professional business philosophy essay

Outline + 8-10 page essay l one-page document showing your thesis statement and an outline of the argument by which

you plan to defend your thesis. l Write a short (at least 8 page, double-spaced) essay exploring one of the following topic areas

by weighing the arguments for and against a thesis listed below or analyzing a situation from your own experience:

Authors need to mention (chose some/one of them) l J. Bentham, Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation pp. 6-9; 22-23

Link: earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/bentham1780_1.pdf l I. Kant, Groundwork for the Metaphysic of Morals pp. 1-40

Link: earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/kant1785.pdf l Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics pp. 1-27 l A. Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments pp. 1-13

Link: earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/smith1759.pdf l M. Friedman: “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits” l R. E. Freeman: “Managing for Stakeholders” l R. Audi, “The Place of Ethical Theory in Business Ethics,” pp. 46-69 l J. Locke, Second Treatise of Government pp. 11-18:

Link: earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/locke1689a.pdf l J. S. Mill, On Liberty pp. 1-10:

link: earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/mill1859.pdf l G. Gauss, “The Idea and Ideal of Capitalism,” pp. 73-99 l T. Nace Gangs of America pp. 70-86 l H. Daly, Ecological Economics and Sustainable Development pp. 25-31 l Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium pp. 43-56 l R. Epstein, “In Defense of the Contract at Will,” pp. 947-958; 962-976; 982. l J. J. McCall and P. H. Werhane, “Employment at Will and Employee Rights,” pp. 602-627 l R. Thaler and C. Sunstein, Nudge pp. 17-39 l L. Newton, “Environmental Ethics and Business,” pp.657-676 l Michael E. Brown l Linda K. Trevi l ANDREW CRANE l Marshall Schminke, James Caldwell, Maureen L. Ambrose, Sean R. McMahon-

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes

Topics:

1) A business has moral responsibilities to all who can affect or be affected by the activities of the business (i.e. to all “stakeholders”).

2) The basic institutions of capitalism (private property, the profit motive, etc.) can be justified on the following moral grounds:

3) One or more of the basic institutions of capitalism (private property, the profit motive, etc.) must be modified, limited, or regulated in the following specific ways in order to become morally acceptable:

4) The principle of employment-at-will is morally justified, and should be preserved as a common-law default in American employment relations.

5) The principle of employment-at-will is biased in favor of employers, cannot be morally justified, and should be abolished as a common-law default in American employment relations.

6) As long as they are not breaking any actual law, marketers should feel free to use any technique they believe may influence people to buy their (or their clients’) products and services (that is, there are no moral restrictions on marketing activities, only legal ones).

7) Profile in Excellence: present a case study, centered on an individual or small executive team, which illustrates exemplary ethical decision-making in a business context. What was the situation (new mar- keting plan, high employee turnover, takeover threat, new competitors, regulatory pressures, class ac- tion lawsuit, etc.), and what decisions, statements and actions by the person or people in charge make your chosen case an example of ethical excellence? Be sure to relate your account of the case to some of the key terms, concepts, authors we have discussed in our course and discuss how ethical leader- ship research contributes to the discussion.

8) Profile in Failure: present a case study, centered on an individual or small executive team, which illus- trates a significant failure of ethics in a business context. What was the situation, and what decisions, statements and actions by the person or people in charge make your chosen case an example of poor ethical decision-making? Did they (ethically) recover from this failure? Be sure to relate your account of the case to some of the key terms, concepts, authors we have discussed in our course.

9) Investigate a recent “green” initiative undertaken by a business. What is the nature of the initiative, and what was the official impetus or reason for undertaking it? What metrics are proposed for as- sessing whether the initiative is successful or not? Does your example suggest that private business can adequately address the challenges of environmental sustainability, remediating and ultimately re- versing the consequences of industrial activity (i.e. can the free market deliver solutions to the prob- lem of environmental “externalities”)? Or does it suggest that government retains an indispensable role in limiting environmental destruction through legislation and regulation?

10) Personal reflection: Relate an incident or period in your own life representing an opportunity to “do the right thing” – that is, to act on the basis of a moral reason – in a business context. On reflection, what was successful and less-or un-successful in the way you handled yourself in that situation? Do any of the readings from this course alter your thinking about how you acted, such that you would want to change the way you handled a similar situation in the future? Explain your thinking, relating and contrasting your personal story to terms, concepts, and arguments that we have discussed in this course.

General Features

To receive the highest grade, your paper must include the following elements:

� An Introduction, in which you state your thesis clearly and explain its relevance to the general topic ar- ea of “design, self, and society.” What is important and problematic about the issue you will be dis- cussing, and what is controversial about the thesis you will defend? Who are some of the people or social constituencies that have a stake in the issue you identify?

� A main Body, which lays out your argument. What are the reasons that support your thesis? Do you have evidence based on research? Do you rely on the authority of experts who have written previously on your chosen topic (and if so, where does their own authority and expertise come from)?

� A Defense of your thesis against likely criticisms, and an explanation of why those criticisms fail.

� A Conclusion that summarizes your argument and restates the thesis in some way.

Format You may structure your paper in any way you like, within limits. For example, it may make sense to begin by describing a concrete case that illustrates the issues to be discussed, and raises a question – which your thesis statement then goes on to answer in one way or another. A different approach might be to put two or more authors from the course into a dialogue, perhaps focused on a specific case or example, and work through how each participant would be likely to interpret the case, and the other speakers’ own analyses. However you choose to structure the paper, make sure that the ideas flow in a clear, logical progression. Every paragraph should add to this progression, forming a step in your overall argument.

Make sure to use appropriate citation practices in researching and writing your paper! It is fine to make use of other people’s ideas and arguments in presenting your own case, but you must point the reader to the sources of those ideas by means of footnotes. Please use the following will standard footnoting format associated with The Chicago Manual of Style:

Books

1 Victor Papanek, Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change, 2nd ed. (Chicago:

Academy Chicago Publishers, 1985), 177.

Journal Articles

2 Rob J.F.M. van Veggel, “Where the Two Sides of Ethnography Collide,” Design Issues 21, no. 3 (Summer 2005), 14.

Websites

3 www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/fashion.

Citation guidelines for other sources may be found here: www.press.uchicago.edu/books/turabian/turabian_citationguide.html

Grading

Your paper will be evaluated on the standard 4-point scale, according to the following criteria:

� Thesis Statement/Outline: submitted on May 3 (.5 Possible Points) � Relevance: paper clearly identifies a problem relevant to the major themes of this

course (.4 Possible Points)

� Logic and Rhetoric: paper features top-down organization (i.e. the entire paper is governed by the the- sis), exhibits a logical sequence of paragraphs and ideas, uses appropriate citation conventions, and is generally persuasive (1.5 Possible Points)

� Fairness: opposing viewpoints are considered and successfully defended against (.8 Possible Points)

� Mechanics: grammar, punctuation, and style conform to standard conventions and support, rather than detracting from, the comprehensibility and persuasiveness of the paper (.8 Possible Points)