Overview
This course explores the concept of business ethics and social responsibility from a societal perspective. It suggests that corporate sustainability is better executed as a system of related strategies, as opposed to a series of piecemeal initiatives. It will allow students to reflect upon the ethical implications of their decisions, and to analyze and evaluate the economic, social, and environmental responsibilities of their organization.
Outline
The course is divided into eight lessons:
- Lesson 1: Ethics and Responsibilities in the Business and Society Context
- Lesson 2: Stakeholder Theory and Relationships with Business
- Lesson 3: Theoretical and Applied Ethics of Business
- Lesson 4: Corporate Social Responsibility
- Lesson 5: The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
- Lesson 6: Ethics and Climate Change
- Lesson 7: The Socialization of Capitalism
- Lesson 8: Work on Assignment 2
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Create awareness of business' ethical and social responsibilities.
- Facilitate integration of ethical decision-making principles and social responsibility into managerial decision-making.
- Apply stakeholder theory to explain the forces that exert pressure on an organization (other than economic forces).
- Provide some conceptual frameworks for analyzing and understanding the ethics of business and social responsibility issues.
- Demonstrate that economic, ethical, and social responsibilities are not mutually exclusive, and are in fact all legitimate outcomes that society should expect from organizations.
- Provide practical examples of applying ethical and social responsibility considerations to individual and organizational decision-making in the context of current societal challenges.
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Sexty, R., Kusyk, S., & Price, S. (2024). Business ethics in Canada: Responsibility, equity, and sustainability (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill Ryerson.
Other materials
All other course materials will be accessed online.
Evaluation
Your grade will be based on the successful completion of two individual case study assignments and on your participation in moderated group discussions.
| Activity | Weight |
| Discussion Participation | 40% |
| Assignment 1 | 20% |
| Assignment 2 | 40% |
| Total | 100% |
To receive a passing grade in this course, you must meet these minimum standards:
- earn an average of 60% on the discussion participation component,
- earn at least 60% on Assignment 1, and
- earn at least 60% on Assignment 2.