Overview
This unit aims to develop an understanding of the underlying concepts of corporate governance, ethics and organisational citizenship which are relevant to the contemporary business environment. To do this, the unit will focus on values, philosophies, theories and models of corporate governance and ethical practice. By using a combination of case study analysis and role-play, you will develop an awareness of the role that ethical issues play in business governance and management, and develop an ability to critically analyse ethical issues that arise in business life.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 3 - 2017
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Student evaluations
Not all materials were available at the start of term, especially recorded lectures.
All learning materials will be available at the start of term, with the exception of lectures that are recorded during the term.
- Apply the fundamental principles of business ethics and corporate governance in a range of contexts
- Given a case study, analyse ethical decision-making issues at the individual, group, and organisational levels
- Practice ethical decision-making using appropriate strategies and models in a given context
- Formulate solutions to ethical problems in organisations using effective ethics programs
- Discuss and debate business ethics in a culturally-diverse global environment
- Construct and defend a position for a given ethical problem based on values and knowledge of ethical behaviour across cultures.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||||||
| 2 - Group Discussion - 10% | ||||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 40% | ||||||
| 4 - Online Quiz(zes) - 20% | ||||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Communication | ||||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | ||||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | ||||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | ||||||
| 5 - Team Work | ||||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | ||||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | ||||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | ||||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Group Discussion - 10% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 40% | ||||||||||
| 4 - Online Quiz(zes) - 20% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
Moral Issues in Business
3rd Edition (2016)
Authors: Shaw, William, Issa, Theodora, Catley, Bevan and Muntean, Donata
Cengage Learning
Melbourne Melbourne , Vic , Australia
ISBN: 9780170366694
Binding: Paperback
Additional Textbook Information
Follow the link to purchase e-Book:
https://cengage.com.au/product/division/university/title/moral-issues-in-business/isbn/9780170366694
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Micorsoft Office or equivalent (wordprocessing)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 6th Edition (APA 6th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
k.islam@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
The moral dimension of business
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Details of assessment 1 (individual assignment report) available in Moodle this week
Module/Topic
The study of ethics and its theories
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The nature of capitalism
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Corporate governance and social responsibility
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The morality of consumption
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Details of assessment 2 (group presentation) available in Moodle this week
Module/Topic
Ethics and international business
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Business ethics and the environment
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The ethics of the organisation
Chapter
Chapter 8
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Ethics in the workplace
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Ethics, leadership and culture
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Details of assessment 3 (case study) available in Moodle this week
Module/Topic
Ethical decision-making
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Group presentations.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
This assessment item involves a written report on a contemporary topic based on one or more of the first five modules in this unit. The specific topic will be presented for you in Moodle in Week 1. The topic will require a critique of a particular scenario through the lens of one or more theories of ethics.
In your report, you are expected to draw on a number of sources for information in your business report such as textbooks, newspapers, magazine articles and academic journals. A minimum of three academic journals should be used for your report. The CQUni library database is a good starting point. Wikipedia is not an acceptable source of information for academic purpose.
You are required to answer these questions in the form of a report, in the following form:
Title page
Table of Contents
Executive summary
Introduction
Report body, with a maximum of 2,500 words
Conclusion
References
Week 7 Friday (5 Jan 2018) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 9 Friday (19 Jan 2018)
This return date only applies to assignments submitted by the due date and time.
You will be assessed on:
- Quality of your scholarship (80%)
- Quality of your English expression (5%)
- The readability (presentation) of your report (15%).
Use APA style of referencing.
- Apply the fundamental principles of business ethics and corporate governance in a range of contexts
- Given a case study, analyse ethical decision-making issues at the individual, group, and organisational levels
- Practice ethical decision-making using appropriate strategies and models in a given context
- Discuss and debate business ethics in a culturally-diverse global environment
- Construct and defend a position for a given ethical problem based on values and knowledge of ethical behaviour across cultures.
- Communication
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
2 Group Discussion
Group presentation
This assessment item is a group presentation made in front of the class during the week 12 class times. The topics available for presentation will be provided in Moodle by Week 5. The topics will be chosen from the unit content in Modules 6 & 7. A set of topics will be provided in Moodle, and groups will select just one topic.
The organisation of groups
Groups will be self-selecting and will consist of (no more than) four students each.
On-campus students will have the first four weeks of term to organise themselves into groups which must be within the same class. The local lecturer will be able to help students find groups. The local lecturer will also advise the unit coordinator about the numbers of groups in their classes and the membership of each group.
Distance students will be able to liaise with the unit coordinator to help find a group. An online discussion and collaboration space for distance students will be provided in Moodle in Week 3. This will enable them to find fellow distance students willing to team up.
Presentations: when and how
On-campus presentations
Presentations will be made during class times in Week 12, although the local lecturer may choose to allow some groups to present at earlier times if this is convenient for the class.
The presentation will take no longer than 8 minutes to complete. Students will construct and use a Powerpoint presentation to accompany their presentation. All students must actively speak and present to receive marks.
Distance students' presentations
Distance students in each group will use Zoom to make their presentation to the unit coordinator. Other students are welcome to join the Zoom session and interact with the presenting students, but it is not mandatory to do this.
What will be provided for you on Moodle?
The following will be made available progressively through the term:
- Topics (by Week 5)
- Online collaboration facilities (for Distance students only)
- Powerpoint template for use in the presentation.
Week 12 Friday (9 Feb 2018) 11:45 pm AEST
All group presentations will be made during the regular class time in Week 12. Your campus lecturer will determine the schedule of presentations.
Feedback will be provided immediately after the presentation, but marks will not be published until final certification of all grades.
You must be present and actively engaged in the scheduled presentation. Your local lecturer or tutor will assess the presentation and award marks on the basis of the following criteria:
1. Quality of scholarship: 6 marks
2. Quality of presentation: 4 marks.
- Apply the fundamental principles of business ethics and corporate governance in a range of contexts
- Given a case study, analyse ethical decision-making issues at the individual, group, and organisational levels
- Practice ethical decision-making using appropriate strategies and models in a given context
- Discuss and debate business ethics in a culturally-diverse global environment
- Construct and defend a position for a given ethical problem based on values and knowledge of ethical behaviour across cultures.
- Communication
- Team Work
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
3 Written Assessment
Individual written assignment
Assessment requirements
This assessment item is made up of two parts. Both parts are based on a case study. All questions will relate to modules 8–11.
For Part A, you are required to answer four (4) short answer questions based on a given case study. Each question will be worth 5 marks, giving a total of 20 marks for Part A.
For Part B, you are to use your research and knowledge gained from the study of this unit to make recommendations on how an organisation involved in this case study could:
- design and implement an ethics program that would address the issues reported in the case, and/or
- apply an ethical decision-making approach to achieve better outcomes.
Part B will is worth 20 marks in total.
What will be provided for you
- During Week 10, the case study and a study guide will be posted on Moodle to help you prepare for your assignment questions.
- A MS Word template document will also be provided in Moodle in Week 10. Please use this to document to submit your responses to Part A and Part B.
Submission details
Although this is an individual written assignment, you should treat this as an exam. The due date/time provided for this assignment is absolute. No extensions will be provided and the submission facility will shut at the due date/time. All students will have the same amount of time to prepare for this assignment.
If you are unable to submit in this period through illness or because of some family emergency, you will should apply for an extension in the usual way. You will be given details of a different submission period and you will be given different questions to answer. Let me be clear, no student will have more than 5 days to research, write and submit this assignment.
Review/Exam Week Friday (16 Feb 2018) 11:45 pm AEST
The submission date and time are absolute. The submission facility will close at this time.
This assessment item will be returned to students after final grades are certified. Students will be notified by email on their assessment release.
You will be assessed on the following criteria:
For Part A:
- Your demonstrated understanding of the unit material and the ability to apply that material to the assessment question (100%).
For Part B:
- Demonstrated understanding of the unit material and the ability to apply that material to the assessment question (80%)
- Effective communication: you are able to write a coherent and logical argument in support of your answers (10%)
- Presentation: Your assignment is formatted appropriately, and uses proper spelling, grammar and style (10%)
- Referencing: The appropriate referencing format is used, consistently and correctly. Up to 4 marks can be reduced from Part B for incorrect referencing.
- Apply the fundamental principles of business ethics and corporate governance in a range of contexts
- Given a case study, analyse ethical decision-making issues at the individual, group, and organisational levels
- Practice ethical decision-making using appropriate strategies and models in a given context
- Formulate solutions to ethical problems in organisations using effective ethics programs
- Discuss and debate business ethics in a culturally-diverse global environment
- Construct and defend a position for a given ethical problem based on values and knowledge of ethical behaviour across cultures.
- Communication
- Information Literacy
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
4 Online Quiz(zes)
Modules 2–11 will contain short review quizzes. These quizzes will come online at the start of each module and remain open until 11:45 pm on the Friday of Review/Exam Week. They will not be re-opened.
Each Module's Review Quiz will equate to 2 marks, or 2% of total assessment.
10
Other
Results are made available as soon as the test is submitted.
Each question is worth 0.5% of the overall unit assessment. There may be a mixture of question types.
- Apply the fundamental principles of business ethics and corporate governance in a range of contexts
- Formulate solutions to ethical problems in organisations using effective ethics programs
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
