Course Syllabus

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TGMT 3347: Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility

3 Semester Credit Hours (3 hours lecture)

Instructor Information

  • Instructor: Dr. Amme Blumenauer
  • Email: ablumenauer@midland.edu
  • Phone: 432-685-4684
  • Office location: TC162
  • Office hours: By appointment only

Course Description:

Social and moral dilemmas encountered in business and professional lives. Exploration and analysis of the ongoing conflicts between personal value systems, expected codes of behavior, evolving technology and government regulations and international issues, and standard operating procedure in the work place. Examples of major philosophical schools of ethics and how their specific theories may be applied to concrete business cases and contemporary management issues.

Course Description: 

The student will develop an understanding for the importance of ethics in business and the corporate responsibilities that business organizations must assume in business and society. 

An emphasis will be on contemporary trends in corporate responsibilities with respect to ethical, legal, economic and regulatory conditions in the global marketplace.

This course will achieve the following general student learning outcomes for the Bachelor of Applied Technology program:

  • Demonstrate professional and ethical conduct, critical thinking skills, and the confidence and ability to engage in life-long learning.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the cultural, political, legal, technological, and economic forces that shape the global business environment.
  • Employ creative and critical thinking processes to resolve the problems of the organization
  • Apply oral and written communication skills and leverage technology to enhance communications in order to prepare and present reports.

This course is an upper division course for students that have met the admission requirements for upper division courses. This course is designed to investigate the broad spectrum of business ethics issues that managers face today and will face in the future.

The basic principles and concepts of ethics and corporate social responsibility will be presented in the lectures, class discussions, through the select readings and research.  This course uses the case analysis skills as the focus of learning.  Case analysis is the basis of student exercises that involve the student in the thought process for business and life ethics.

This course will transfer to other community colleges and most four-year institutions in Texas.

Prerequisite: None

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

  • Students will demonstrate appropriate use of business terms and concepts in their Ethics Analysis paper.
  • Students will critically analyze, evaluate and interpret information in their Ethics Analysis paper.
  • Students will demonstrate their ethics and philosophy knowledge in preparing their Ethics Analysis paper and presenting their summary during an oral presentation.

Course Content:

  • Classic moral philosophy normative theories of ethics, including:
    • The nature of ethics and morality
    • Normative theories of ethics
    • Business ethics and professional ethics
    • Threats to ethics: Conventionalism, relativism
  • Convergence of justice and economics distribution, as pertains to:
    • The nature of justice
    • The Utilitarian perspective of justice
    • The Libertarian approach
    • John Rawls, "A Theory of Justice"
  • The nature of capitalism and the corporate world, as each impacts:
    • Historical background of capitalism
    • Key features of capitalism
    • Moral justification of capitalism
    • Criticism of capitalism
    • Economic challenges for the 21st century
  • Corporations' obligations and contributions to:
    • Corporate moral agency
    • Corporate responsibility - the social debate
    • Business compliance vs business ethics
    • Business and environmental ethics
  • Issues and challenges in the corporate workplace, as related to:
    • Civil liberties in the workplace
    • Personnel policies and procedures
    • Organizational influence in private lives
    • Working conditions
    • Outsourcing work
  • The moral issues and dilemmas facing today's employees, in response to:
    • Obligations to the firm and conflict of interest
    • Obligations to third parties
    • Whistle blowing: Professionalism and personal life
    • Job Discrimination
    • Affirmative Action: Legal and moral issues
    • Sexual harassment
  • The major issues of ethics in global business, impinging upon:
    • Ethical principles and global business
    • Ethics viewed from a multicultural perspective
    • First world vs. Third world values in conflict
    • Globalization: Economic and ethical challenges
  • Business and society
    • Consumer and product safety
    • Deception and unfairness in marketing and advertising
    • Business and ecology
    • Ethics of environmental protection
    • Animal Rights issues

Textbook:

Great news: your textbook for this class is available for free online!

Business Ethics  (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.from OpenStax, ISBN-10: 1-947172-57-3

You have several options to obtain this book:

You can use whichever formats you want. Web view is recommended -- the responsive design works seamlessly on any device.

Important Notes:

  • Non Drop: All first week assignments need to be completed and submitted by the due date to avoid possibly being dropped from the class.
  • Attendance: Daily online attendance (via Canvas or Zoom) and participation are expected.
  • Late Work: Assignments submitted late may be subject to a penalty unless approved by the instructor.
  • Academic Integrity: Students are expected to uphold academic honesty in all work.

 Contact & Support

For questions about the course, assignments, or materials, please email your instructor or visit during office hours.

 Division Information

Division: Division of Business, Computer, and Information Studies

Dean: Dr. Son Mai (432) 685-4611

Division Administrative Assistant: Adrianna Chavez (432)-685-4503

 MC Food Pantry

Any students with food insecurities or who need other support should contact their campus support services or visit the campus food pantry if available.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Statement

Any student needing accommodations should inform the instructor. Students with disabilities who may need accommodations for this class are encouraged to notify the instructor and contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) https://www.midland.edu/services-resources/accommodation-services.phpLinks to an external site.Links to an external site.  early so that reasonable accommodations may be implemented as soon as possible. All information will remain confidential.

Academic dishonesty and plagiarism will result in a failing grade on the assignment. Using someone else's ideas or phrasing and representing those ideas or phrasing as our own, either on purpose or through carelessness, is a serious offense known as plagiarism. Please see the Midland College handbook for policies regarding plagiarism, harassment, etc. 

Notice of Non-Discrimination Statement

Midland College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender, disability or age in its programs and activities. The following individual has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies:

Mechelle Jones Director of Student Support Services & Title IX Coordinator Scharbauer Student Center, Room 123 Midland, Texas 79705 (432) 685-4781 title9@midland.edu

For further information on notice of non-discrimination, visit the ED.gov Office of Civil Rights website, or call 1 (800) 421-3481.

Midland College provides services for students with disabilities through Student Services. In order to receive accommodations, students must visit https://www.midland.edu/services-resources/accommodation-services.php and complete the “Application for Accommodation Services” located under the Application Process tab. Services or accommodations are not automatic, each student must apply each semester and be approved to receive them. Supporting documentation must be submitted from a qualified professional and be within the last five years. All documents will be reviewed and a “Notice of Accommodations” letter will be sent to instructors outlining any reasonable accommodations. For more information or questions, please contact the Accommodation Services office at acccommodations@midland.edu or 432-685-5541.

Course Summary:

Date Details Due