Evil Business? Psychology, Politics and Philosophy of Business Ethics

This course adopts an interdisciplinary approach to explore and examine ethical issues in business contexts. Through a variety of perspectives, such as psychology, moral philosophy, and different camps of political ideologies, students will explore and evaluate various contemporary business ethics topics, including workplace discrimination, big data privacy, artificial intelligence, consumer rights, and environmental sustainability.

 

A broad spectrum of ethical decision-making frameworks will be presented to help students systematically and objectively analyze, evaluate, and resolve ethical dilemmas in real life, with careful consideration of possibly conflicting perspectives of different stakeholders. Fundamental tenets for effective decision making, such as moral duty, legality, utilitarianism, rights, and justice, will be covered.

 

In addition, the course also analyzes ethical behavior at the group (meso) and individual (micro) levels, so as to allow students to better understand how group dynamics, personal values, and emotion, may impose strong influence on ethical behavior and decisions in real life.

 

The course aims at enhancing students’ ethical awareness and sensitivity. By applying these concepts to ethical issues in different professions through various topics and activities, the course facilitates the development of a sense of moral judgment and obligation as future leaders of their professional fields.