Business Ethics

1. The nature of ethics - including the relation between ethics & morality, and morality & law.
   
   • A simple introduction to the basic types of ethical theories: such as, consequentialism (e.g., utilitarianism), deontological theories (e.g., Kantian or moral intuitionism); ethical egoism, social contractarian theories (e.g., Rawls or Nozick), and rights theories.
   • The application of such ethical theory to the resolution of moral issues in business.
2. The place and nature of ethics in the business world - including the social responsibility of business (e.g., are there obligations to the community beyond those to the shareholders?), the moral status of corporations (e.g., are they moral persons?), and the ethical responsibility of professionals (e.g., for self-regulation, or to assist and encourage citizen advocacy).
3. Ethical concerns about the relationships between employee and employer --including concerns about health and safety in the workplace (e.g., what rights do employees and employers have?); about employee loyalty an autonomy (e.g., to what extent is an employee required to be a loyal agent? What protections should be offered in cases of “whistleblowing”); and about discrimination in the work place and in hiring practices (encompassing preferential treatment and affirmative action).
4. Ethical concerns about the relationship between business and special aspects of the outside world emphasizing the environment (e.g. are there moral responsibilities to the environment beyond the law?); international businesses (e.g., the morality of sanctions); and the consumer (e.g., exaggeration in advertising).
5. Special moral topics central to ethical issues in business (e.g. deception) or an examination of morally questionable business practices (e.g., bribery).  (These may be covered separately or under items #2, 3 & 4 above.)

All five of these general areas will be covered, but some in #2 - 5 may be emphasized more heavily than the others.