BAD 304-90 Business Ethics and Society Lincoln University

Course Syllabus

 GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION

 Instructor: Assistant Professor Amanda Good

Term: Spring 2nd 8 week, 2025 Class Hours: Online

Instructor Office location: 104 Stamper Hall

Office Hours: T & Th 8 am to noon

Email: gooda@lincolnu.edu               

 

TEXTBOOK

Business Ethics by Stephen M. Byars and Kurt Stanberry, Openstax (Rice University), pdf version ISBN-13-978-1-947172-57-9

No need to purchase this textbook; it will be available to you on Canvas free of charge.

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION & OBJECTIVES

This course is a study of business ethics and ethical management practices, with emphasis on the process of ethical decision-making and working through contemporary ethical dilemmas faced by business organizations, managers, and employees. The course is intended to demonstrate to the students how ethics can be integrated into business decisions and can be applied to their own careers.

The following are course learning objectives:

• To raise students' general awareness of ethical dilemmas at
• To better understand differing perceptions of interests in business-related
• To present the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility and explore its relevance to ethical business
• To investigate the ethical obligations and ethical ideals present in the relationship between employers and employees.
• To investigate whether ethics sets any boundaries on competition, marketing, sales, and
• To consider any moral obligations of businesses to the environment and to people in other
• To foster more careful, disciplined thinking in trying to resolve issues in business

HOW TO SUCCEED IN THIS COURSE

Here is a recipe for doing well in this class: read the assigned chapters and other reading materials multiple times, understand the key concepts, go through the additional materials that are posted (an article, video, or a business case), participate in the online discussion regularly, contact the instructor immediately for any missed work, plan a strategy with the instructor if you’re behind or you’ve underperformed on a recent test, and above all, be curious and be passionate about learning.

ATTENDANCE

Students are required to attend courses (regular logins on Canvas) and instructors are required to record attendance. Non-attendance may negatively impact a student financially since universities are required to report attendance for student loan eligibility.

Because this course is online and asynchronous, some students may feel it’s not necessary to log-in to class frequently if they are completing the assignments due each week. Do not forget, in addition to quizzes and exams, there are other course materials that are posted for you that you need to go through every week. These include chapter readings, videos, business cases, other articles, and not to mention the weekly discussion forum where your participation is required. Occasionally, there might be important announcements and reminders which you might miss if you don’t log-in regularly (at least three times a week).

COURSE EVALUATION

The final grade for this course will be based on two (2) exams, weekly quizzes, and weekly online discussion on Canvas. The material for the exams will be taken from the text, readings, class lectures, video cases, and any other assigned materials. Please note that the quizzes and exams are timed, so the clock will start as soon as you attempt the exam. The following weights will be used to determine the final grade:

Exam 1                                          20%

Exam 2                                         20%

Weekly Quizzes 30% Weekly Online discussion 30%

All assignments for the week (discussion, quiz, and exam) are due by midnight Sunday. The due dates for assignments during the last week (week 8) might be different because of the grade submission deadline. Watch for announcements and due dates on Canvas that week.

LATE ASSIGNMENTS/MAKEUP EXAMS

No late assignments will be accepted without the prior approval of the instructor. Acceptance of a late assignment is at the discretion of the instructor.

I do not make exceptions if you miss an exam or a quiz for a reason that does not justify an exception. Make-up exams are reserved for extraordinary circumstances, and I’ll consider those circumstances or situations on a case-by-case basis. Vacations, pre-purchased plane tickets, home for the holidays, having more than one final on the same day are NOT legitimate reasons for taking a make-up exam. Canvas outage is extremely rare, and I usually do not open a missed exam because of so called “computer issues”. For an online class, it is your responsibility to make sure all your software and hardware are in working condition. If you anticipate Internet disruption at home, plan to use a public facility where free Internet is available.

ONLINE PARTICIPATION

Online discussion and participation will account for 30% of your grade and it is expected that you’ll log-in to CANVAS regularly (3-4 times a week), read all posted course materials, and participate in the discussion forum. Please participate in weekly discussion with well-thought-out comments, occasionally initiate a discussion topic by choosing an interesting subject related to class, and submit assignments online if there is a discussion assignment. Instructions on the discussion assignments can be found after you log into your course.

Please note that students are not allowed to edit their postings after it is submitted. Any attempts to see other postings before your submission will be treated as cheating.

ONLINE ETIQUETTE

Please follow online etiquette that are common knowledge:

• Be courteous and polite when you’re in the discussion forum or when sending a message to your

instructor or to your classmates. Avoid emotionally charged political topics in your discussion.

• Humor can be difficult to convey in text, so make sure everyone realizes when you are trying to be funny. It is easy for messages to be misinterpreted since there are no physical gestures or voice inflections that accompany the text.
• Overall, be Refrain from inappropriate language and derogatory or personal attacks. Challenge others with the intent of facilitating growth. Do not demean, harass, or embarrass others.
• Give the instructor at least 24 hours to respond to your Use appropriate subject heading in

your email such as “BAD 304: question about Quiz.”

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

Cheating or other forms of academic dishonesty will be dealt with according to the university policy and may result in at a minimum a zero on the exam or assignment in question. Plagiarism (using the words or ideas of someone else as if they were your own) is also a form of academic dishonesty and carries the same penalties as other forms of cheating. Plagiarism can occur as a blatant attempt to cheat (buying a term paper over the internet and turning it in as if you wrote it), but it can also occur through careless writing (failing to provide a reference for an idea that you found in a book or article). A good rule of thumb is always to provide a reference for any idea that came from someone else's writing, and if more than a few words in a row are repeated exactly, either put it in quotes or rephrase it. It is also possible to plagiarize yourself – for example, by turning in a paper from a previous class as if you’re doing it for the first time.

SERVICES FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

The Office of Access and Abilities works with students who need adjustments in university policy or academic practice due to disabilities. Questions that may arise in regard to the University’s compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act should be directed to the Coordinator for Access & Ability Services, in Thompkins Student Health

Center, Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri 65102-0029. https://www.lincolnu.edu/web/disability-services

 

 

Title IX/Sexual Misconduct

 

Sexual violence and sexual harassment are contrary to our core values and have no place at Lincoln University. In accordance with Title IX and other laws, the University prohibits discrimination, including sex-based discrimination and discrimination towards pregnant/parenting students. If you or someone you know experiences sexual violence and/or harassment (regardless of whether it occurred on or off-campus) that limits the ability to participate in this course (or any other LU program or activity), there are resources and options available. To learn more or to report an incident, please visit the LU Title IX website

at www.lincolnu.edu/web/title-ix. Please be aware that as an instructor, I am not a confidential resource, and I will need to report incidents of sexual misconduct to the LU Title IX Coordinator. You can also contact Zakiya Brown, Title IX Coordinator, directly at TitleIX@lincolnu.edu or 573-681-5003 during regular business hours.

 

FINAL NOTE

The instructor reserves the right to occasionally deviate from the above standards/policy when in his judgment, it is appropriate to do so.