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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA / Course Outline
HaasSchool of Business / Spring 2004
Saturdays 2 – 6

Office Hours: Tuesday2- 4

EWMBA. 207.3B - ETHICS AND RESPONSIBILITY IN BUSINESS

Ernesto Dal Bó

561 Faculty Wing - Haas

510 6431606

Purpose: The purpose of this course is to strengthen your ability to anticipate, critically analyze and appropriately respond to some of the ethical and social challenges that confront managers in aglobal economy. Instruction will be based primarily on the case method, supplemented by both topical and philosophical articles and essays.

Requirements: You are expected to carefully read all the readings assigned for each class and to actively participate in class discussions. In addition, you are required to write two three page papers, the first due at noon on Tuesday April 6th, and the second at noon on Tuesday April 20st. The papers should be submitted electronically to . Please write your name and the name of the instructor on each page, and include the reference “EWMBA.207.3B Paper” in the email’s subject line.

The aim of the first paperis tocritically compare and examine any three of the cases fromunitsItoIII, drawing upon insights from the philosophical readings.

The second paper should critically compare and apply the principles of corporate responsibility to any three of the cases from units IV to VII.

Students may substitute their own case for any one of the three cases reviewed for either or both papers.

The papers will be graded on three criteria: coverage of assigned readings, integration of principles and cases, and quality of personal analysis.

The grade will be based 1/3 on class attendance andparticipation, and 2/3 on the two written assignments. There will be no final.

Readings: The cases and other material are available in a reading packet. Additional materials will be distributed in class.

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I.Principles of Business Ethics (March 27)

Aristotle, “The Moral Virtues,” from The Ethics of Aristotle Somers, ed. Vice and Virtue in Everyday Life

John Stuart Mill, “The meaning of utilitarianism,” download from

“A Basis for Moral Rights: Kant,” from Velasquez, Business Ethics pp. 96 -103

Plato, “The Ring of Gyges” from The Republic

“The Parable of the Sadhu,” video.

“The Veil of Ignorance,” HBS Note (Rawls)

James Krohe, “Ethics are Nice, But Business is Business,” Across the Board April, 1997

II.Personal and Corporate Integrity (March 27)

Cases:

1.“Innovation Corrupted: The Rise and Fall of Enron,” HBS Case 9-904-036

2.“Conflict on the Trading Floor,” HBS Case 9 – 394 – 060(B) to be distributed in class

Supplementary Reading:

Anita Raghavan, “How A Bright Star Fell Along with Enron,” WSJ May 15, 2002

III.Managing an Ethical Workplace (April 3)

Cases:

1. “Kathryn McNeil (A)”, HarvardBusinessSchool Case, 9-394-111.

(B) to be distributed in class.

2. “Will She Fit in?” . . . “ Harvard Business Review March –April 1997

Supplementary Readings:

Niccolo Machiavelli, selections from The Prince

Michael Ledeen, “Is It Better to be Loved or Feared? Across the Board September 1999

IV.Managing Value Conflicts and Stakeholder Claims in the Global Economy(April 3)

Cases:

1. RU 486 (A) HarvardBusinessSchool Case 391-050

(B) to be distributed in class

2. John Seeger, The Project At Moza Island (A), Ethics in Business,

Graduate School of Business, ColumbiaUniversity.

(B) to be distributed in class.

Supplementary Reading:

Barry Newman, “Among Those Wary of Abortion Pill Is Maker’s Parent Firm” Wall Street JournalFeb. 22, 1993

Mary Midgley, “Trying Out One’s Sword,” Heart and Mind 1991

  1. Global Corporate Responsibility: Working Conditions andProduct Safety

(April10)

Cases:

1. “Hitting the Wall: Nike and International Labor Practices,” HarvardBusinessSchool Case, 9-700-047.

2. Martha Nichols, “Third-World Families at Work: Child Labor or Child Care?” Harvard Business Review Jan-Feb, 1993

3. “California Space Heaters” (A), (B), (C)

Supplementary Reading:

Paul Krugman, “in Praise of Cheap Labor: Bad jobs at Bad Wages Are Better than No Job At all,” Slate, May 20, 1997

VI. Corporate Responsibility for Human Rights and the Environment (April 10)

Cases:

1. “Royal Dutch/ Shell in Nigeria” HBS 9-399-126

(B) to be distributed in class

2. “Global Climate Change and BP Amoco” HBS 9 – 700 - 106

Supplementary Reading:

The UN Charter: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

VII.The Scope and Meaning of Corporate Responsibility (April 17 – half class)

Case:

"Merck and Co., Inc." (A) & (B), The Business Enterprise Trust, 90-013.

(C) and (D) to be distributed in class.

SupplementaryReading:

Milton Friedman, “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Its Profits,”

“Doing Well by Doing Good,” Economist April 22, 2000

Tim Dickson, “The financial case for behaving responsibly,” Financial TimesAugust 19, 2002