Business Ethics 101 Week 1
Business Ethics
Week 1
Introduction to the Module
INTRODUCTION
THOUGHTS TO PONDER:
• ‘A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business’ (Henry Ford, US industrialist 1863-1947) • ‘The one and only social responsibility of business is to make profits’ (the economics guru Milton Friedman)
The subject of ethics forms a central element in managerial responses to social forces. In many situations, an individual must reach a personal decision in regard to what is the right thing to do. In this process, the individual may look to philosophy or religious beliefs concerning what is right and wrong or may turn to history and laws for guidelines.
Recent years have seen a proliferation of academic articles …show more content…
Read the article “How good should your business be?” , write a summary of 100 words, make up word lists (word – translation – English definition – an example of using the word in a sentence)
Week 2
How good should your business be?
Jan 17th 2008
From The Economist print edition
Corporate social responsibility has great momentum. All the more reason to be aware of its limits
|Illustration by Ian Whadcock |
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|[pic] |
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HOW wonderful to think that you can make money and save the planet at the same time. “Doing well by doing good” has become a popular business mantra: the phrase conjures up a Panglossian best-of-all-possible-worlds, the idea that firms can be successful by acting in the broader interests of society as a whole even while they satisfy the narrow interests of shareholders. The noble sentiment will no doubt echo around the Swiss Alps next week as chief executives hobnob with political leaders at the World Economic Forum in …show more content…
I. Answer the following questions:
1. How do you understand the term “Doing well by doing good”?
2. Why is the current situation a high time for CSR?
3. What ways to do “responsible business” could you suggest?
4. Isn’t “good corporate citizenship” merely another form of self-interest?
5. What multi-stakeholder initiatives does the article mention and what is their impact on the development of the countries’ economies?
II. Work on the structure of the article. Single out the main ideas.
III. Discussion and team work
1. In teams discuss the summaries and formulate a thesis statement
2. Discussion topics: Split into three teams. Prepare mini-presentations
Team 1: “Good corporate citizenship” doesn’t guarantee great financial results.
Team 2: Potential risks for a company of being socially responsible.
Team 3: Unadorned capitalism fails to serve the public interest.
IV. In teams brainstorm the topic “CSR should prompt humility, not
Week 1
Introduction to the Module
INTRODUCTION
THOUGHTS TO PONDER:
• ‘A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business’ (Henry Ford, US industrialist 1863-1947) • ‘The one and only social responsibility of business is to make profits’ (the economics guru Milton Friedman)
The subject of ethics forms a central element in managerial responses to social forces. In many situations, an individual must reach a personal decision in regard to what is the right thing to do. In this process, the individual may look to philosophy or religious beliefs concerning what is right and wrong or may turn to history and laws for guidelines.
Recent years have seen a proliferation of academic articles …show more content…
Read the article “How good should your business be?” , write a summary of 100 words, make up word lists (word – translation – English definition – an example of using the word in a sentence)
Week 2
How good should your business be?
Jan 17th 2008
From The Economist print edition
Corporate social responsibility has great momentum. All the more reason to be aware of its limits
|Illustration by Ian Whadcock |
| |
|[pic] |
| |
HOW wonderful to think that you can make money and save the planet at the same time. “Doing well by doing good” has become a popular business mantra: the phrase conjures up a Panglossian best-of-all-possible-worlds, the idea that firms can be successful by acting in the broader interests of society as a whole even while they satisfy the narrow interests of shareholders. The noble sentiment will no doubt echo around the Swiss Alps next week as chief executives hobnob with political leaders at the World Economic Forum in …show more content…
I. Answer the following questions:
1. How do you understand the term “Doing well by doing good”?
2. Why is the current situation a high time for CSR?
3. What ways to do “responsible business” could you suggest?
4. Isn’t “good corporate citizenship” merely another form of self-interest?
5. What multi-stakeholder initiatives does the article mention and what is their impact on the development of the countries’ economies?
II. Work on the structure of the article. Single out the main ideas.
III. Discussion and team work
1. In teams discuss the summaries and formulate a thesis statement
2. Discussion topics: Split into three teams. Prepare mini-presentations
Team 1: “Good corporate citizenship” doesn’t guarantee great financial results.
Team 2: Potential risks for a company of being socially responsible.
Team 3: Unadorned capitalism fails to serve the public interest.
IV. In teams brainstorm the topic “CSR should prompt humility, not