Students

ACCG8048 – Business and Professional Ethics

2023 – Session 1, Online-scheduled-weekday

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convener
Dr Dale Tweedie
dale.tweedie@mq.edu.au
E4A342
See ilearn for details
Moderator
Dr Andreas Hellmann
andreas.hellmann@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
20cp at 6000 level or above including ACCG611 or ACCG6011 or ACCG614 or ACCG6014 or MGNT603 or ACCG6003
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

The principal aim of this unit is to provide students with an understanding of the main ethical issues raised by the activities of the business and corporate sphere, both in relation to the society and environment within which they operate, and in relation to individuals employed within corporations. The unit has a strong research focus and students will apply the theoretical knowledge gained in the course to real-world situations. After completing the unit, students will be able to recognise and confidently engage with the complex ethical issues that will inevitably arise during the course of their careers.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

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

  • ULO1: Investigate major issues in contemporary business and professional ethics and articulate a clear and informed ethical position on these issues.
  • ULO2: Critically interpret the major ethical theories that have informed the development of the business ethics literature and articulate their own ethical perspective.
  • ULO3: Analyse and critically evaluate moral theories and arguments.
  • ULO4: Relate ethical theories to relevant real-world business cases and current events.

General Assessment Information

Late submissions of written assessments

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern.   

For any late submissions of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration. 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Participation 10% No Ongoing
Tutorial assignment 20% No Week 6
Ethics theory essay 30% No Week 8
Case study essay 40% No Week 13

Participation

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 26 hours
Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 10%

 

Active participation is expected of students as discussion is an essential part of developing ethical sensitivity and skill. Seminars should be used by students to test their understanding of the unit in an environment where immediate feedback is available from the convenor and students should be well prepared for seminars. Students should be engaged with the issues relevant to the seminar and be involved in seminar activities, particularly, responding to, and asking, questions – being active is an important aspect of both study and professional practice and seminars will be of more benefit to all students if each individual is willing to participate. Marks will be released within 1 week of the last tutorial.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Investigate major issues in contemporary business and professional ethics and articulate a clear and informed ethical position on these issues.
  • Critically interpret the major ethical theories that have informed the development of the business ethics literature and articulate their own ethical perspective.
  • Analyse and critically evaluate moral theories and arguments.

Tutorial assignment

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 6
Weighting: 20%

 

The tutorial assignment requires students to write short responses to questions based on the weekly lectures and readings. The task will also require students to engage with contemporary ethics cases and events in the workplace. The task will be short answer questions with a maximum of 1200 words. Questions will be available on iLearn at least two weeks prior to the due date.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Investigate major issues in contemporary business and professional ethics and articulate a clear and informed ethical position on these issues.
  • Critically interpret the major ethical theories that have informed the development of the business ethics literature and articulate their own ethical perspective.
  • Analyse and critically evaluate moral theories and arguments.

Ethics theory essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: Week 8
Weighting: 30%

 

This assignment requires that students write an essay that demonstrates understanding of the core ethics theories and frameworks covered in the course, and a capacity to see how these theories and frameworks would apply to contemporary business ethics issues. The task should be essay format, and is a maximum of 1500 words (excluding references). Questions and a marking rubric will be available on iLearn at least 4 weeks prior to the due date.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically interpret the major ethical theories that have informed the development of the business ethics literature and articulate their own ethical perspective.
  • Analyse and critically evaluate moral theories and arguments.
  • Relate ethical theories to relevant real-world business cases and current events.

Case study essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 35 hours
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 40%

 

This task requires students to undertake a detailed analysis of an ethical issue and draw upon the major ethical theories covered in the unit in order to arrive at a position. Students are also expected to extend their analysis by engaging with relevant academic literature and offer concrete recommendations as a result of their conclusion. The essay should be a maximum of 2000 words (excluding references). Questions and a marking rubric will be available on iLearn at least 4 weeks prior to the due date.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Investigate major issues in contemporary business and professional ethics and articulate a clear and informed ethical position on these issues.
  • Critically interpret the major ethical theories that have informed the development of the business ethics literature and articulate their own ethical perspective.
  • Analyse and critically evaluate moral theories and arguments.
  • Relate ethical theories to relevant real-world business cases and current events.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Please refer to iLearn for details of the required text, resources and other unit delivery information.

Unit Schedule

Topic

Seminar topic

Ethical issue

Ethical theory

1

Business ethics: Science or art?

Introduction

Introduction

2

When in Rome, do what exactly?

Globalisation and bribery

Ethical relativism

3

Should we sweat about sweatshops?

Labour outsourcing

Utilitarian ethics

4

Rights at work

Employee responsibilities and whistleblowing

Kantian ethics

5

Customers – Right, or ripped off?

Customers

Virtue ethics

6

Capitalism and its Critics

Corporate social responsibility

Critical theory

7

A Third way? Stakeholder Ethics and Moral Imagination

Stakeholder reporting

Stakeholder theory

 

Recess

 

 

8

Whose planet? Which sustainability? Ethics and the Environment

The environment

Environmental ethics

9

How simple is safety?

Workplace health and safety

Discourse ethics

10

 Different like me? Diversity and Discrimination

Discrimination and harassment at work

Discrimination Law

11

You did what? Ethics and risk in organisations

Organisational ethics

Situationist ethics

12

Ethics in digital environments

Privacy and e-business

Stoicism

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

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

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

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.

Changes from Previous Offering

Some topics and materials have been updated to reflect contemporary developments and materials.

Unit information based on version 2023.03 of the Handbook