Dr Susanne Burri

This course is available on the BSc in Management, BSc in Philosophy and Economics, BSc in Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method and BSc in Politics and Philosophy. This course is not available as an outside option. This course is available to General Course students.

This introductory course to business and organisational ethics introduces different approaches to normative theorising, explains how these approaches relate to standard ways of managerial and economic decision-making, and discusses to what extent business professionals should think of themselves as bound by moral requirements. The course is divided into three parts. The first part raises normative questions about the structure in which firms operate, including questions about the proper scope of markets and distributive justice. The second part outlines a framework for incorporating moral principles into the decision-making of business professionals. The third part focuses on firms and corporations as units of moral concern, with a particular focus on their role in international and global affairs. Topics discussed include the significance of international labour standards, how business professionals should respond to practises like bribery and insider trading, and how responsibility is properly distributed between corporate and individual actors.

10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of classes in the LT.

One essay of 1500 words.

Arthur I. Applbaum (2000), Ethics for Adversaries, Princeton University Press

Robert Audi (2005), 'The Place of Cost-Benefit Analysis in Business and the Professions', Business and Professional Ethics Journal, 24 (3), 2-21.

Norman E. Bowie, (2001), The Blackwell Guide to Business Ethics (Blackwell Philosophy Guides), Wiley-Blackwell

Nien-he Hsieh (2009), 'Does Global Business Have a Duty to Promote Just Institutions?', Business Ethics Quarterly, Vol. 19 (2), 251-273

Martin Sandbu (2011), Just Business: Arguments in Business Ethics, Prentice Hall

Exam (67%, duration: 2 hours) in the main exam period.
Essay (33%, 2000 words) in the ST.