Syllabus

The application of ethical theory to business management. A review of ethical systems, and examples, theoretical and practical methods of institutionalizing ethics in organizations. Case analysis used, and written projects required. Students must have completed a minimum of 60 credit hours.

The following objectives are University-level objectives
Management Major Goals:

1. Demonstrate understanding of how to carry out the planning function of management.
2. Demonstrate understanding of how to carry out the organizing function of management.
3. Explain how linking organizational social practices to the community is ultimately advantageous.

CBA Curriculum Goals:

1. Demonstrate analytical skills.
2. Demonstrate ethical understanding and reason abilities.
3. Demonstrate multi-cultural and diversity understanding.
4. Recognize domestic and global economic environment of organizations.
5. Recognize ethics in organizations and society.

There are conflicting views on adult learning--we are very far from a universal understanding of how adults learn and why or why not they engage with the learning process. Judged by epistemological, communicative and critically analytic criteria, theory development in adult learning is weak and is hindered by the persistence of myths that are etched deeply into adult educators' minds (Brookfield, 1992).

Learning opportunities for adults exist in a variety of settings ranging from a formal educational program--just as this one, to on-the-job (OTJ) training. As an educator with over two decades of teaching experience, I’ve learned that it is important to acknowledge acquired knowledge and experiences of learners, including their approach to life-long learning. The most common reason for adults to place themselves in a learning environment is a life-changing event such as career progression or the desire for self-actualization.

Moreover, once in an optimal environment there are many factors that affect the learning experience. The optimal learning environment that I seek to foster (not direct) is an environment in which students excel and carefully gather the tools necessary for ethical decision-making. To this end, each student is expected to be prepared for class and actively participate with a high level of engagement.

The following approaches to learning will be integrated into the course:

1. Action Learning: students work on real projects or current global ethical dilemmas as a way to learn. Students work in small groups or teams to take action to address an ethical dilemma and learn from team interactions. For example, in this course students will work in teams to design a global citizenship program.
    
2. Experiential Learning: students operate on the premise that individuals learn best by experience. A good way to describe this theory is "learning by doing". Experiential learning thus has the learner directly involved with the content being studied instead of just thinking and talking about the content. For example, in this course students will work on identifying a multi-national corporation (MNC) challenged by a past or present ethical dilemma.
    
3. Project-based Learning: students work in small groups to solve challenging problems that are authentic and often interdisciplinary. Students decide how to approach an ethical dilemma and determine what strategies to execute. For example, in this course students will write a paper and present an opinion on an ethical dilemma by using an ethical decision-making framework.
    
4. Self-directed Learning: it is defined as the process in which individuals take on the responsibility for their own learning process by diagnosing their personal learning needs, setting goals, identifying resources, implementing strategies, and evaluating the outcomes.  For example, in this course students will work on an ethics and values clarification exercise.

The College of Business cares about the quality of your education. For more information please visit the Assurance of Learning site to learn more on the College's commitment to this initiative.

Please review the FIU's Policies and Netiquette webpage. The policies webpage contains essential information regarding guidelines relevant to all courses at FIU, as well as additional information about acceptable netiquette for online courses.

As a member of the FIU community you are expected to be knowledgeable about the behavioral expectations set forth in the FIU Student Code of Conduct.

One of the greatest barriers to taking an online course is a lack of basic computer literacy. By computer literacy we mean being able to manage and organize computer files efficiently, and learning to use your computer's operating system and software quickly and easily. Keep in mind that this is not a computer literacy course; but students enrolled in online courses are expected to have moderate proficiency using a computer. Please go to the "What's Required" webpage to find out more information on this subject.

Please visit our Technical Requirements webpage for additional information.

If students need further accommodations with the tools used in this course, we can connect with FIU’s Disability Resource Center to help provide additional assistance.

The Disability Resource Center collaborates with students, faculty, staff, and community members to create diverse learning environments that are usable, equitable, inclusive and sustainable. The DRC provides FIU students with disabilities the necessary support to successfully complete their education and participate in activities available to all students. If you have a diagnosed disability and plan to utilize academic accommodations, please contact the Center at 305-348-3532 or visit them at the Graham Center GC 190.

Please visit our ADA Compliance webpage for additional information about accessibility involving the tools used in this course.

Please visit the LMS Accessibility webpage for more information: Canvas

For additional assistance please contact FIU's Disability Resource Center.

Florida International University is a community dedicated to generating and imparting knowledge through excellent teaching and research, the rigorous and respectful exchange of ideas and community service. All students should respect the right of others to have an equitable opportunity to learn and honestly to demonstrate the quality of their learning. Therefore, all students are expected to adhere to a standard of academic conduct, which demonstrates respect for themselves, their fellow students, and the educational mission of the University. All students are deemed by the University to understand that if they are found responsible for academic misconduct, they will be subject to the Academic Misconduct procedures and sanctions, as outlined in the Student Handbook.

Academic Misconduct includes: Cheating – The unauthorized use of books, notes, aids, electronic sources; or assistance from another person with respect to examinations, course assignments, field service reports, class recitations; or the unauthorized possession of examination papers or course materials, whether originally authorized or not. Plagiarism – The use and appropriation of another’s work without any indication of the source and the representation of such work as the student’s own. Any student who fails to give credit for ideas, expressions or materials taken from another source, including internet sources, is responsible for plagiarism.

Learn more about the academic integrity policies and procedures as well as student resources that can help you prepare for a successful semester.

If you are looking for help for yourself or a fellow classmate, Panthers Care encourages you to express any concerns you may come across as it relates to any personal behavior concerns or worries you have, for the classmate’s well-being or yours; you are encouraged to share your concerns with FIU’s Panthers Care website.

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) offers free and confidential help for anxiety, depression, stress, and other concerns that life brings. Professional counselors are available for same-day appointments. Don’t wait to call 305-348-2277 to set up a time to talk or visit the online self-help portal.

This course has a prerequisite(s). Prerequisites: A grade of "C" or higher in MAN3025. Students must have completed a minimum of 60 credit hours. Review the course catalog page for more information.

This is an online course, which means most (if not all) of the course work will be conducted online. Expectations for performance in an online course are the same for a traditional course. In fact, online courses require a degree of self-motivation, self-discipline, and technology skills which can make these courses more demanding for some students.

Consistent and regular class participation is required. Moreover, discussion and participation will account for 20% of the final grade in the course. In addition, the following guidelines will be followed:

1. There will be no “extra credit” work to improve grades.
2. No “incomplete” grades will be given for reasons other than well-documented medical emergencies, personal tragedy, and unavoidable conflicts.
3. No withdrawal from the course will be granted beyond the official FIU deadline even though that deadline may fall before the exams.
4. University deadlines and regulations will be strictly adhered to in any area of contention or conflict.

Students are expected to:

• Review How to Get Started, My Welcome Video, and Syllabus located in the course content
• Introduce yourself to the class during the first week by posting a self-introduction in the appropriate discussion forum
• Review the Course Resources folder in the Course Content. It contains information on the structure of the course, student resources, and privacy policies.
• Complete the FIU’s Academic Honesty Policies assessment. This is required in order to gain access to the rest of the course shell.
• Interact online with instructor/s and peers
• Review and follow the course calendar
• Log in to the course at least 4 times per week
• Respond to discussion board postings within 1 day
• Respond to emails within 1 day
• Submit assignments by the corresponding deadline

The instructor will:

• Log in to the course multiple times per week
• Respond to discussion board postings within 24 hours
• Respond to emails within 48 hours
• Grade assignments within 5 days after the assignment deadline

Communication in this course will take place via FIU Email. To communicate with me, please email me at francoj@fiu.edu.

Visit our writing resources page for more information on professional writing and technical communication skills. Check out the Canvas Conversations Tutorial or Canvas Guide to learn how to communicate with your instructor and peers using Announcements, Discussions, and the Inbox.

Keep in mind that forum discussions are public, and care should be taken when determining what to post.  Take a few minutes to review the netiquette policies before posting.

Active and informed participation during discussion forums is required; it is a central part of this course. Please do not hesitate to raise a point with questions and/or comments. I am here to assist in your understanding of ethics. Class participation counts for 20% of your overall grade.

Keep in mind that your discussion forum postings will likely be seen by other members of the course. Care should be taken when determining what to post.

In order to mitigate any issues with your computer and online assessments, it is very important that you take the "Practice Quiz" from each computer you will be using to take your graded quizzes and exams. It is your responsibility to make sure your computer meets the minimum hardware requirements.

Assessments in this course are not compatible with mobile devices and should not be taken through a mobile phone or a tablet. If you need further assistance please contact FIU Online Support Services.

Course Weight: 40% - Refer to the Course Calendar for all deadlines.

Late Assignment Policy

Assignments are due as listed below in the Course Calendar section. Late assignments will not be accepted. Each student will be required to upload course papers/assignments to Canvas before or on due dates. Assignments will NOT be accepted at the professor’s FIU email account.

All written assignments must include the following:

• Student first and last name (header: top right corner of all pages)
• Panther ID (header: top right corner of all pages)
• Date (header: top right corner of all pages)
• Title (center of first page)
• Page number/s on all pages (footer)
• Double spacing between sentences and paragraphs
• Fonts must be Arial 12 or Times New Roman 12

Students must also properly and appropriately cite all sources using APA or MLA formatting and style.

Values Coat of Arms (Assignment Weight 10%)

This is an artistic assignment. Without putting much thought into the process, select five values which come immediately to mind. Once you’ve identified the five values draw a coat of arms. Divide the coat of arms into 5 sections. In each section of the coat of arms draw an image that represents one of your five values. Fill each section of your coat of arms with a different image. If you can not draw, clip images from a magazine and paste an image(s) into each of the five sections of the coat of arms. Once you have finalized your coat of arms, take a pic of the coat of arms with a mobile device and upload the pic to Canvas. Please keep in mind that the coat of arms is representing the five values that you identified. The key here is that if you spend too much time thinking about and selecting your top five values then you probably don’t truly “subscribe” to them or live them day in and day out. The less time you spend selecting your five values the more likely it is that these five values are the values that form the essence of who you are as a person.

Values Clarification (Assignment Weight 20%)

This paper is a self-reflection paper that will give you an opportunity to better analyze and define your personal and professional ethics and values system/s. Oftentimes people will wear different "hats" inside and outside of their work environments or choose to engage with others through different identities. In this essay, identify whether you "live by" an ethics and values system that is common to both your personal and professional life. If not, write why you choose to wear different "hats" or "live by" two ethics and values systems. If you are unlike most people and you operate from one ethics and values system in and outside of your work environment, write why and how. Please address the following four points in your paper:

• Use the five values that you identified during the coat of arms assignment in this assignment. The five values from your coat of arms should form the foundation of your personal and or professional values system;
• Determine whether you "operate" from two separate values systems--one personal values system and one professional values system or whether you "operate" from one values system;
• Why do you believe you must "operate" from one or two values systems in a business setting/environment? and 
• Explain a "real" situation in which your values system/s was/were challenged, compromised, or questioned. How did this make you feel? Why did you "stand your ground" or why did you "bend" or "give in" when your values system/s were challenged, compromised, or questioned?

Please note that your reflection essay must not exceed two double-spaced pages (Arial or Times New Roman--12 font).

To this point, please make sure your paper is free of grammatical and punctuation errors. More importantly, make sure your thoughts are concisely written. 

The purpose of this paper is for you to begin thinking (if you have not already done so) about your modus vivendi and modus operandi especially within the context of a business environment.

In summary fashion, a narrative offers you an opportunity to think and write about yourself. When you write a narrative essay, you are telling a story. Narrative essays are told from a defined point of view, often the author's. The narrative essay makes a point.

Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Article Critiques (Assignment Weight 40%)

There will be four (4) Canvas discussion forums. Keep in mind that discussion forums are public and care should be taken when determining what to post.

The week in which the Canvas discussion forum posting is due, select a WSJ article that reports on an ethical dilemma related to the week’s textbook chapter reading. Read the article and post your personal reaction to the article. You are being asked to form a moral or ethical judgment of the ramifications and implications of the ethical dilemma that you have identified in the WSJ article.

• The approximate length of a discussion forum response should be about 200 words, 20 lines;
• Succinctly summarize the article that you have selected;
• Present the ethical dilemma that you have identified in the article as a QUESTION;
• Select and apply any one of the many ethical theories which are covered in the course (e.g., consequentialism, deontology, virtue ethics, etc.) to carry out your ethical analysis;
• Form an OBJECTIVE moral or ethical judgment of the ramifications and implications of the ethical dilemma that you have identified in the WSJ article;
• Each student must comment on two additional student posts the week that each WSJ analysis assignment is due; and
• I will evaluate the originality and quality of a student’s response especially as the response relates to a student’s thought process and the content of his/her response.

Giving Voice to Values Book Review (Assignment Weight 30%)

Write a clear and succinct assessment/critique of the book. Make sure that the majority of your writing focuses on what you particularly learned from the book and how you will or will not approach ethical dilemmas moving forward.

Please note that book review must not exceed two double-spaced pages (Arial or Times New Roman--12 font). To this point, please make sure that your paper is free of grammatical and punctuation errors. More importantly, make sure your thoughts are concisely written. 

The purpose of this paper is for you to begin thinking (if you have not already done so) about different strategies that you can employ when faced with an ethical dilemma within the context of a business environment.

Information and instructions can be found in the Assignment Dropbox area of the course.

Each assigned team of approximately 10 -15 students will research, design, and present a global citizenship program. The global citizenship program accomplishes the following:

1. teaches students how to work in virtual teams
2. teaches students how to give voice to his or her values within different organizational contexts, and
3. gives students an opportunity to explore various ethical decision-making frameworks to recognize why and how business decisions are made in organizations and societies.

This particular assignment will also give students an opportunity to collaborate in large groups (typical of corporate environments). To this end, teams must develop appropriate processes and strategies to ensure that all components of the global citizenship program are completed on time. Students should also take full advantage of cloud-based applications (e.g., Google Docs and DropBox) and social media to maximize limited resources.

Each team’s global citizenship program must also include a video presentation. The global citizenship program has four major components: (1) program outline, (2) written paper, (3) PowerPoint deck, and (4) team presentation.

I. Program Outline (Assignment Weight 5%)

II. Written Paper (Assignment Weight 65%)
Each team should work toward one common goal—write a high quality undergraduate-level paper.

III. PowerPoint Deck (Assignment Weight 10%)

IV. Team Presentation (Assignment Weight 20%)

Adobe Connect is an online meeting room where you can interact with your professor and fellow students by sharing screens or files, chat, broadcast live audio, and take part in other interactive online activities. We will use Adobe Connect Pro Meeting to hold office hours, host student group communication/presentations, etc.

Requirements for using Adobe Connect:

• Disable any window pop-up blocker.
• Adobe Flash Player is required to successfully run your Adobe Connect meeting. You can test your computer to make sure your computer and network connections are properly configured to provide you with the best possible Adobe Connect meeting experience.

Use of a combination headset and microphone with USB connection is recommended to ensure quality sound and reduce technical difficulties.

Reference Adobe Connect (Tutorials & Help) for additional information.