Course Syllabus
Course Information
3 credits
Fully Online
This course focuses on business ethics and the ways that ethical decisions both challenge and benefit businesses. This course relies on stories that have actually happened in real businesses, with a focus on both good and poor ethical decision making. Through these stories, students will explore the relationship of ethical thinking to stakeholders, corporate responsibility, sustainability, sharing information, organization culture, global business, and leadership. Students will analyze important variables in the decision making process and develop their own philosophy about what is important in business ethics.
Prerequisites
none
Course Materials
Required Textbook
Ferrell, O., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2022). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases (13th ed.). Cengage. ISBN-13: 978-0357513361
NOTE: This text is offered as a Kindle version.
Course Resources
The Library Course Page in the Canvas navigation menu provides resources through the UMN libraries.
Student Help provides links to important resources for academic and technology support, career research, and services for dealing with stress, time management, and other student counseling offices.
Technical Requirements
Browsers
You will need to use a browser as your primary method of accessing this course. The Canvas mobile apps should only be used as a supplement. To learn about browser compatibility with Canvas, visit the Supported Browsers (Links to an external site.) page.
Webcam / Microphone - Headset (Online courses only)
You will need a functional webcam for video conferencing and a headset-microphone to assure good audio quality.
Learning Outcomes
Course Outcomes
- Define the characteristics of business ethics
- Connect the characteristics of business ethics to: stakeholders, corporate responsibility and sustainability, sharing information, organizational culture, global business, and leadership
- Describe the impact of business ethics decisions on the organization and its outcomes
- Describe the impact of business ethics on us as consumers
- Evaluate the effectiveness of business ethics decisions on real-life cases
- Create a philosophy of business ethics that includes both theory and action
Course Policies
Grade Calculation
Your grades are calculated using weighted assignment groups, not using total points earned. However, there is no need to try to calculate your grade by hand. Use Canvas' What-If Grades feature to approximate your grade.
Grade Distribution
Grading and Transcripts: Twin Cities, Crookston, Morris, Rochester
| Grade | Percentage |
|---|---|
| A | 100% to 93% |
| A- | < 93% to 90% |
| B+ | <90% to 87% |
| B | < 87% to 83% |
| B- | < 83% to 80% |
| C+ | < 80% to 77% |
| C | < 77% to 73% |
| C- | < 73% to 70% |
| D+ | < 70% to 67% |
| D | < 67% to 60% |
| F | < 60% to 0% |
| Grade | Percentage |
|---|---|
| S | 100% to 70% |
| N | < 70% to 0% |
Late Submissions
Assignments, quizzes, and Module LESSONS may be submitted up to one week late for a 20% late penalty.
No late assignments will be accepted during the final week of class without an exception granted by the instructor in advance.
No assignments may be submitted after the last day of class.
For discussions, late initial posts have points deducted according to the grading rubric. Responses to classmates are not accepted late.
Extenuating circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the instructor. It is the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor before the due date when possible.
University Policies
COVID-19 Face Covering Protocol
Please follow the protocols listed in Face Covering Protocol.
Make-up Work for Legitimate Absences
Students will not be penalized for absence during the semester due to unavoidable or legitimate circumstances. The UMN Policy on Makeup Work allows for circumstances such as: verified illness, participation in intercollegiate athletic events, subpoenas, jury duty, military service, bereavement, and religious observances. Such circumstances do not include voting in local, state, or national elections. You are responsible for informing your instructor as soon as possible of missed classes and provide documentation of the reason for absence.
Incompletes
Incompletes require a written agreement between instructor and student. The student must initiate the e-form, which is available on the One Stop website Forms page. For more information, see Grading and Transcripts: Twin Cities, Crookston, Morris, Rochester.
Withdrawals
For details check the Cancel/add & refund deadlines page and step -by-step guide to drop a class.
Expected Student Academic Work per Credit
UMN defines one undergraduate credit as equivalent to 42-45 hours of learning effort distributed across a semester (including all classroom and outside activities). Please review the UMN Policy on Expected Student Academic Work per Credit.
Academic Policies and Accommodations
Here is a link for Academic Policies and Accommodations
Veteran Students
Veterans and active duty military personnel with special circumstances (e.g., upcoming deployments, drill requirements, disabilities) are welcome and encouraged to communicate these, in advance if possible, to the instructor.
Modules
Course content is divided into modules that run from Monday at 12:01am through Sunday at 11:59pm US Central Time (UTC-06:00). Due dates are communicated within each Assignment tool.
Changes to the course schedule may occur and will automatically be reflected in the Course Summary section below.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|