Marketing Fundamentals - BUAD 307 s6

MOR 421 Social and Ethical Issues in Business

Spring 2013 MW 12 – 1:50 p.m.

Professor: Katharine Harrington

Office: TGF 200 213-740-0153

Office Phone: 213-740-0153

E-mail: [email protected]

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Sub-prime lending, “Too big to fail”, the “Fiscal Cliff”, conducting business across cultures … ethics is not for sissies!!

Business, government, and society are part of a complex and interdependent system. This course will help you develop a foundation of knowledge and skills that you will be able to use to critically examine this system. You are likely to find that these skills are crucial to anticipating and responding to a variety of important issues and threats throughout your professional careers. Not to mention staying out of jail!!

We will use broad themes and diverse source materials to study social and ethical issues in business that are related to such things as: financial practices; marketing tactics; product development and product liability; responsibilities to customers; ethical issues in international business; the duties and responsibilities of employers; and managing in a regulated environment.

Our emphasis will be on REAL WORLD business issues and challenges, recognizing and mitigating risk, policy development, and crisis management strategies.

MOR 421 will immerse students in a multi-disciplinary approach to the normative analysis of business issues. Using a variety of case studies and current events, we will analyze and make reasoned judgments about ethical dilemmas that may arise.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Throughout the semester, we will focus on the following learning objectives:

1. Developing the ability to identify ethical and socially sensitive issues in business; 2. Using various analytic models to critically examine these issues; 3. Reaching decisions regarding these issues and developing accompanying policy recommendations; 4. Developing an awareness of the extent to which business shapes and is shaped by society. MOR-421 Syllabus—Page 1 of 7 PREREQUISITES: BUAD 304

REQUIRED READING

Course Reader An Enemy of the People, Ibsen (any version)

GRADING

Points % of Grade Participation 150 15% Issue of the Day 150 15% Mid-Term Exam 200 20% Group Case Study 200 20% Final Exam 300 30% TOTAL 1,000 100.0%

Participation

Your learning experience in this course and the experience of your colleagues depend on your interactive participation. This requires thoughtful preparation prior to class and engagement in class discussion.

Issue of the Day

Each student will be responsible for leading one class discussion about a current issue. These issues should relate to the case or topic for the particular class session. You will also turn in a brief (3-5 page) written summary of the issue and the original article. Your grade will be based on how well you do the following:

1. Present a concise overview of the issue 2. Analyze the ethical issues or tensions present in the particular topic 3. Pose at least 3 discussion questions that link your issue with the topic for that day’s class 4. Facilitate the class discussion within the allotted time (10-15 minutes) 5. Prepare a written summary that describes your analysis and your answers to the discussion questions

Mid-Term Exam

The mid-term exam will be a combination of short answer and essay questions. The material covered will include all material covered in class up to that point in time.

Group Case Study

At the beginning of the semester you will form working groups of 3-5 students/group. These groups will work together on in-class exercises, prepare weekly assigned cases, and complete one group assignment on a topic of your choosing. This group case study should

2 reflect an in-depth analysis of an organizational situation, problem, or issue with substantive ethical dimensions. You may focus on a topic of current or you may choose to examine an issue from your own experience or another area of interest. You should be sure to:

 Identify the stakeholders and their interests;  Identify the ethical issues clearly;  Identify and describe the major social, economic, and/or legal factors that impact the issue;  Analyze the available options; and  Propose and defend a resolution.

Each group will make a presentation of their case study to the entire class on one of the last two scheduled class meetings. Each group will also turn in a 15 - 20-page summary of the case and the group’s analysis, and printed copies of any visual material used in the presentation.

Final Exam

The final exam will be a combination of short answer and a brief case study. The material covered will be limited to the topics covered after the midterm.

Final Grades

Final grades represent how you perform in the class relative to other students. Your grade will not be based on a mandated target, but on your performance. Historically, the average grade for this class is about a (B+). Three items are considered when assigning final grades: 1. Your average weighted score as a percentage of the available points for all assignments (the points you receive divided by the number of points possible). 2. The overall average percentage score within the class. 3. Your ranking among all students in the class.

MARSHALL GUIDELINES

Add/Drop Process

If you are absent three or more times prior to February 1, 2013 (the last day to withdraw from a course with a grade of “W”), I may ask you to withdraw from the class by that date.

Statement for Students with Disabilities

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me (or to your TA) as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776. For more information visit www.usc.edu/disability .

MOR-421 Syllabus—Page 3 of 7 Statement on Academic Integrity

USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that individual work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect one’s own academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another’s work as one’s own. All students are expected to understand and abide by these principles. SCampus, the Student Guidebook, (www.usc.edu/scampus or http://scampus.usc.edu) contains the University Student Conduct Code (see University Governance, Section 11.00), while the recommended sanctions are located in Appendix A.

Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for further review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be found at: http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/ . Failure to adhere to the academic conduct standards set forth by these guidelines and our programs will not be tolerated by the USC Marshall community and can lead to dismissal.

[NB: It’s an ethics class, for crying out loud!!]

Emergency Preparedness/Course Continuity

In case of a declared emergency if travel to campus is not feasible, USC executive leadership will announce an electronic way for instructors to teach students in their residence halls or homes using a combination of Blackboard, teleconferencing, and other technologies.

Please activate your course in Blackboard with access to the course syllabus. Whether or not you use Blackboard regularly, these preparations will be crucial in an emergency. USC's Blackboard learning management system and support information is available at blackboard.usc.edu.

4 COURSE CALENDAR/READINGS/CLASS SESSIONS

ETHICS AND PERSONAL CHARACTER Week 1 Jan 14 Introduction to the course. Sign-up for Issue of the Day presentations

Jan 16 Reading: Introduction to Ethics ELC: Meyers-Briggs Form Groups for Case Study Assignment

Week 2 Jan 23 Reading: The Discipline of Building Character Reading: The Parable of the Sadhu Case: Buffalo Savings Bank

Week 3 Jan 28 Reading: Normative Foundations of Business Case: Ford Pinto

Jan 30 ELC: Exercise

DYNAMICS OF THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT Week 4 Feb 4 Organizational Culture and Organizational Decision Making Case: Space Shuttle Challenger

Feb 6 Case: Space Shuttle Columbia

Week 5 Feb 11 Whistle Blowing Reading/Case: An Enemy of the People

Feb 13 Privacy In the Workplace Google and the “Super Search” Week 6 Feb 20 Truth In Advertising? Sub-Prime Lending

Week 7

MOR-421 Syllabus—Page 5 of 7 Feb 25 Case Study TBD

Feb 27 Case Study TBD

Week 8 Mar 4 Allocating Public Goods State Medicaid Coverage Decisions

Mar 6 Work on Group Cases

Week 9 Mar 11 Mid-Term Review

Mar 13 Mid-Term Examination

Week 10 Mar 25 Balancing Multiple Stakeholder Interests Case: Burroughs Welcome and the Pricing of AZT

Mar 27 Corporate Culture Case: Merck and River Blindness

Week 11 Apr 1 Bio-Medical Ethics Case: Genetic Testing

Apr 3 Bio-Medical Ethics Case: Genetic Testing

ETHICS AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS Week 12 Apr 8 Case: Bhopal - Union Carbide in India

Apr 10 Case: Bhopal - Union Carbide in India

Week 13 Apr 15 Case: Chiquita in Columbia

Apr 17 Case: GE Ultrasound In India

Week 14 Apr 22 Case: Nestle and the Marketing of Infant Formula 6 Apr 24 Case: Nestle and the Marketing of Infant Formula

Week 15 Apr 29 Case Study Presentations

May 1 Case Study Presentations

FINAL Date

Please note: The date/time of the Final Exam is determined by the University. For the date and time of the final for this class, consult the USC Schedule of Classes at www.usc.edu/soc. Select the corresponding semester to view and click on the “Final Examinations Schedule” link on the left side of the screen.

MOR-421 Syllabus—Page 7 of 7