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Business & Philosophy · BUSI-2070

Business Ethics

What do we owe each other?

Business professionals must not only discover the vision of justice underlying their practices, they must submit that vision to critical scrutiny. This course pursues both aims.

Fall 2026Mon & Wed, 1:00–2:15Room TBD24 sessionsWithdraw by Nov 17
Syllabus (PDF) Jump to schedule
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Schedule

Mondays are textbook days: read the chapter at home, short quiz to open the session. Wednesdays are reading days: open the reading here and a timer runs, then devices close and you write a response by hand. Tick readings off as you go.

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Week 1Why Ethics MatterSept 9+
Wed Sept 9SupplementaryCourse introduction · Ch. 1, Why Ethics Matter
In class
How this course runs
We read chapter 1 together, in the room, so the two-track structure is clear before you leave. Mondays you arrive having read the OpenStax chapter and we open with a four-item quiz written by hand with devices closed. Wednesdays you can arrive cold: the supplementary reading is opened from this page on your own device and timed, then devices close and you write a short response by hand before any discussion. Bring a notebook you use for nothing else.
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Week 2Ethics from Antiquity to the PresentSept 14 & 16+
Mon Sept 14TextbookCh. 2, Ethics from Antiquity to the Present
Every Monday
Entry quiz
Four short-answer items on the chapter, five minutes, written on paper with devices away. Not hard if you have read; not passable if you have not. No make-ups, but your two lowest scores are dropped automatically with no explanation needed.
Wed Sept 16SupplementaryThe shareholder case, and the philosophical reply
Every Wednesday
Timed reading and response
Open the reading from this page and a timer starts: ten minutes when there is one reading that day, seven each when there are two. Read silently on your own device. When the timer ends, devices close and stay closed. The window is deliberately not enough to finish, so students who read beforehand have a real advantage. Then, before any discussion, you write three things by hand in your notebook: one claim the author makes, one question you would put to them, and one connection to Monday’s chapter.
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Week 3StakeholdersSept 21 & 23+
Mon Sept 21TextbookCh. 3, Defining and Prioritizing Stakeholders
Activity
Stakeholder negotiation
You will be assigned a role the week before: chief executive, line worker, community representative, institutional shareholder, or regulator. A decision has to be reached by the end of the session and defended to the room in character. The chapter treats stakeholders as a taxonomy; this treats them as people with incompatible claims.
Wed Sept 23SupplementaryWho counts, and why
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Week 4Society, Environment, GovernmentSept 28+
Mon Sept 28TextbookCh. 4, Society, the Environment, and Government
Wed Sept 30 — no class. CMU closed for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
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Week 5Culture and TimeOct 5 & 7+
Mon Oct 5TextbookCh. 5, The Impact of Culture and Time
Wed Oct 7SupplementaryBusiness ethics as political philosophy
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Week 6MidtermOct 14+
Mon Oct 12 — no class. CMU closed for Thanksgiving.
Wed Oct 14AssessmentMidterm test
Assessment
Midterm test
Short-answer questions on the core concepts from chapters 1 through 5. Written in class through Populi during the scheduled session, with results returned the same day. Worth 10 per cent.
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Week 7What Employers Owe EmployeesOct 19 & 21+
Mon Oct 19TextbookCh. 6, What Employers Owe Employees
Wed Oct 21SupplementaryKant, character, and capitalism
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Week 8What Employees Owe EmployersOct 26 & 28+
Mon Oct 26TextbookCh. 7, What Employees Owe Employers
Wed Oct 28SupplementaryVirtue in the firm
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Week 9Rights for AllNov 2 & 4+
Mon Nov 2TextbookCh. 8, Recognizing and Respecting the Rights of All
Wed Nov 4SupplementaryDiversity work: two views
Debate day
Two readings, opposed
These two disagree, and you are not being asked to reconcile them. Read both in the timed window, then take a position in your notebook before we start. The chapter is about recognising and respecting the rights of all; the question on the table is whether the machinery built to do that actually does it. Come prepared to be argued with.
Due today
Reading notebook — first collection
Bring your notebook. I collect all of them at the end of this session and return them the following week, after Reading Week. I am checking that the entries are there, dated, and in sequence — not grading the prose. Ten of twelve present across the term earns full marks, so a couple of gaps will not hurt you. Entries cannot be added retroactively; the dates and the sequence make that obvious.
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Reading WeekNo classesNov 9–13+
Fall Reading Week. CMU is closed Nov 11 for Remembrance Day. Withdrawal deadline is Tuesday Nov 17.
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Week 10Professions Under the MicroscopeNov 16 & 18+
Mon Nov 16TextbookCh. 9, Professions Under the Microscope
Wed Nov 18SupplementaryLeadership and moral awareness
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Week 11Changing Work EnvironmentsNov 23 & 25+
Mon Nov 23TextbookCh. 10, Changing Work Environments and Future Trends
Wed Nov 25SupplementaryDeviance and the limits of ethics programs
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Week 12Why Ethics Still MatterNov 30 & Dec 2+
Mon Nov 30TextbookCh. 11, Why Ethics Still Matter
Wed Dec 2SupplementaryAffect, culture, and machines
Activity
The course as its own case
We spend this session on the AI policy of this course: why take-home work is cited rather than banned, why quizzes and responses are handwritten in the room, and whether that division is defensible. Bostrom and Yudkowsky set the frame; you argue the case.
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Week 13Defences and Final TestDec 7, 9 & 10+
Mon Dec 7AssessmentFinal paper defences
Assessment
Final paper defence
In groups of four or five. You have about three minutes to explain your paper’s argument and then take questions from the group. No notes and no paper in front of you. Three questions, known in advance: why you chose the topic, what your central argument is in your own words, and what the strongest objection to it is. Marked out of five, independently of the written paper.
Wed Dec 9SupplementaryUnderpayment and theft · course synthesis
Due today
Reading notebook — final collection
Second and last collection, covering everything from the return after Reading Week to today. Same standard: present, dated, in sequence.
Thurs Dec 10AssessmentFinal test
Assessment
Final test
A Thursday running on a Monday schedule, so this is a regular class day. Written in class through Populi, results the same day. There is no scheduled final examination for this course, so this is the last graded event of the term.

Submit

Everything that has to be handed in electronically lives here. Reading responses and learning statements are handwritten and stay in your notebook.

Opening and closing pollMost weeks+

Anonymous. One question at the start of class and the same question at the end, so we can see whether seventy-five minutes of argument moved the room. Never graded, never attributable to you. Takes about a minute.

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Chapter presentation peer reviewAfter each presentation+

Your recommended grade and comments for the group that just presented. Grades are crowdsourced and recommended to the instructor, who reserves the right to adjust up or down.

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Assignments

Weights and full descriptions are in the syllabus.

10%Class participation+
Graded on quality and consistency, not volume. Someone who contributes regularly and listens well scores higher than someone who dominates. Grades posted at midterm and at the end of term.
15%Reading log and learning statements+
Monday entry quizzes plus Wednesday handwritten responses. Marked complete or incomplete, not for polish. Ten of twelve on each side earns full marks. Nothing can be submitted late or retroactively.
20%Chapter presentations+
Summarize the main argument, the sub-arguments supporting it, and the implications. Then a critical analysis with questions for the room. Peer-reviewed, with grades recommended to the instructor.
10%Midterm test+
Short-answer questions on core concepts, chapters 1 to 5. Written in class through Populi on October 14. Results returned the same day.
15%Case studies+
Regular in-class activities built on scenarios from the text. Group conversation, written reflection, and peer review through kritik. Some may be assigned as homework.
15%Final paper+
1500+ words on a topic you have not presented on. Summarize the main ideas and provide a case study, report, or example that relates. Thorough research and proper citations.
5%Final paper defence+
December 7, in class. Three minutes to a small group, then questions. Why this topic, what your argument is, and the strongest objection to it. Marked independently of the paper.
10%Final test+
December 10, in class through Populi. There is no scheduled final examination for this course.