Ethical awareness
Identify, describe, and explain why the five business ethics myths in the article are NOT accurate, utilizing
course concepts.
The following is a list of some key course concepts to draw upon.
Ch. 1 Values, cynicism, business and media, the relationship between ethics and the law
Ch. 2 Deciding what’s right: ethical dilemmas, prescriptive frameworks (consequentialist, deontological, virtue
ethics)
Ch. 3 Deciding what’s right: ethical awareness, cognitive moral development, locus of control, moral
disengagement, idealism/relativism, bias, script processing, other cognitive barriers to good decisions (e.g.,
escalation of commitment, illusion of optimism, cost-benefit analysis), role of emotion in ethical decision making
Ch. 4 Individuals’ ethical problems: discrimination, sexual harassment, conflicts of interest, customer
confidence issues, use of corporate resources, voicing your values and whistleblowing
Ch. 5 Ethical/unethical culture and formal/informal cultural systems: ethical leadership, selection systems,
vales and mission statements, policies and codes, orientation and training programs, performance
management systems, organizational authority structure, decision-making processes, role models and heros,
norms, rituals, myths and stories, ethical language
Ch. 6 Corporate ethics office, ethics communication, missions or values statements, organizational policy,
codes of conduct, communicating senior management commitment, values or compliance approaches
Ch. 7 Management issues and managers’ responsibilities: obedience (Milgram, McDonald’s), multiple ethical
selves, roles and role conflict, diffusion of responsibility, psychological distance, norms, rewards, discipline
Ch. 8 Ethical problems of managers: hiring, performance evaluation, discipline, termination, managing diversity
Group Project Social responsibility: corporate social responsibility, stakeholders, pyramid, role of philanthropy,
sustainability, costs of illegal conduct, government regulation, importance of trust in business