Business Ethics
| Degree programme | International Business Administration |
| Subject area | Business and Management |
| Type of degree | Bachelor Full-time Summer Semester 2025 |
| Course unit title | Business Ethics |
| Course unit code | 025008042210 |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Type of course unit (compulsory, optional) | Elective |
| Teaching hours per week | 2 |
| Year of study | 2025 |
| Level of the course / module according to the curriculum | |
| Number of ECTS credits allocated | 3 |
| Name of lecturer(s) | William CRANDALL |
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- Ethics, business and corporate ethics
- Conventional morality and ethical relativism
- Utility and utilitarianism, moral obligation
- Rights and justice
- Moral responsibility in private and business life
- Social responsibility of (multinational) companies, corporate social responsibility
- Leadership ethics
- Compliance management
The ethical aspects of business have become a focus of attention in recent years, and this trend will not abate. Ethical management is a success factor - lack of awareness is a serious business risk.
The students are able to describe the subject area of ethics and economics and to name important institutions in the globalisation of business as well as essential international codes of multinational companies. They know characteristics of leadership ethics and examples of compliance rules.
Students understand the difference between ethical relativism and normative ethics and are able to unfold similarities and differences between the calculus of utilitarianism and the cost-benefit analysis of economics, to distinguish hedonistic from eudaemonistic utilitarianism and to derive connections between reason and the categorical imperative.
Students can formulate moral norms for ethical guidelines of the actions of multinational corporations, causal and moral responsibility can be weighed against each other and a distinction can be made between legal, social and moral responsibility.
The students can analyse CSR reports and compliance manuals and classify their statements with recourse to theoretical concepts. They can point out contradictions with actual practice and justify suggestions for improvements. Students can recognise and examine dilemma situations in the field of business ethics and present their own justified position.
Interactive course with lecture, case studies, exercises in individual and group work, presentations and homework.
Pre-assignment, participation during the seminar in the form of contributions and short presentations (individual or group assignments), post-assignment, individual weighting as determined by the instructors, announcement at the beginning of the semester
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Carroll, Archie B.; Buchholtz, Anne (2014): Business and Society: Ethics, Sustainability, and Stakeholder Management. 9. Auflage. Cengage Learning: Stamford, CT.
Classes with compulsory attendance