpose of the Johns Hopkins University’s regulation of student conduct is to promote and to protect the health, safety, welfare, property, and rights of all members of the University community as well as to promote the orderly operation of the University and to safeguard its property and facilities. As members of the University community, students accept certain responsibilities which support the educational mission and create an environment in which all students are afforded the same opportunity to succeed academically. Please contact the Student Services office if you have any questions. For the full policy, please visit the Student Conduct Code webpage.

Student Success Center

The Student Success Center offers free online and in-person one-on-one and group coaching in writing, presenting, and quantitative courses. The center also offers a variety of workshops, exam study sessions, and instructor-led primer seminars to help prepare students for challenging course content, including statistics and accounting. For more information or to book an appointment, please visit the Student Success Center website.

Other Important Academic Policies and Services

Students are strongly encouraged to consult the Carey Business School’s Student Handbook and Academic Catalog and Student Resources for information regarding the following items:

  • Statement of Diversity and Inclusion
  • Inclement Weather Policy

Copyright Statement

Unless explicitly allowed by the instructor, course materials, class discussions, and examinations are created for and expected to be used by class participants only.The recording and rebroadcasting of such material, by any means, is forbidden. Violations are subject to sanctions under the Honor Code.