Module 5 - Introduction to Ethics and Business Ethics

After a short introduction to ethics, we will get to what I believe are the three most important questions in business ethics. First, does a business have any responsibilities besides maximizing profit while following the law? The theory that it only has the responsibility to maximize profits is know as 'Shareholder Theory,' and whether you accept or reject shareholder theory is fundamental to your understanding of business ethics. This leads to the second question - if businesses do have ethical responsibilities, what would it means for a for-profit business to be ethical? And finally, why would any business want to be 'ethical'? The purpose of this module is to introduce these questions.

Begin Module

To Do List This Week

READ/WATCH/DO

Read for background for the next few weeks

Read & Watch for Online Discussion 5

- - How Could Ethics Enter Business?
  - Why Would Ethics Enter Business?

Read & Watch for Reading Question Set 5

- - Stakeholders
  - Reading Questions: Shareholder Theory Questions

TURN IN - Due on Sunday

Objectives

- To understand basic ethical terms and a framework for moral theories
- To understand the four basic organizational structures with respect to ethics
- To understand and appreciate the argument for Shareholder Theory