Post Graduate Programme in Management

2015-16 TERM: II
TITLE OF THE COURSE: ETHICS AND CSR (WORKSHOP)
CREDITS: 2 Credits
Name of the Faculty member:
Prof. Abha ChattarjeeProf. G. Venkat Raman

Prof. Biswanath Swain

Faculty Block and Room no.:

A 204B 111
C 104
Email:
abha@iimidr.ac.ingvenkat@iimidr.ac.inbiswanath@iimidr.ac.in
Telephone Number:
0731-2439-527 0731-2439-585

0731-2439-570

COURSE DESCRIPTION
In todays rapidly changing milieu, society increasingly demands ethical and
social responsibility. The business ethics course is designed to provide an
ethical dimension to the conduct of commerce. It not only highlights at what is,
but also what can be and what ought to be. The course intends to help
participants to think more deeply about the ethical choices they make and will
have to make in their business and professional lives.
COURSE OBJECTIVES

To make participants aware of ethical issues and their place in business

To apply different frameworks to ethical issues that arise in business

activity

To develop critical thinking for decision making

PEDAGOGY/TEACHING METHOD:
The course is structured to be a combination of lectures, discussions, classroom
activities, and projection of some video clips.

Expected Learning Outcomes and Associated Measures

At the end of the course student is expected to accomplish the following
learning outcomes (CLO). Alignment of CLO with the Programme Level Goals &
Objectives and Assessment of the learning outcomes of the course is presented
below.

Course Learning
Outcome
1. Will be able to
appreciate differences
between ethical and
non-ethical dilemmas

Program Level
Assessment Tool(s)
Goals/ Outcome
PLG 8: Prepare
Individual Activity (Includes
business leaders of ethical compliance Tests,
Quiz)
integrity with a
sound
understanding of
ethics
8.1Identifies
and
differentiates
ethical issues from
unethical
ones
pertaining
to
a
business

2. Will be able to apply

ethical approaches to
solve workplace
dilemmas

8.2 Analyse the Group Presentation

given perspective
in the light of
ethical principles

3. Will be able to
appreciate the moral
corporation through
CSR initiatives

8.4Demonstrates
Research exercises.
understanding
of Students will be individually
the current issues evaluated
of
leadership
behavior
PLG 4: Inculcate
Integrative
Thinking ability
4.3
Adopts
or
develops
own
perspective
or
position
4.6
Devises
necessary
strategies or tactics
as part of action
plan to address the
problem

EVALUATION TOOLS
Quiz
Activity
Research exercise

Poor, Satisfactory, Good, Excellent

Poor, Satisfactory, Good, Excellent
Poor, Satisfactory, Good, Excellent

SCHEDULE OF SESSIONS
Module

I: Introduction to Business Ethics

Module Objective: To appreciate the relevance of ethics in business today

Sessions and Objective

Session 1: Why Business Ethics?
Objective: To comprehend the nature of business ethics and to analyze why
there is a requirement of ethics in Business.
Reading:
1. Badaracco, J.L Jr., Right versus Right: When Managers Are Faced with
Tough Ethical Choices, HBR 1997, Product no. 3052BC
2. Gellerman, Saul W., Why Good Managers Make Bad Ethical Choices,
HBR July 1986.
Activity1: Ethics Compliance Test
Session 2: Contemporary Issues in Business
Objective: To familiarize with relevant concepts in Ethics. Some of the
concepts to be introduced in this session include ethical fading, motivated
blindness, indirect blindness, slippery slope, Dan Arielys concepts like the ego
motivation and financial motivation and the fuzz factor. In addition to that there
would be a discussion on various contemporary issues in Business and their
ethical solution.
Reading: Bazerman, H. Max and Tenbrunsel, Ann E., Ethical Breakdowns, HBR
April 2011
Activity 2:Test to be conducted by taking one or two issues
happened/happening in an organization or organizations and to identify the
ethical issue in the same.
Module II: Ethical Decision Making
Module Objective: To hone the ethical decision making skills
Sessions and Objective
Session 3: Ethical Approaches
Objective: To know, analyze, and appreciate the developed/given ethical
frameworks.

Alternatively we can say: To introduce students to the basic premises of some

of the well-established ethical frameworks like teleology, deontology, virtue
ethics
Reading: Kvalnes, Oyvind and Overenger, Einar., Ethical Navigation in
Leadership Training, EtikkPraksis: Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics, 2012,
6(1), pp. 58 71
Case: Approaches to Ethics: The Study of Ethics, 1984, Darden Business
Publishing, University of Virginia, UVA-E-0020
Activity: Choose film/literature/incident to present in session 4 through one
framework
Session 4: Application of Ethical Approaches
Objective: To apply ethical approaches in resolving workplace dilemmas
Activity: Analysis of the write ups submitted by participants
Module III: Corporate Governance and Accountability (special session to
be handled by Prof Rishikesha T Krishnan)
Module Objective: To critically examine and discuss various facets of
corporate governance
Session 5:Corporate Governance
Objective:To enable grappling with the questions like in whose interest the
corporate should be run and what group/groups ought to have ultimate
decision power?
Reading: None
Case:Pandey Satish C and VermaPramod, World Com Inc; Vikalpa, Vol 20,
No. 2, April-June 2005,pp 137-148
Activity: Group Discussion
Module

IV: Corporate Social Responsibility

Module Objective: To analyze and appreciate the ethical issues in Corporate

Social Responsibility
Sessions and Objective

Session 6: Introducing Corporate Responsibility; The origins of Corporate

Responsibility
Objective: To create an awareness of corporate responsibility which is one of
the contested issues in business arena
Reading: Blowfield, Michael and Murray, Alan. Corporate Social Responsibility.
Oxford University Press, 2011, chapter 1 & 2.
Documentary: The Corporation
Session 7: Corporations, Morality, and Corporate Social Responsibility;
Concept of the Corporation: Shareholder vs. Stakeholder; Corporate Codes.
Objective: To assess the interwoven relationship between corporations,
morality, and Corporate Social Responsibility
Reading: DeGeorge, Richard T., Business Ethics, Pearson Publication, 2011,
chapter 10.
Session8:Various Models of Corporate Social Responsibility
Objective: To create awareness of various models of corporate social
responsibility and Best Practices of CSR
Reading:
Kleinrichert, Denise. Ethics, Power and Communities: Corporate Social
Responsibility, Journal of Business Ethics 78, pp. 475 485, 2007.
Albareda, Laura et al., The Changing role of Governments in Corporate
Social Responsibility: Drivers and Responses, Business Ethics: A
European Review 17, no. 4, 2008
Ghosh, B N. Business Ethics and Corporate Governance, Tata McGraw
Hill Education Private Ltd., 2012, chapter 12.
Case: Corporate Social Responsibility at ONGC Ltd., IBS
Management Research, Case Code: BECG066, 2006.

Centre

for

Research Exercise: Investigate the companys website and set out the main
aspects of their corporate responsibility, sustainability, or corporate citizenship
programme. What are the benefits and drawbacks of the corporation taking
over these responsibilities?
Session 9:Corporate Social Responsibility in Private and Public Corporations
Objective: To assess the CSR initiatives in companies whether these initiatives
are well-worn or not. To
Discuss and deliberate on the role of industry in solving public problems,
especially in the context
in the context of a developing society where the government is constrained by
various limitations in
fulfilling its role
Reading: Porter, Michael E. and Kramer, Mark R. Creating Shared Value,
HBR January-February, 2011.

Case: Rishikesha T Krishnana, The Pune Power Model, HBS, IIM B 441
Session 10: Revisit into Ethics, Ethical aspects of Corporate Governance, and
Corporate Social Responsibility
Objective: To gauge whether the participants have inculcated the ethical
perspectives Corporate Social Responsibility and
Case:

None

Activity: Analysis and class discussion on the write ups submitted by students
*****