International Business Ethics

• Credit value: 15 credits at Level 7
• Convenor and tutor: Dr Arron Phillips
• Assessment: a 4000-word report (100%)

In this module you will gain a critical understanding of some of the principal theories of philosophical ethics. We focus on common issues that pose ethical questions for international business and seek to analyse and critically evaluate these problems from multiple stakeholder perspectives by applying the philosophical principles and international norms and frameworks discussed.

Indicative syllabus

• An introduction to business ethics and the techniques of case study analysis through evidence-based learning
• Philosophical approaches to business ethics such as tensions between the moral reasoning of decision making versus the consequences of decision making and its application to business practice
• Selected common issues in international business such as the impact of business supply chains and on the environment and financial practices

By the end of this module, you will:

• understand different philosophical concepts from a practical business perspective
• comprehend the ethics of stakeholder engagement in different business situations and the impact societal values play in those engagements
• be able to identify the ethical questions facing international business, the point of view of different stakeholders and appropriate resolutions to ethical problems in specific cases.