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2014/15 Taught Postgraduate Module Catalogue

LUBS5255M Business Ethics

15 creditsClass Size: 80

Module manager: John March
Email: jm2@lubs.leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2014/15

This module is not approved as an Elective

Objectives

On completion of this module, students should be able to:

- Understand key ethical concepts and their application to business organisations, functions within business and professions
- Understand CSR theories and the relationship between them and business strategy
- Critically analyse competing theories on business ethics
- Critique and evaluate existing ethical policies and CSR initiatives

Learning outcomes
Knowledge of key ethical and CSR concepts and their application to business and the professions

Skills outcomes
This module is concerned with the development of analytical and critical thinking through the demands of appreciation of different perspectives and, in particular, to bring theoretical concepts from another discipline to bear on their understanding of the business world. Class work will stimulate group working skills, while the individual assessed project will demand researching and skills of data evaluation.

Syllabus

The module content is organised to provide, first, an overview of business ethics and corporate responsibility and then, focus on the application of ethics to specific areas of business, such as international management, HRM, advertising and corporate reporting. Seminars will follow the introductions offered in lectures and, among other things, engage students in the application of theory to business cases and situations.

1 Lecture The Application of Ethics to Business
2 Lecture Corporate Social Responsibility; Seminar The Extent of Corporate Ethical Responsibilities.
3 Lecture Individual Responsibility; Seminar CSR. Theory and Practice
4 Lecture HRM; Seminar Duty and Accountability
5 Lecture CSR - Supply Chain and Business Strategy; Seminar Respect For Others
6 Lecture Environment; Seminar Justice and Fairness
7 Lecture The Ethics of Advertising; Seminar Responsibility and Compliance
8 Lecture Issues in International business; Seminar Truth, trust and persuasion
9 Lecture Corporate Reporting and Accountability; Seminar Universal norms or ethical relativism
10 Lecture Revision; Seminar Accountability

One additional seminar session will be arranged during the teaching period when the Module Leader will review progress and provide advice on the individual assessed course work.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	10	1.50	15.00
Seminar	10	1.50	15.00
Private study hours			120.00
Total Contact hours			30.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			150.00

Private study

Students will be expected to manage their time to select an appropriate mix of reading and revision, independent on-line learning and private study to suit their individual learning style and skills profile in preparation for seminars.

Students will be expected to undertake pre and follow up reading around each lecture and prepare fully for the seminars. The lecture and seminar programme has been designed so that seminars will follow on one week after the treatment of the seminar subject in the lecture. The individual assessed coursework will demand students to research ethical policies and CSR initiatives of a FTSE 100 enterprise which will require both organisational and industry assessment.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Monitoring and advice giving seminar on the individual assessed assignment.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Report	2,500 words. Students failing the module will be offered the opportunity to resit by examination for the module credit with a maximum mark of 50 being awarded. There will normally only be one, single opportunity to resit the module. Students failing the module will not normally be able to carry forward to the resit project marks from the first sit; the resit will be wholly based on the mark obtained in the resit examination.	100.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Students failing the module will be offered the opportunity to resit by examination for the module credit with a maximum mark of 50 being awarded. There will normally only be one, single opportunity to resit the module. Students failing the module will not normally be able to carry forward to the resit project marks from the first sit; the resit will be wholly based on the mark obtained in the resit examination.

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 03/03/2015

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