Course Descriptions
Fundamentals of Business Ethics
This ten-module course offers a comprehensive,practical approach to business ethics and is a prerequisite for theother courses in the certificate program that address specificareas of business practice. Among the topics it explores are thefollowing:
- Different ethical theories, their implications,and their shortcomings
- How to think about the purpose of business
- Why a compliance-based approach to businessethics is not sufficient
- Strategies for identifying and dealing withtypical ethical issues, both personal and organizational
- An approach to ethical decision-making whoseeffectiveness you can verify in your own experience
Principle-Based Ethics
This course further expands on the topics coveredin Fundamentals of Business Ethics and will provide students withthe following:
- the opportunity to reach a deeper understandingof your own purpose and meaning in life
- an understanding of the reasons why we need to gobeyond compliance-based ethics in our organizations
- a familiarity with principle-based ethics and howit differs from utilitarianism
- knowledge about common ethical problems inbusinesses and other organizations, and about practical steps thatcan be taken to address those problems using the resources ofprinciple-based ethics
Ethics in HR
This course is designed to provide students withknowledge of the laws and principles that guide human resourcepractice and to provide students with decision-making skills toeffectively manage the concerns of organizational stakeholders. Thecourse will discuss the life cycle of the employee through:
- Job analysis
- Recruitment
- Selection
- Performance appraisal
- Career management
- Compensation/Benefits
- Discipline
- End of employment relationship(Firings/Layoffs/Retirement)
Ethics in Accounting
Because of their key role in reporting and auditingtransparent financial information, accountants have long been heldto higher standards of behavior than other business professionals.As a result of recent scandals and the governmental response tothem, the public has increased expectations of how accountantsshould think and act. This course will serve as a review foraccountants of the challenges in their roles and the precepts theymust follow in making decisions. For non-accountants the coursewill be important in understanding the issues faced by CPAs andother professionals. Anyone involved as a manager or investor willbe better able to utilize accounting services wisely, knowing thechoices that should be made. After completing this course studentswill:
- Recognize organizational challenges to ethicalbehavior.
- Recognize the inherent conflict of interest inmany accounting tasks.
- Be familiar with major laws affecting accountantsand the Codes of Ethics developed by accountingorganizations.
- Be familiar with established methodologies ofsolving ethical problems.
- Be able to identify and impact ethicaldecision-making in their own environments.
Ethics in Marketing
This course discusses ethical principles andprofessional codes of conduct within the marketing environment.Students will learn strategies which increase their awareness ofand sensitivity to ethical issues or dilemmas in marketing.Students will also learn a process to employ that will allow themto analyze the context of any marketing decision and reach anethical conclusion.