Students

PHIX201 – Business and Professional Ethics

2017 – S1 OUA

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
Jane Johnson
Contact via jane.johnson@mq.edu.au
Building W6A, Room 733
By appointment
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This unit provides students with an introduction to some of the main ethical issues raised by the activities of businesses and corporations as well as an introduction to some central topics in professional ethics. In the first part of the unit we examine the roles and responsibilities of corporations in relation to society and the environment. We ask whether corporations have moral responsibilities to stakeholders other than shareholders and examine competing accounts of economic justice related to this question. Other topics in this section include business and the environment and the ethics of advertising and marketing. The second part of the unit includes a discussion of ethical issues that arise in the context of relations between industry and the professions, focusing on justice in health research and conflicts of interest in medicine. Other topics in this section include ethics and globalisation, the influence of corporations on government, affirmative action, and whistleblowing. This unit is relevant to students in accounting and business as well as those in the humanities and social sciences. All enrolment queries should be directed to Open Universities Australia (OUA): see www.open.edu.au

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.open.edu.au/student-admin-and-support/key-dates/

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • Demonstrate good general knowledge of the major issues in contemporary business and professional ethics
  • Understand the major ethical concepts and theories that inform the business and professional ethics literature
  • Analyse and critically evaluate theories and arguments in the relevant literature
  • Relate ethical concepts and theories to relevant case studies and current events
  • Develop your own view or perspective,through consideration and analysis of views and arguments presented in the unit
  • Develop your skills in clarity of thought,clarity of verbal and written expression,and written argumentation

General Assessment Information

Written assignments are to be submitted through Turnitin, and will be marked and returned via Grademark. For information about these tools, see:

http://www.mq.edu.au/iLearn/student_info/assignments.htm

There is no need for a coversheet - the iLearn assignment submission (Turnitin) involves declaring your details and honesty in submitting your work. Please note, we do not accept submission by email attachment.

See the "Policies and Procedures" section below for more detail about relevant policies.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Moral Reasoning Assignment 30% No Sunday of Week 5
Participation 10% No Ongoing
Essay 40% No Sunday of Week 11
Take Home Exam 20% No Friday of Week 13

Moral Reasoning Assignment

Due: Sunday of Week 5
Weighting: 30%

This 800 word assignment provides an opportunity for you to relate the theoretical and conceptual issues discussed in classes and readings to relevant current events or issues.

This task will be assessed by the following criteria: content, structure, argument and critical analysis, written expression and referencing. A detailed rubric for this task will be supplied on iLearn.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate good general knowledge of the major issues in contemporary business and professional ethics
  • Understand the major ethical concepts and theories that inform the business and professional ethics literature
  • Analyse and critically evaluate theories and arguments in the relevant literature
  • Relate ethical concepts and theories to relevant case studies and current events
  • Develop your own view or perspective,through consideration and analysis of views and arguments presented in the unit
  • Develop your skills in clarity of thought,clarity of verbal and written expression,and written argumentation

Participation

Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 10%

Discussion is a vital part of learning in philosophy. Your participation mark will be assessed using the following criteria: quality of your posts and their timeliness (you should post within a week of the topic). Quality is not just measured by the philosophical content of your posts, but by your willingness to engage in discussion with your peers.

 

 

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate good general knowledge of the major issues in contemporary business and professional ethics
  • Understand the major ethical concepts and theories that inform the business and professional ethics literature
  • Relate ethical concepts and theories to relevant case studies and current events
  • Develop your own view or perspective,through consideration and analysis of views and arguments presented in the unit
  • Develop your skills in clarity of thought,clarity of verbal and written expression,and written argumentation

Essay

Due: Sunday of Week 11
Weighting: 40%

Essays develop your ability to engage with a topic in detail and to express, analyse and organize key ideas clearly and systematically. Students will complete a 1500 word essay.

This task will be assessed by the following criteria: content, structure, argument and critical analysis, written expression and referencing. A detailed rubric for this task will be supplied on iLearn.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate good general knowledge of the major issues in contemporary business and professional ethics
  • Understand the major ethical concepts and theories that inform the business and professional ethics literature
  • Analyse and critically evaluate theories and arguments in the relevant literature
  • Develop your own view or perspective,through consideration and analysis of views and arguments presented in the unit
  • Develop your skills in clarity of thought,clarity of verbal and written expression,and written argumentation

Take Home Exam

Due: Friday of Week 13
Weighting: 20%

The exam tests your general comprehension of key readings and arguments in each section of the unit and your ability to present your understanding of the texts clearly and succinctly. You will have 1 week to complete the take-home exam.

This task will be assessed by the following criteria: content, structure, argument and critical analysis, written expression and referencing. A detailed rubric for this task will be supplied on iLearn.

 

 

 

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate good general knowledge of the major issues in contemporary business and professional ethics
  • Understand the major ethical concepts and theories that inform the business and professional ethics literature
  • Develop your skills in clarity of thought,clarity of verbal and written expression,and written argumentation

Delivery and Resources

Required and recommended texts and/or materials

All required readings and most supplementary readings are available from eReserve. Consult the Unit Schedule for a week­ by week outline of required readings and supplementary readings.

 

 

Unit Schedule

Week 1

Introduction: Ultimate Values, Business and the Professions

All selections marked ** are on e-reserve

Essential Readings:

  • **Peter Singer, ‘The Ultimate Choice’, Ch. 1 of How are We to Live? Ethics in an age of self-interest, (Mandarin: Melbourne, 1995), pp. 1-25.
Further Reading:
  • **Robert Solomon, ‘Business Ethics’, in Peter Singer (ed.) A Companion to Ethics, (Blackwell:Oxford, 1991), pp. 354-365.
  • **Michael D. Bayles, ‘The Professions’, in Professional Ethics, 1981. Reprinted in Joan C. Callahan (ed.), Ethical Issues in Professional Life, (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1988), pp. 27-30.

Week 2

Ethics and the Nature of Moral Reasoning

Essential Readings:

  • **Stephen Cohen, ‘Top-down and Bottom-up Reasoning’ and ‘Reflective Equilibrium’, Chapters 4 and 5 of The Nature of Moral Reasoning, (Oxford: Oxford University Press 2004), pp. 59-74.
  • **Joan C. Callahan (ed.), ‘Some Major Distinctions and What Morality is Not’ and ‘Kinds of Moral Principles’ in Ch. 1 of Ethical Issues in Professional Life, Oxford University Press: Oxford), 1988, pp. 10-14 and 19-21.
  • **Damian Grace and Stephen Cohen, ‘Consequentialism’, ‘Nonconsequentialism’, ‘Virtue Ethics’, and ‘Relativism’, in Ch. 1. , Business Ethics, (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2010), pp. 15-27. 
Further Reading:
  • **Peter Singer, ‘What ethics is: one view’, in Practical Ethics, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1979), pp. 8-13.
  • **W.D. Ross, ‘The Personal Character of Duty’, The Right and the Good, 1930. Reprinted in Peter Singer (ed.), Ethics, (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1994), pp.332-337.

Week 3

The Social Responsibility of Business: The Narrow View

Essential Readings:

  • **Albert Z. Carr, ‘Is Business Bluffing Ethical?’ Harvard Business Review, January- February, 1968. Reprinted in Tom Beauchamp & Norman Bowie (eds.). Ethical Theory and Business, 6th edition, (Prentice Hall, 2001), pp. 501-506.
  • **Milton Friedman, ‘The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits’, New York Times Magazine, September, 1970. Reprinted in George D. Chryssides & John H. Kaler, An Introduction to Business Ethics’, (Chapman & Hall, London, 1993), pp. 249-254.
  • **William H. Shaw & Vincent Barry, ‘The Libertarian Approach’, in Ch. 3 of Shaw & Barry (eds.) Moral Issues in Business, 6th edition, (Wadsworth, Belmont, CA, 1995), pp. 110-117.

Further Reading:

  • **Norman Bowie, ‘Changing the Egoistic Paradigm’, Business Ethics Quarterly, Vol. 1. (Jan., 1991), pp. 1-21.
  • **John Wright, ‘What is Economic Rationalism’, Chap. 1 of The Ethics of Economic Rationalism, (UNSW Press, Sydney, 2003), pp. 3-18.

Week 4

The Social Responsibility of Business: Stakeholder Theory and Economic Justice

Essential Readings:

  • **William H. Shaw & Vincent Barry, ‘Justice and Economic Distribution’, Chap. 3 in Shaw & Barry (eds.) Moral Issues in Business, 6th edition, (Wadsworth, Belmont, CA, 1995), pp. 101-106.
  • **William M. Evan & R. Edward Freeman, ‘A stakeholder theory of the modern corporation: Kantian capitalism’. Reprinted in George D. Chryssides & John H. Kaler, An Introduction to Business Ethics’, (Chapman & Hall, London, 1993), pp. 254-266.
  • **Will Kymlicka, ‘The intuitive equality of opportunity argument’ in Contemporary Political Philosophy, 2nd edition, (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2002), pp. 57-60.

Further Reading:

a) Justice and Egalitarianism

  • **Will Kymlicka, ‘Internal problems’, in Contemporary Political Philosophy, 2nd edition, (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2002), pp. 70-75.
  • **Richard Norman, ‘Arguments for Equality’, in Free and Equal, (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1987), pp. 65-88.
  • **Peter Singer, ‘From equality of opportunity to equality of consideration’, in Chap. 2 of Practical Ethics, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1979), pp. 34-39.
  • **Peter Singer, ‘Rights and the Market’, in Justice and Economic Distribution, John Arthur and William Shaw (eds.), Prentice Hall, Inc, (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1978), pp. 207-221.
  • **Wilkinson and Pickett, ‘Poverty or Inequality?’ Chap. 2 of The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone, (Penguin Books, London, 2010), pp. 15-30.
  • **William H. Shaw & Vincent Barry, ‘Rawls’ Theory of Justice’, from Chap. 3, ‘Justice and Economic Distribution’, Shaw & Barry (eds.), Moral Issues in Business, 6th edition, (Wadsworth, Belmont, CA, 1995), pp. 117-125.

b) Stakeholder Theory

  • **K. E. Goodpaster, ‘Business Ethics and Stakeholder Analysis’, Business Ethics Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 1. (Jan., 1991), pp. 53-73.
  • **Neil A. Shankman, ‘Reframing the Debate between Agency and Stakeholder Theories of the Firm’, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 19, No. 4 (May, 1999), pp. 319-334.

Week 5

Ethical Issues in Advertising

Essential Readings:

  • ** Robert L. Arrington, ‘Advertising and Behavior Control’ in William H. Shaw and Vincent Barry, Moral Issues in Business. 8th edition (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2001.)
  • **Richard L. Lippke, ‘Advertising and the Social Conditions of Autonomy’ in William H. Shaw and Vincent Barry, Moral Issues in Business. 8th edition (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2001.)

Further Reading:

  • **Laura Hartmann, Perspectives in Business Ethics, 2nd edition (McGraw’Hill/Irwin, Boston, 2002. Ch.9, 'Ethics and Marketing', pp. 490-575.    

 

Week 6

Business and the Environment

Essential Readings:

  • **Partick G. Derr and Edward M. McNamara, ‘A Word about Ethical Theories’ in Case Studies in Environmental Ethics xv-xxi, Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers Incorporated, 2003. **Joe DesJardins, ‘Corporate Environmental Responsibility’ in Journal of Business Ethics 17, 1998, pp. 825-838.
  • **R.D. Bullard, ‘Overcoming Racism in Environmental Decision Making.’ Environment 36, 4, 1994, pp. 10-17.
Further Reading:
  • **S. Salman Hussain, ‘The Ethics of ‘Going Green’: The Corporate Social Responsibility Debate’ in Business Strategy and the Environment 8, 1999, pp. 203-210.
  • **T. W. Hartley, ‘Environmental Justice: an environmental civil rights value acceptable to all world views.’ Environmental Ethics 17, 3, 1995, pp. 277-289.

Week 7

Discrimination and Affirmative Action

Essential Readings:

  • **Richard De George, ‘Discrimination, Affirmative Action, and Reverse Discrimination’,Ch. 16 of Richard de George, Business Ethics, 4th edition, (New Jersey, Prentice Hall,1995), pp. 421- 450.

Further Reading:

  • **Louis P. Pojman, ‘The Moral Status of Affirmative Action’, in W. Michael Hoffman,Robert E. Frederick & Mark Schwartz (eds.) Business Ethics: Readings and Cases in Corporate Morality, 4th edition (New York, McGraw-Hill, 2001), pp. 303-315

  • **Edwin C. Hettinger, ‘What is Wrong with Reverse Discrimination?’ in W. Michael Hoffman, Robert E. Frederick & Mark Schwartz (eds.) Business Ethics: Readings and Cases in Corporate Morality, 4th edition (New York, McGraw-Hill, 2001), pp. 315-322

 

 MID-SEMESTER BREAK - 2 WEEKS

Week 8

Corporate Influence on Government

Essential Readings:

  • **B. Hourigan, ‘Who Pays? Political Donations and Democratic Accountability’, IPA Review, 2006, 58(3), pp. 12-15.
  • **Leonard J. Weber, ‘Citizenship and Democracy: The Ethics of Corporate Lobbying,’ Business Ethics Quarterly, 1996, Vol. 6, 2, pp. 253-259.

Further Reading:

  • Sally Young and Joo-Cheong Tham, ‘Private Funding of Political Parties’, Ch. 2 in Political Finance in Australia: a skewed and secret system?, 2006, available at:http://democraticaudit.org.au/?page_id=15
(Scroll down list of discussion papers until you find the relevant pdf.)

Week 9

Justice and Globalisation

Essential Readings:

  • **Thomas Pogge, ‘Moral Universalism and Global Economic Justice’, Chapter 4 of World Poverty and Human Rights (Oxford, Blackwell, 2002), pp. 91-117.
  • **Susan Black and Allen Myerson ‘Are Sweatshops Necessarily Evil?’ Ch. 16 of Lisa Newton and Maureen Ford (Eds) Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Business Ethics and Society, (New York, McGraw-Hill, 2004) pp. 306-315. 

Further Reading:

  • **Denis G. Arnold and Norman E. Bowie, ‘Sweatshops and Respect for Persons’, Business Ethics Quarterly, 2003, Vol. 13, Issue 2, pp. 221-242.  
  • **Peter Singer, ‘One Economy’, ch. 3 in One World – the Ethics of Globalisation, (Melbourne, Text, 2002), pp.58-119. 
  • **Joseph Stiglitz, ‘The Promise of Global Institutions’, ch. 1 in Globalization and its Discontents, (London, Allen Lane, 2002), pp. 3-22

Week 10

 

Industry Relations with the Professions

Essential Readings:

  • **Wendy Rogers and Angela Ballantyne, ‘Justice in Health Research: What is the Role of Evidence-Based Medicine?’ Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 52, 2, 2009, pp. 188-202.

  • **Dana J, Loewenstein G. A social science perspective on gifts to physicians from industry. JAMA. 2003; 290(2):252-255. 15. 

Further Reading:

a) Relations with the Pharmaceutical Industry

  • **Elliott, C. 2004. Pharma goes to the laundry. Hastings Cent Rep 34 (5):18-23.

  • **Elliott, C. 2008. Guinea-pigging: healthy human subjects for drug safety trials are in demand. But is it a living? New Yorker 7:36-41. 

  • **Healy, D., and D. Cattell. 2003. Interface between authorship, industry and science in the domain of therapeutics. Br J Psychiatry 183:22-7.

  • **Wazana A. Physicians and the pharmaceutical industry: is a gift ever just a gift? JAMA. 2000;283 (3):373-380.

b) Conflicts of Interest 

  • **Carson TL. Conflicts of interest and self-dealing in the professions: a review essay. Business Ethics Quarterly 2004; 14 (1): 161-182.

  • **David M. Conflict of Interest. Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics, Vol 1 pp 589-595.

  • **Pritchard M. Conflicts of Interest: conceptual and normative issues. Academic Medicine 1996; 71 (12): 1305-1313. 

  • **Stark A. Comparing conflict of interest across the professions. In Davis and Stark (eds) Conflict of Interest in the Professions. NY: OUP; 2001, pp 335-351.

  • **Warner TD and Roberts LW. Scientific integrity, fidelity and conflicts of interest in research. Current Opinion in Psychiatry 2004; 17: 381-385.

Week 11

 

 

 

 

Week 12

Week 11: Professional Morality and Codes of Conduct

Essential Reading:

**John Kultgen, ‘The Ideological Use of Professional Codes’, in J. Callahan (ed.) Ethical Issue in Professional Life (OUP, Oxford, 1988), pp. 411-421

Further Reading:

 **Benjamin Freedman, ‘A Meta-ethics for Professional Morality’, Ethics, Vol. 89, No.1 (Oct. 1978), pp.1-19.  

Week 12: Whistleblowing

Essential Readings:

  • **M. Davis, ‘Whistleblowing’, in Hugh LaFollette (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Practical Ethics (Oxford, OUP, 2003), pp. 539-563

Further Reading:
  • **Richard de George ‘Whistle Blowing’ in W. Michael Hoffman, Robert E. Frederick & Mark Schwartz (eds.) Business Ethics: Readings and Cases in Corporate Morality, 4th edition (New York, McGraw-Hill, 2001), pp.285-302

  

Policies and Procedures

Late Submission - applies unless otherwise stated elsewhere in the unit guide

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.

Extension Request

Special Consideration Policy and Procedure (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration)

The University recognises that students may experience events or conditions that adversely affect their academic performance. If you experience serious and unavoidable difficulties at exam time or when assessment tasks are due, you can consider applying for Special Consideration.

You need to show that the circumstances:

  1. were serious, unexpected and unavoidable
  2. were beyond your control
  3. caused substantial disruption to your academic work
  4. substantially interfered with your otherwise satisfactory fulfilment of the unit requirements
  5. lasted at least three consecutive days or a total of 5 days within the teaching period and prevented completion of an assessment task scheduled for a specific date.

If you feel that your studies have been impacted submit an application as follows:

  1. Visit Ask MQ and use your OneID to log in
  2. Fill in your relevant details
  3. Attach supporting documents by clicking 'Add a reply', click 'Browse' and navigating to the files you want to attach, then click 'Submit Form' to send your notification and supporting documents
  4. Please keep copies of your original documents, as they may be requested in the future as part of the assessment process

Outcome

Once your submission is assessed, an appropriate outcome will be organised.

OUA Specific Policies and Procedures

Withdrawal from a unit after the census date

You can withdraw from your subjects prior to the census date (last day to withdraw). If you successfully withdraw before the census date, you won’t need to apply for Special Circumstances. If you find yourself unable to withdraw from your subjects before the census date - you might be able to apply for Special Circumstances. If you’re eligible, we can refund your fees and overturn your fail grade.

If you’re studying Single Subjects using FEE-HELP or paying up front, you can apply online.

If you’re studying a degree using HECS-HELP, you’ll need to apply directly to Macquarie University.

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html​

Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html

Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

Creative and Innovative

Our graduates will also be capable of creative thinking and of creating knowledge. They will be imaginative and open to experience and capable of innovation at work and in the community. We want them to be engaged in applying their critical, creative thinking.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Analyse and critically evaluate theories and arguments in the relevant literature
  • Relate ethical concepts and theories to relevant case studies and current events
  • Develop your own view or perspective,through consideration and analysis of views and arguments presented in the unit
  • Develop your skills in clarity of thought,clarity of verbal and written expression,and written argumentation

Assessment tasks

  • Moral Reasoning Assignment
  • Participation
  • Essay

Capable of Professional and Personal Judgement and Initiative

We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Relate ethical concepts and theories to relevant case studies and current events
  • Develop your own view or perspective,through consideration and analysis of views and arguments presented in the unit
  • Develop your skills in clarity of thought,clarity of verbal and written expression,and written argumentation

Assessment tasks

  • Moral Reasoning Assignment
  • Participation

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Our graduates will have enquiring minds and a literate curiosity which will lead them to pursue knowledge for its own sake. They will continue to pursue learning in their careers and as they participate in the world. They will be capable of reflecting on their experiences and relationships with others and the environment, learning from them, and growing - personally, professionally and socially.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • Develop your own view or perspective,through consideration and analysis of views and arguments presented in the unit

Assessment tasks

  • Moral Reasoning Assignment
  • Participation

Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills

Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Demonstrate good general knowledge of the major issues in contemporary business and professional ethics
  • Understand the major ethical concepts and theories that inform the business and professional ethics literature

Assessment tasks

  • Moral Reasoning Assignment
  • Participation
  • Essay
  • Take Home Exam

Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Understand the major ethical concepts and theories that inform the business and professional ethics literature
  • Analyse and critically evaluate theories and arguments in the relevant literature
  • Relate ethical concepts and theories to relevant case studies and current events
  • Develop your own view or perspective,through consideration and analysis of views and arguments presented in the unit
  • Develop your skills in clarity of thought,clarity of verbal and written expression,and written argumentation

Assessment tasks

  • Moral Reasoning Assignment
  • Participation
  • Essay
  • Take Home Exam

Problem Solving and Research Capability

Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Analyse and critically evaluate theories and arguments in the relevant literature
  • Relate ethical concepts and theories to relevant case studies and current events
  • Develop your own view or perspective,through consideration and analysis of views and arguments presented in the unit
  • Develop your skills in clarity of thought,clarity of verbal and written expression,and written argumentation

Assessment tasks

  • Moral Reasoning Assignment
  • Participation
  • Essay
  • Take Home Exam

Effective Communication

We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Analyse and critically evaluate theories and arguments in the relevant literature
  • Relate ethical concepts and theories to relevant case studies and current events
  • Develop your skills in clarity of thought,clarity of verbal and written expression,and written argumentation

Assessment tasks

  • Moral Reasoning Assignment
  • Participation
  • Essay
  • Take Home Exam

Engaged and Ethical Local and Global citizens

As local citizens our graduates will be aware of indigenous perspectives and of the nation's historical context. They will be engaged with the challenges of contemporary society and with knowledge and ideas. We want our graduates to have respect for diversity, to be open-minded, sensitive to others and inclusive, and to be open to other cultures and perspectives: they should have a level of cultural literacy. Our graduates should be aware of disadvantage and social justice, and be willing to participate to help create a wiser and better society.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • Develop your own view or perspective,through consideration and analysis of views and arguments presented in the unit

Assessment tasks

  • Moral Reasoning Assignment
  • Participation
  • Essay

Socially and Environmentally Active and Responsible

We want our graduates to be aware of and have respect for self and others; to be able to work with others as a leader and a team player; to have a sense of connectedness with others and country; and to have a sense of mutual obligation. Our graduates should be informed and active participants in moving society towards sustainability.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • Develop your own view or perspective,through consideration and analysis of views and arguments presented in the unit

Assessment tasks

  • Moral Reasoning Assignment
  • Participation
  • Take Home Exam