Business Ethics John Laing Instructor j-laing@northwestern.edu ...

PHIL 394-0-20 – Senior Linkage
Title: Business Ethics
John Laing Instructor
j-laing@northwestern.edu
Description:
Business Ethics (Philosophy 394) examines significant contemporary issues in modern
business from an ethical perspective. (Professor Laing has extensive international
experience in the corporate world at the senior executive level. He also has a PhD in
philosophy with a particular focus on the topic of contemporary social justice.)
The course will explore the following types of questions:
Should corporations be viewed solely as profit making-entities? Or should we sometimes
expect corporations to act so as to meet certain ethical requirements (improving the
environment, promoting a healthier citizenry, or reducing the global incidence of
childhood labor)?
What is the appropriate legislative or regulatory response to recent corporate scandals
such as Enron, AIG and Goldman Sachs?
What obligations do corporations have when they market their products? (Topics
include: marketing to children, product recalls and social marketing).
Does the morality of corporate behavior change from country to country? (For example,
can a bribe in one country be properly understood as a “facilitation payment” in another?)
What is whistle blowing – and when is it morally justified (or even required)?
How should executives of corporations be compensated? How do questions of executive
compensation relate to broader issues of social justice?
Objectives: Students will:
Gain a deeper understanding of some of the most interesting and important business
issues of our day
Learn how to view those issues from an ethical perspective, grounded in an introduction
to leading ethical theories
Become better informed leaders and citizens
Additional Benefits: Students will also:
Learn to make more polished, analytical and persuasive presentations

Deepen their ability to listen respectfully, rationally, and critically to the (sometimes
opposing) points of view of others
Develop the capacity to assess public policy debates in a more informed and reasoned
fashion
Teaching method: Lecture and discussion
Evaluation method: Oral presentation on a topic of the student’s choosing (35%), final
essay exam (35%), and contribution to discussion (30%).
Grading: On the first day of class, I will explain in detail my approach to grading the
different elements of this course. I will distribute rubrics summarizing my approach as
well. Those rubrics will be posted on Blackboard.
Readings and Assignments: Selections from Ethical Issues in Business: A
Philosophical Approach, ed. Thomas Donaldson and Patricia H. Warhane (8 th Edition)
will provide a primary basis of reading assignments for the course (ISBN-10: 0-13-
184619-1 and ISBN-13: 978-0-13-184619-7) Additional reading assignments will be
posted on Blackboard. Students also will be expected to watch two movies: “The
Smartest Guys in the Room” and “The Insider.” Links to both movies will be provided
on Blackboard.
Student Presentations:
On the first day of class, we will develop together a schedule for student presentations
during the remainder of the term. I will explain what I expect regarding presentations on
the topics listed below. Students will indicate whether they have a preference as to a
topic on which to present. I will try to assign presentations in a way that respects those
preferences to the extent possible.
The purpose, role and responsibilities of the corporation
The libertarian view
The stake holder theory
When corporations do right (one presentation)
Example: Johnson & Johnson and Tylenol
Example: S.C. Johnson and CFCs
When corporations do wrong
Example: Enron
Example: Goldman Sachs
The problem of externalities

The “tragedy of the commons”
Pollution as a global problem
Legislating corporate behavior
Dodd-Frank legislation
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
` Ethical issues in marketing
Marketing to children
Product recalls and cancellations (examples include: Merck and Vioxx, Peanut
Corporation of American and peanuts, Mattel and lead painted toys, Dow Corning
and breast implants)
Ethical corporate cultures and individual responsibility
Judging the ethics of a corporation’s “culture”
Whistleblowers and qui tam
Ethical issues in international business (ethical and cultural relativism)
Child labor laws
Google in China and Microsoft in Russia
CEO compensation and theories of justice --
The entitlement theory (libertarianism revisited)
Distributive justice
Attendance and Late Assignments
There will be no unexcused absences from this class. (This means there are no absences
from this class not submitted to me and approved in advance.) Any more than one
absence for any reason will lower your final evaluation one full letter grade. Missing
assignments cannot be made up.
Students with Disabilities
In compliance with Northwestern University policy and equal access laws, I am available
to discuss appropriate academic accommodations that you may require as a student with a
disability. Request for academic accommodations need to be made during the first week
of the quarter (except for unusual circumstances.) Students are encouraged to register
with Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) for disability verification and for
determination of reasonable academic accommodations. For more information, visit:
http://www.northwestern.edu/disability/
The text for the course is Ethical Issues in Business: A Philosophical Approach, edited by Thomas
Donaldson and Patricia Werhane ( ISBN-10: 0-13-184619-1 and ISBN-13: 978-0-13-
184619-7). Additional materials in including links to required movies will be posted on
Blackboard.