2017/18 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

LUBS3003 Business Ethics

20 creditsClass Size: 88

Module manager: Maria McCabe
Email: M.E.McCabe@lubs.leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2017/18

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

The module is jointly delivered by academics based both in the Business School and the Inter-disciplinary Ethics Applied Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (IDEA CETL). Hence, the module focuses on the application of ethics to business rather than on the discussion of ethical theory per se. The module will be based on a series of 11 fortnightly lectures. Seminars will take place in alternate weeks and will use a series of case studies and academic texts to explore key ethical concepts relating to the lecture topic in a business context. You will complete individually assessed coursework that will provide you with the opportunity to explore business ethics issues of your choice in depth and with reference to relevant theory.

Objectives

This module assumes no prior knowledge of business ethics or corporate social responsibility. Students are invited to apply a range of ethical concepts to current business issues and scenarios in order that they can appreciate the complexity of business ethics, critique business behaviour and thus be better prepared for the ethical challenges that they themselves will face as future business leaders.

Learning outcomes
Upon completion of this module students will be able to critically evaluate:
- key ethical concepts and their application to business organizations, key functions within business and the professions
- competing theories on business ethics
- corporate responsibility practice
- the roles of professionals and business leaders in providing ethical leadership

Skills outcomes
Upon completion of this module students will be able to
Transferable:
- Think critically
- Reflect upon and articulate their own ethical position through coherent and robust argument

Syllabus

Indicative content:
- The purpose of business, approaches to business ethics and the nature of corporate responsibility
- Corporate responsibility in practice
- Fairness and the supply chain
- Truth and advertising
- Duty and Accountability
- Respect and Human Resource Management
- The value of work
- Ethics and Big Data
- Ethics and the Environment
- Ethical issues in international business
- Recent corporate scandals

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
e-Lecture	1	1.00	1.00
Lecture	11	1.00	11.00
Seminar	10	2.00	20.00
Private study hours			168.00
Total Contact hours			32.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

- Students will be required to do pre-reading and follow up reading for each lecture. They will be required to prepare for each seminar and expected to review their learning from each session in the context of their reading for the related lecture.
- The lecture and seminar series has been designed to allow students a time period of two weeks for each of the topics covered.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Group presentations in seminars
Supervision of individual essay
Feedback on report

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	Essay (2,000 words)	60.00
Report	Report (1,000 words)	30.00
Practical	Seminar Engagement	10.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

The resit for this module will be 100% by examination.

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 20/12/2017

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