Global Impact: Business Ethics

Overview

Class Central Tips

Global business ethics is the study and analysis of how ethics and global business are connected. Because commerce is about markets, and markets entail exchanges between people and groups of people, commerce is about human relationships..

One of the important challenges in global business is working out the extent of these obligations in the interrelationships between businesses and the particular local cultures in which that business operates. The ethical issues arising from these engagements, the kinds of values-based considerations out of which an organization negotiates with local concerns, and how an organization can be both an enabler of economic value while respecting cultural differences are important topics of this course.

You will be able to:

• Become morally sensitive to ethical dilemmas in global commerce
• Identify ethical issues in global business
• Master stakeholder analysis
• Use a well-reasoned process by which to arrive at ethically defensible decisions
• Differentiate between good and weak ethical arguments and defend conclusions

This course is part of Gies College of Business’ suite of online programs, including the iMBA and iMSM. Learn more about admission into these programs and explore how your Coursera work can be leveraged if accepted into a degree program at https://degrees.giesbusiness.illinois.edu/idegrees/.

Syllabus

Course Orientation & Module 1 Is Ethics Part of Business?

You will become familiar with the course, your classmates, and our learning environment. The orientation will also help you obtain the technical skills required for the course. Identify what we mean by ethics and moral reasoning. Learn about the “do the right thing” approach, utilitarianism, and theories of justice. Understand why these theories are important for moral reasoning and for commerce. Be familiar with the framework for moral reasoning. Apply this framework in a case analysis.

Module 2: Stakeholder Theory: Bayer CropScience in India

Distinguish stakeholder theory from managerial shareholder theory. Be able to use stakeholder theory in the framework for moral reasoning. Apply the model to one case, e.g., Merck, BHP or the Oil Rig.

Module 3: In Rome should we do as the Romans do?

Be able to distinguish egoism, role relativism, cultural relativism, ethical relativism and some forms of universalism. Apply these distinctions to the “Greed is Good” speech on the attached video. Apply these distinctions using the framework introduced in Module 1.

Module 4: Why Do Good People and Good Organizations do Bad Things?

Understand the challenges of globalization in emerging markets. Change dependent mindsets about “the poor.” Distinguish the difference between “responsibility to” and “partnerships with.” Grasp how poverty can be alleviated even by students.