University of Oxford

Advances in Business Ethics Tutorial, Michaelmas Term 2006 Course convenor: Christian Toennesen, James Martin Institute

Rationale Terms such as corporate social responsibility (CSR), business ethics and professional ethics have gained prominence within business and academia. Ethics can thus be considered a vital component of contemporary business strategising and operational practices. The course aims to supply an historical, philosophical and sociological understanding of the rise of ethics and morality as prevalent concerns within the world of corporate practice through a variety of approaches and case studies. Rather than promoting a specific school of thought, the module provides students with a framework for assessing the foundation and implementation of ethical policies and interventions with particular emphasis on the relationship between use and development of information technology, on the one hand, and ethics on the other. Course Requirements The student is expected to submit seven essays, each on one of the class themes of up to 2000 words. Alternatively, the student can choose to write five 2000-word essays and conclude the course with a 4000-word article. Feedback will be given in each tutorial. Attendance at tutorials is mandatory. During the term, the student will be required to familiarise himself with the relevant literature, prepare to comment upon it and engage in discussion. Further literature and relevant lectures/seminars will be recommended upon request.

Week 2: Lessons in moral philosophy -Schools of thought in moral philosophy -Deontology, utilitarism and postmodern ethics John Stuart Mill, "Utilitarianism," in Utilitarianism, Liberty, and Representative Government, available at http://www.utilitarianism.com/mill1.htm Kant, I. (2005): Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, London: Routledge Plato. Crito. (download from Project Gutenberg) Bauman, Z. (1995): Postmodern ethics. Oxford: Blackwell.

What can business learn from moral philosophy?

Week 3: The sociology of ethics -Ethics of professions -Ethics as culture

Weber, M. (2002):The Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. Oxford: Blackwell Durkheim, E. (1983):Professional ethics and civic morals. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press Starkey, K. Durkheim and the limits of corporate culture: Whose culture? Which Durkheim? Journal of Management Studies, 1998, 35(2), 125–36. Dahler-Larsen, P. Corporate culture and morality: Durkheim-inspired reflections on the limits of corporate culture. Journal of Management Studies, 1994, 31(1), 1–18. Haimes, E. (2002): “What can the Social Sciences Contribute to the Study of Ethics? Theoretical, Empirical and Substantive Considerations”. Bioethics, Vol. 16, pp. 89113 Jackall, R. (Sep/Oct 1983): “Moral mazes: bureaucracy and managerial Work”, Harvard Business Review, 61 (5), pp. 118-130.

What can the social sciences contribute to the study of ethics?

Week 4: Busines ethics, accountability and professionalisation -Developing ethical standards -Accounting for ethics Strathern, M. (ed.), 2000. Audit cultures (Routledge), esp. Introduction and Chapters 1 and 4. Power, M., 1997. The audit society: rituals of verification (OUP), esp. Chapters 1, 3 and 5. Girard, M. and Stark, D. (2005). Heterarchies of Value: Distributing Intelligence and Organizing Diversity in a New Media Startup. Global assemblages: Technology, Politics, and Ethics as Anthropological Problems. A. Ong and S. J. Collier. Oxford, Blackwell Publishing: 293-331. Carroll, A. B. (Jan 2000) “Ethical challenges for business in the new millennium: Corporate Social Responsibility and models of management morality”, Business Ethics Quarterly, 10 (1), pp. 33-42. Du Gay, P. and Salaman, G. 1992. The cult[ure] of the customer. Journal of Management Studies 29 (5), 613-633.

What is the effect of the rise of accountability on organisations?

Week 5: Managing ethics -Ethics as managerial practice Ten Bos, R. & Willmott, H. Towards a post-dualistic business ethics: Interweaving reason and emotion in working life. Journal of Management Studies, 2001, 38(6), 769–93. Derry, R. and Kelly, M. (Nov. 1989) “An Empirical Study of Moral Reasoning Among Managers”, Journal of Business Ethics, 8 (11), pp. 855-862. Heifetz, Ronald. "Tacoma." From Leadership without Easy Answers. (stewardship) Friedman, Milton. The Social Responsibility of Business is Profit. (stewardship) Etzioni, A. (1988): The Moral Dimension: Toward a New Economics, New York: The Free Press. Herzberg, F., (2003): One more time: how do you motivate employees? Harvard Business Review, Special Issue, 81(1), 87-96. Andrews, K. (May/Jun 1973) “Can the best corporations be made moral?”, Harvard Business Review, 51 (3), pp. 57-64.

What does it take to become a moral manager?

Week 6: Ethics, risk and technology Latour, B. (1992). Where are the missing masses? The sociology of a few mundane artefacts. Shaping Technology/Building Society: studies in sociotechnical change. W. Bijker and J. Law. Massachussetts, MIT Press. Winner, L. (1985) "Do artefacts have politics?" in Mackenzie, D. and Wajcman, J., eds., The social shaping of technology, Open University Press, Buckingham. The Separation of Technology and Ethics in Business Ethics. By: Martin, Kirsten E.; Freeman, R. Edward. Journal of Business Ethics, Sep2004 Part 2, Vol. 53 Issue 4, p353-364, 12p; Peter W.F Davies Technology and Business Ethics Theory Business Ethics: A European Review 1997 6:2 76 Moor, James H. (2005) “Why we need better ethics for emerging technologies” Ethics and Information Technology (2005) 7:111–119 Ethical Approaches to Technology Paul van Dijk Business Ethics: A European Review 1996 5:2 97 Case study: Gioia, D.A. (1992). “Pinto Fires and Personal Ethics: A Script Analysis of Missed Opportunities.” Journal of Business Ethics, 11:5-6:379-389.

Can technologies be (im)moral?

Week 7+8: Ethics and information technology Chapters 1, 3, and 5 in Johnson, D.G. and Helen F. Nissenbaum (eds) Computers, Ethics & Social Values. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1995) Spinello, R. A. and H.T. Tavani Readings in Cyber Ethics. (Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2001) second edition Kling, R. (ed.) Computerization and Controversy: Value Conflicts and Social Choices. (San Diego, CA: Academic Press Inc., 1996) second edition Ennals, Richard (1994) FOCUS: Information Technology and Business Ethics. Business Ethics: A European Review 3 (3), 165-170. Richard O. Mason, Four Ethical Issues of the Information Age, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 10, No. 1. (Mar., 1986), pp. 5-12. Zuboff, Shoshanna. (1988) Chapter 7 & 8 Pages 245-310 in In the Age of the Smart Machine: The Future of Work and Power. New York: Basic. To explore further issues, you might want to have a look at one of the following journals: Communications of the ACM Computers and Society Ethics and Information Technology IEEE Technology and Society Magazine The Information Society Journal of Computers, Technology and Law Science and Engineering Ethics

What does information technology have to do with ethics?

Week 9: Critical perspectives on business ethics Stark, A. What’s the matter with business ethics? Harvard Business Review, 1993, May–June, 38–48. Carr, A. Is Business Bluffing Ethical? Harvard Business Review 46, JanuaryFebruary, 1968, pp. 143-53. Sorrell, T. Beyond the fringe? The strange state of business ethics. In M. Parker (Ed.), Ethics and organizations. London: Sage, 1998. Kaler, J. (1999), ‘What’s the good of ethical theory?’, Business Ethics – A European Review, 1999, 8(4), 206–13. Crane, A. Corporate greening as amoralization. Organization Studies, 2000, 21(4), 673–96.

What is wrong with business ethics?