Teaching business ethics 28Jan2009
I was torn last week in putting together my business ethics syllabus. It seems there are two main routes one can take.
- The Standard Route, in which one surveys the philosophical topics in a business ethics textbook (e.g., whistleblowing, employee privacy, discrimination, sexual harassment, advertising, the environment, etc), or
- The Humanistic Route, in which one focuses on larger questions about the place of business in our lives and happiness, usually within a general Liberal Arts framework.
I haven’t seen many of the latter, but the former strikes me as altogether too conservative. Virtually every business ethics textbook just assumes the business is (ought?) to be done in a capitalist system. Certain practices within that system are discussed, to be sure. But the larger questions of well-being, fairness, and equality under that system go untouched.
I only know exception to these textbooks: Shari Collins-Chobanian’s Ethical Challenges to Business as Usual (Prentice Hall, 2004)—the title is self-explanatory. It’s worth pointing out, though, that one friend confessed that when she taught the book last semester, “the students caught on to me!” She says they quickly saw the (largely) Marxist bent of the readings, rejected them out of hand, and became indignant in the class against her.
I think there’s some worth exposing students to arguments they haven’t seen before and asking them to reflect critically on things they take for granted—that’s what I always did in philosophy courses. But I think there’s also an argument for providing students with a more standard course, comparable to similar courses at other schools.
In looking at the Lehman catalog, I was pleased to see a fairly broad description of the course:
Social responsibilities of business organizations. Analysis of ethical, moral, and social issues stemming from the interaction of individuals, businesses, and government.
With this larger, social-political frame in mind, I focused the class around four units that proceed in historical and conceptual order:
- Moral Sentiments and Material Interests—an overview of Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments and Wealth of Nations, in which we’ll pay special attention to how Smith conceived of his system as a whole, with individuals arranged to compete and produce goods and wealth for the whole society, while providing a sympathetic safety net for whose who might fall through
- Work, Well-Being, and Wealth—a survey of Marx’s Capital, with its somewhat different account of human nature, and more recent literature on economic justice
- Corporate Responsibility—which focuses on the dominant business unit of the 20th Century, the corporation, and considers its responsibilities, accountability structures, and possible punishments
- Topics in Business Ethics—where we finally arrive after asking broader questions about human nature and the nature of business. (I’ll give my students choice over which topics we cover.)
My sense is that this strikes a balance between the standard topics and the need to—in this course, if only this course—step back from the practice of business and consider its more theoretical foundations.
The full syllabus is up on the course page.
