Ethics and responsibility (Advanced study course in business administration)

E2023

Business studies * / Business Administration and Leadership * / Business Administration and Leadership / Business Administration and Leadership

Course

English

Read about the Master Programme and find the Study Regulations at [ruc.dk](https://ruc.dk/kandidat/uddannelser "ruc.dk

You register for activities through stads selvbetjening during the announced registration period, which you can see on the Study administration homepage.

When registering for courses, please be aware of the potential conflicts and overlaps between course and exam time and dates. The planning of course activities at Roskilde University is based on the recommended study programmes, which should not overlap. However, if you choose optional courses and/or study plans that goes beyond the recommended study programmes, an overlap of lectures or exam dates may occur depending on which courses you choose.

5

Jacob Dahl Rendtorff (jacrendt@ruc.dk)

Mette Apollo Rasmussen (apollo@ruc.dk)

ISE Registration & Exams (ise-exams@ruc.dk)

U60026GB

Advanced study course in Business Administration

Via the course, students gain a critical insight into and understanding of the ethics and responsibilities of companies in relation to business and society. The student gains knowledge and understanding of corporate ethics and responsibility in relation to topical dilemmas concerning the relationship of companies with the outside world and democratic legitimacy. The course provides insight into the principal theories of business ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) and legitimacy, with in-depth case studies of companies in an international and global perspective.

The classes will consist of lectures by the professors and instructors based on prepared class readings by participants in the students. This will be combined with group preparations of class presentations for discussions in class based on case studies of home assignment. In addition, there will be short video presentations of cases of dilemmas of ethics and responsibility of business. Class discussions will lead to preparation of exams by groups of students who will present theory and practice of responsibility and ethics related specific business cases from business organizations.

It is expected that students will be about to analyse specific business ethics dilemmas using theories of responsible business to develop strategic decisions for taking appropriate action towards involved stakeholders. In this context, students are required to be able to apply ethical theory and reflective judgment to evaluate ethical issues of compliance and due diligence in business. This means that students should understand the different dimension of CSR, ESG and SDG strategies and justify decisions regarding business and society. Students should also be able to understand the different positions of responsible ethics and business and they are expected to perform critical analysis of the challenges and dilemmas that business are facing. This implies abilities of understanding the challenges of reflective and responsible leadership in practical business between market and society.

The total workload is approximately 135 hours. This is into the following activities:

20 hours lectures (10 x 2 lectures),

15 hours on student presentations + peer feedback exercises,

70 hours for individual study, group work discussions of texts,

30 hours for preparation of the synopsis for the exam (including the oral exam itself)

Selected journal articles and book chapters, which will be indicated on Moodle.

Examples of books:

• Rendtorff, Jacob Dahl (ed.) (2020). Handbook of Business Legitimacy. Responsibility, Ethics and Society. Cham: Springer International Publishers. (Available for free download online)

• Jacob Dahl Rendtorff (2018). Cosmopolitan Business Ethics. Towards a Global Ethos of Management, Routledge, London 2018 (Available as free e-book from the University library).

• Bonnafous-Boucher, Maria and Jacob Dahl Rendtorff (2016). Stakeholder Theory: A Model for Strategic Management. (Springer Briefs in Ethics). New York: Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Examples of journal articles:

• Carroll, Archie B. (1999). Corporate Social Responsibility: Evolution of a Definitional Construct, Business and Society1999 38: 268.

• Mitchell, Ronald K., Bradley R. Agle & Donna J. Wood (1997). “Toward a Theory of Stakeholder Identification and Salience: Defining the Principle of Who and What really counts”, Academy of Management Review, vol. 22, no. 4: 853-886.

• Scherer, Andreas Georg and Guido Palazzo (2011). The New Political Role of Business in a Globalized World: A Review of a New Perspective on CSR and its Implications for the Firm, Governance, and Democracy, Journal of Management Studies 48:4 June 2011.

• Suchman, M.C., (1995): “Managing Legitimacy: Strategic and Institutional Approaches”, Academy of Management Review, vol. 20, no. 3.

• Azizi, S. (2022) A National Governance Approach to the Political Nature and Role of Business: Case Study of the Mobile Telecommunications Industry in Afghanistan. Journal Business Ethics 177, 843–860

The classes will consist of lectures by the professors and instructors on the basis of prepared class readings by participants in the students. This will be combined with group preparations of class presentations for discussions in class based on case studies of home assignment. In addition, there will be short video presentations of cases of dilemmas of ethics and responsibilty of business. Class discussions will lead to preparation of exams by groups of students who will present theory and practice of responsibility and ethics related specific business cases from particular business organizations.

It is expected that students will be about to analyze specific business ethics dilemmas using theories of responsible business to develop strategic decisions for taking appropriate action towards involved stakeholders. In this context, students are required to be able to apply ethical theory and reflective judgment to evaluate ethical issues of compliance and due diligence in business. This means that students should understand the different dimension of CSR, ESG and SDG strategies and justify decisions regarding business and society. Students should also be able to understand the different positions of responsible ethics and business and they are expected to perform critical analysis of the challenges and dilemmas that business are facing. This implies abilities of understanding the challenges of reflective and responsible leadership in practical business between market and society.

The total workload is approximately 270 hours. This is into the following activities: 26 hours lectures (13 x 2 lectures), 26 hours on student presentations + peer feedback exercises, 60 hours for group work discussions of texts, 108 hours on weakly reading of curriculum texts (on average 8 hours reading per week), 50 hours for preparation of the exam (including the oral exam itself)

The activity are evaluated regularly regarding the study board evaluation procedure. The activity responsible will be orientated about a potential evaluation of the activity at semesterstart. Se link to the study board evaluation praxis here https://intra.ruc.dk/nc/for-ansatte/organisering/raad-naevn-og-udvalg/oversigt-over-studienaevn/studienaevn-for-erhvervsoekonomi-og-virksomhedsstudier/arbejdet-med-kvalitet-i-uddannelserne/

Key topics covered in the course:

• Introduction - major theoretical concepts, research methodology, and aim of the course and the requirements for the exam.

• Global corporations and business ethics, values, markets, and global capitalism.

• Managing legitimacy in business corporations.

• Ethics of the internal constituencies of the corporation and the external constituencies of the corporation.

• Sustainability, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and ethical principles: environmental dimensions of business ethics.

• Business ethics, CSR and corporate citizenship ethical guidelines for international business corporations.

• CSR and development nexus

• Political CSR

• Creating shared value and strategic CSR

• Triple bottom line and non-financial reporting

• CSR in developing country context.

• CSR, sustainability, and ethics in Small to Medium-Sized businesses

• Students acquire knowledge of the theory and practice of corporate ethics and social responsibility (CSR) in relation to legitimacy and society, and gain an understanding of ethical and responsible decision-making in managers in relation to the political and social role of companies in the societal complexity of globalisation. Through theory and case studies, students learn to address ethical challenges in responsible management and formulate strategies for legitimate business in relation to stakeholders in various cultural and social contexts. Finally, students acquire ethical formulation skills in relation to complex strategic decision-making in a global perspective.

Oral group exam based on a product written by a group.

Permitted group size: 2-6 students.

The character limit of the written product is:
For 2 students: maximum 14,400 characters, including spaces.
For 3 students: maximum 14,400 characters, including spaces.
For 4 students: maximum 14,400 characters, including spaces.
For 5 students: maximum 14,400 characters, including spaces.
For 6 students: maximum 14,400 characters, including spaces.
The character limits include the cover, table of contents, bibliography, figures and other illustrations, but exclude any appendices.

Time allowed for exam including time used for assessment is for:
2 students: 30 minutes.
3 students: 35 minutes.
4 students: 40 minutes.
5 students: 45 minutes.
6 students: 50 minutes.

The assessment is individual and based on the student's individual performance.
The assessment is an overall assessment of the written product(s) and the subsequent oral examination..

Permitted support and preparation materials at the oral exam: All.

Assessment: 7-point grading scale.
Moderation: Internal co-assessor.

Samme som ordinær eksamen / same form as ordinary exam

Demonstrate knowledge regarding the basic theories of business ethics and CSR
Analyze strategic problems and challenges of business ethics and CSR in business cases.
Develop and evaluate a business ethics case strategy based on theory and practice
Discuss reflect critically on the limits of different theories of business ethics and CSR
Compliance with all formalities and requirements for oral exams based on group products.