Business Ethics (3cr)

Objective

This graduate course will explore the importance of Ethics, first in our ordinary everyday living, and secondly on the International Business stage. This exploration begins with an analysis of the foundations of Ethics in Indigenous Africa and other Indigenous societies, in Philosophy generally and in our contemporary philosophical/ethical thinking.
It will then apply these findings and insights to our contemporary international business practices with emphasis on: personal ethical responsibility in our families and communities; Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility in a Globalized world; and conclude with concrete proposals for the way forward in our own countries and in our world.
The course delivery will be intensely interactive and case study based, whereby participants will reflect on their personal and communal experiences on ethics, and on their experience of the international companies they study and then share these in discussion for the purpose of identifying new findings and insights.
At the end of the course, the graduate students should have the following competences:

a) Have a good understanding of these main themes: Ethics, Business Ethics, International Business Ethics, Indigenous African Foundations of Ethics, Lessons and insights from
other indigenous cultures and philosophies, Personal Ethical Responsibility, Corporate
Social Responsibility, Corporate Environmental Responsibility, Globalization, National and International Investments, etc.
b) Students should experience a profound connection with the rest of the world, appreciate our human and cosmic intrinsic interconnectedness, interdependence and interrelatedness,
and thus become increasingly the citizens of the world.
c) Become personally familiar with the ethical strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges that are part and parcel of doing international business in our contemporary world.
d) Have the competence and ability to apply all emerging findings and insights to a particular international business venture, especially through their thorough analysis and evaluation of at least two case studies.

Content

A: A brief overview of the main definitions in this course:
1. What is Ethics? What is Ethics in the context of Philosophy? Greek Philosophy? Contemporary Philosophy?
2. What is International Business Ethics?
3. What is Globalization? What is International Investment?
4. What are, or what is “Multinational Corporations”?
B. Foundations of Ethics in Indigenous Africa and other Indigenous Societies:
a) The four basic Worldviews in African Indigenous Philosophy; Native American Culture; Native Finnish Culture; Chinese Culture (Confucius); other native or Indigenous cultures represented in the class.
b) The wisdom that we as humans have received from our ancestors: stories, proverbs, art, song/dance/music, riddles, ritual, religion, etc. Major lessons and contemporary understanding of ethics in your culture/country……
a) Applying some of the findings and insights to our contemporary business world, is this possible? What ethical lessons do we learn from previous human generations?
C. In ongoing Discussion in groups: Applying all the above findings and insights to:
1. Personal Ethical Responsibility
2. Corporate Social Responsibility
3. Corporate Environmental Responsibility
4. Each student to select TWO International Companies in your country and analyze and
evaluate their ethical practices in the same country or in another country.
5. Select foreign International Companies that operate in your country and analyze and evaluate their ethical practices.
6. Using all the emerging findings and insights to propose the way forward.

Qualifications

None

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

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