Course Outline and Syllabus
BU/RE 334  Business Ethics
Chaminade University of Honolulu
Winter Evening 2004-2005, Online

Instructor:                         
Joe Johnson                    
Contact Information: [email protected]
Course Description:
 Examines ethical issues in the field of business through a study of both ethical theories and actual cases, with attention to both the personal and social dimensions of problems.
Course Objectives: Upon completing this course, one should be able to:
  • use key terminology of ethical theory properly
  • explain alternative approaches to questions of ethics and social justice, and the difficulties associated with each
  • explain the philosophical presuppositions that underlie key concepts of capitalist economics, and the arguments for and against these
  • apply the measures of alternative ethical approaches to the internal and external behavior of corporations and the individuals composing them
Text Books:
 William H. Shaw, Business Ethics, 5th Ed.  (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2005)
Class Requirements:
Completion of weekly assignments (50% of grade).  Assignments, based on the readings, will be posted weekly, sometimes requiring responses directly to the instructor, other times to the class discussion board.
Midterm exam (25% of grade).  This will be an online exam covering the first four chapters of assigned material.
Final exam (25% of grade).  This will be a written exam covering material from the last half of the course.  (Chaminade requires that the final exam for online courses be taken in person at a designated site.  Details will be worked out toward the end of the term.)
Schedule:
Online, January 10 - March 23, 2005.  Weekly assignments will be posted by Monday morning, Hawaii time.  They must be completed by Sunday night, Hawaii time.
Grading Scale: 
The Chaminade catalogue explains letter grades as follows:  A=outstanding scholarship and an unusual degree of intellectual initiative; B=superior work done in a consistent and intellectual manner; C=average grade indicating a competent grasp of subject matter; D=inferior work of the lowest passing grade, not satisfactory for fulfillment of prerequisite course work; F=failed to grasp the minimum subject matter; no credit given.  With this in mind, grades will be assigned as follows:
A = 90 -100%
B = 80 - 89%
C = 70 - 79%
D = 60 - 69%
F < 60%

Detailed Schedule

Start       
Assignment Due
Week 1 Jan 10
 Jan 16
 Chapter 1, The Nature of Morality
Week 2
 Jan 17
 Jan 23
 Chapter 2, Normative Theories of Ethics
Week 3
 Jan 24
 Jan 30
 Chapter 3, Justice and Economic Distribution
Week 4
 Jan 31
 Feb 6
 Chapter 4, The Nature of Capitalism
Week 5
 Feb 7
 (to be negotiated)
 ** Midterm Exam (online) **
Week 6
 Feb 14
 Feb 20
 Chapter 5, Corporations
Week 7
 Feb 21
 Feb 27
 Chapter 6, The Workplace (1): Basic Issues
Week 8
 Feb 28
 Mar 6
 Chapter 9, Job Discrimination
Week 9
 Mar 7
 Mar 13
 Chapter 11, The Environment
Week 10
 Mar 14
 (to be determined)
 ** Final Exam (in person, at designated testing center) **