BLACK RIVER TECHNICAL COLLEGE
Course Name: Business Ethics
Course Number: BUAD1033
Course Credit: 3 credit hours
Instructor: R. Schaa
Office Hours: As posted at my office (AC109).
Phone: (870) 248-4000, ext. 4137. You may leave a voice mail if I am not in my office.
Email: ruths@blackrivertech.org
Textbook:
Moral Issues in Business, eighth edition, William H. Shaw and Vincent Barry, Wadsworth Thompson Learning, 2001.
Course Description:
This course will be a lecture course with many case studies and situation analysis completed by the students. Students will be faced with real business dilemmas and will be responsible for deciding on the ethical decision to make. Students will discover the very gray area of business ethics that face employees in today’s work place.
Course Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to define ethics and morality and what defines an ethical and/or moral decision; describe the evolution of ethics and the theory of ethics; demonstrate argumentative techniques and logic; explain courses of action in various business situations and to justify the chosen course of action.
Course Requirements and Assessment Methodology:
Attendance: Students are expected to attend class regularly and to be punctual in order to complete satisfactorily this course. If a student is absent, the student is responsible for contacting the instructor on the first day back to make up work missed. Excessive absenteeism may result in loss of credit for the course. Excessive is defined as two times the number of times the class meets per week.
To ensure attendance in class, pop quizzes, which canNOT be made up, may be given.
Class Participation and Behavior: Class participation is a vital part of the learning environment. Therefore, each student is expected to participate in classroom discussions, answer questions, and offer constructive and critical thinking. Students are also expected to behave in a professional manner while in class. In accordance with college policy, food and beverages are not permitted in the classroom.
Homework Assignment and Assessment:
1. Students should read each chapter before the lecture and/or discussion. Each student will participate in class discussions with relevant information. Students will be assessed by their participation and their questions. Class participation is worth 50 points.
2. Students will develop and maintain a well organized notebook with the written questions and answers to the assigned questions, case studies, terms, handouts, and lecture notes. This notebook will serve as an individual student assessment of personal learning in the course. Students are encouraged to think in a critical manner while answering the questions and case studies. The instructor will collect the notebooks for review on the last scheduled class meeting; the notebook review will serve the instructor as an assessment of the student’s learning. A well-maintained and presented notebook will be worth at maximum 100 points.
3. Students will present current news articles that present ethical dilemmas. The students will debate the legal and ethical ramifications of the articles with fellow classmates. Students will evaluate their knowledge of ethics through a well thought out response to scenarios. The articles will be maintained in the student’s notebook and must be summarized. The computer-generated summary will include a citation of the article’s source and must be current. Articles will be presented at least twice a month. The grades for the news articles will be averaged; this grade will be worth the equivalency of a test score. Articles will be graded as follows:
current article -20 points
spelling errors -10
repeated spelling error -3
grammatical error -3
format error -5
punctuation errors -1
not relevant to course -10
plagiarism -30
The students’ summary of the article and comments will serve the instructor as an assessment of the students’ knowledge of business ethics.
4. The exams may consist of true/false, multiple choice, short answer, or essay questions. Each exam is worth 100 points each.
5. Students will answer any supplementary problems or assigned questions in the textbook. These may be collected and graded for a homework grade. The homework grade will comprise 50 points of the unit grade. Assigned homework is due on the assigned date; however, homework, with applicable penalties, will be accepted within one week of the assigned date. Late work is assessed a 10 percent penalty. .
Exams and Make-ups: The exams consist of true/false, multiple choice, short answer, or essay question. The instructor reserves the right to deviate from the described test format. Test results and scores will only be distributed in class after the tests have been graded; usually, this is the next scheduled class period. Mid-term grades and final grades are mailed out by the registrar's office; do not call the college or the instructor for your grades.
Only one missed exam will be permitted per semester per subject. Emergencies and sudden illnesses will be taken into consideration. Students must schedule a mutually convenient time with the instructor for the make-up test.
Students will not be allowed to retake an exam for any reason.
Assessment Points: 100 points each exam
50 points each collected and graded homework
100 points each news articles
5 points each pop quiz
50 points participation
Grading Scale: 90-100 A
80-89 B
70-79 C
60-69 D
Below 60 F
Academic Dishonesty Policy and Ethical Behavior: Ethical behavior means communicating honestly and politely with fellow students and with the instructor; it means relying solely on your own memory to answer test questions. Cheating will not be tolerated. The first offense will result in an "F" for that grade and the second offense may result in dismissal from the course.
Course Schedule: As detailed in the table of contents and announced by the instructor.
**This schedule is tentative and is subject to change, if necessary.**
Black River Technical College seeks to be in compliance with both the spirit and the letter of the law as stated in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Students seeking ADA accommodations must contact Mr. Jim Ulmer, Director of Disability Support Services, P. O. Box 468, Pocahontas, AR 72455. Phone 870-248-4000 X4011 or Fax 870-248-4100 or jamessu@blackrivertech.org. Contact must be made two weeks prior to beginning date of each enrollment period.