Week 3: Ethics and Integrity in Business
Overview
This week focuses on ethical frameworks in business decision-making, corporate social responsibility vocabulary, communicating ethical standards and policies, and cross-cultural perspectives on business ethics.
Topics Covered
- Ethical frameworks in business decision-making
- Corporate social responsibility vocabulary
- Communicating ethical standards and policies
- Cross-cultural perspectives on business ethics
Class Activities for the Week
Preparation
- Read the HBR article “Is Business Bluffing Ethical?” before our first class meeting of the week
Course Period 1 (2 hours)
- Assignment introduction: Ethics Case Study
- Introduction to business ethics terminology and concepts
- Discussion on corporate ethics and social responsibility
- Debate on ethical business practices across cultures
Course Period 2 (2 hours)
- Case study analysis of ethical dilemmas in international business
- Role-plays: Communicating ethical concerns in professional contexts
Independent/Group Assignments (and Point Totals)
- Assignment: Ethics Case Study (3 points)
- Summarize the ethical dilemma and analyze the situation using ethical frameworks
- Write a role-play script in which you alert a key stakeholder of the issue, present your analysis and recommend a course of action with justification
- You can perform your role plays in class
- Due date: End of the week
- Class attendance and participation (2 points)
Learning Resources
- McCombs School of Business “Ethics Defined” Glossary featuring 2-minute videos that define over 50 terms related to ethics
- HBR Article: Is Business Bluffing Ethical? (linked above)
📥 Download this Content
Find this file on our repo and download it.
🤖 GAI Study Prompts
Copy the downloaded content and try it with these prompts:
- “Help me analyze an ethical business dilemma using different frameworks”
- “What are key differences in business ethics across cultures?”
- “Create scenarios for practicing ethical communication in business”
- “Explain corporate social responsibility with examples from Mexico and the US”
Ready to dive deeper? Explore the specific activities and resources for this week below.