Module manager: Jamie Dow
Email: J.Dow@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 Sep to 30 Nov (15mth) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
This module is not approved as an Elective
This module is about how businesses and those involved in them ought to behave in the course of conducting business. This mainly covers applied issues regarding what ethical considerations apply to such areas as HR, pricing, advertising, and international trade, and how competing considerations should be weighed. But it also covers more methodological issues such as why and how businesses have obligations (if they do) and to whom, or whether businesses can properly be held accountable for their actions in the way individual humans can. You will critically examine different theories of business ethics, and apply this knowledge and your wider ethical knowledge (including concepts such as justice, trust, honesty, rights, and well-being) to a range of applied ethical issues that arise across a variety of business functions, such as purchasing, sales, HR and management, CSR policy, and international trade.
The aims of this module are (1) to develop your understanding of how ethical considerations apply to business decisions across a variety of business functions, (2) to deepen your ability critically to analyse, explain, and apply a range of key ethical concepts as they apply to business activities; and (3) to strengthen your ability to evaluate the ethical merits and disadvantages of alternative courses of action in a business context and use this evaluation to provide a reasoned justification for your recommendations for how to act.
These aims will be achieved through:
- Independent online learning where you are introduced to core concepts, readings, and arguments and are encouraged to read texts critically and reflect on and analyse these arguments and concepts.
- Online discussion forums and synchronous webinars where you can develop your own arguments on the topics and test these through critical reflection with other learners and academic staff.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Critically analyse the central concepts and debates in business ethics.
2. Critically analyse the way in which competing ethical considerations apply to decision-making in a variety of business functions.
3. Construct clear, insightful, and sophisticated arguments for your own position on topics within the field of business ethics.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
4. Communicate ideas and understanding clearly and concisely, using appropriate academic language (Academic and Work Ready skill)
5. Critically analyse source material and demonstrate independence of thought (Academic and Work Ready skill)
6. Independently identify and utilise appropriate material to support knowledge and analysis of topics (Academic, Work Ready, Digital and Sustainability skill)
The syllabus will cover a variety of topics in business ethics which may include methodological issues (e.g. Can we hold collective entities such as corporations responsible? To whom do businesses owe obligations?), as well as topics across a variety of business functions such as purchasing, selling, marketing and advertising, recruitment, pay and reward, diversity and inclusion policy, and international trade.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| On-line Learning | 8 | 2 | 16 |
| WEBINAR | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Independent online learning hours | 33 | ||
| Private study hours | 100 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 17 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 150 | ||
In addition to the formative feedback available to students in student hours, students have the following opportunities to receive feedback on their work:
(1) tutor input on students’ contributions to discussion board activities will include feedback on the accuracy, significance, and merits of the argumentation of what is contributed.
In addition, (2) each student is invited to complete ONE piece of formative work which will receive written feedback.
Students are given a choice of: essay plan; exposition of an argument; objection and reply.
To ensure that students get the formative feedback that they need, they are asked to read and reflect on (i) the feedback they received in previous summative assessments, (ii) the PRHS marking criteria and (iii) the specific guidance provided on the summative assessment in this module. This requires students to critically engage with previous feedback, current expectations, and play an active role in honing their knowledge and skill development.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Essay | 90 |
| Coursework | Contributions to online discussions | 10 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
The resit for the discussion contributions will be an essay demonstrating familiarity with a wide range of debates and will be descriptively as opposed to analytically focused.
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 14/02/2025
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