University of Wales The Turning Point

MAF3 - Ethics, Corporate

Citizenship & Sustainability

Subject Outline
The Turning Point
January 2009

Credit Points: 10
Lecturer: Raymon Krishnan
Email: raymon@logis.com.sg

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Table of Contents
Section 1: General Information................................................................................3
1.1 Lecture Time & Location............................................................................3
1.2 Brief Outline..............................................................................................3
1.3 Aims...........................................................................................................4
1.4 Learning Outcomes...................................................................................4
1.5 Attendance................................................................................................4
1.6 Required Texts & Readings.......................................................................5
1.7 Supplementary Reading............................................................................5
Recommended Journals.......................................................................................................5
1.8 Course Schedule........................................................................................6
1.9 Web References........................................................................................7
1.10 Policies on Educational Issues and Student matters...............................7
1.11 Assessments............................................................................................7
1.12 Submission Dates & Method....................................................................8
Section 2: Assessment.............................................................................................9
2.1 Grades Awarded........................................................................................9
2.2 Satisfactory Completion Requirements of this Subject............................10
2.3 Assessment Weight.................................................................................10
2.4 Assessments............................................................................................10
Assignment Guidelines......................................................................................................10
2.5 Examination Information.........................................................................11
2.6 Google Groups.........................................................................................12
2.7 Assignment Submission...........................................................................17
Section 3: Citation & Plagiarism.............................................................................22

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SECTION 1: GENERAL INFORMATION

1.1 Lecture Time & Location

This subject will be taught over 2 weekends, plus have scheduled weekend
meetings to assist with project research and discussion.

30th Jan 2009 Friday 1900 – 2200 hrs

31st Jan 2009 Saturday 1400 – 1800 hrs

13th Feb 2009 Friday 1900 - 2200 hrs

14th Feb 2009 Saturday 1400 – 1700 hrs

21st Mar 2009 Saturday 1400 – 1700 hrs EXAMINATION

1.2 Brief Outline

In today's business environment, the concepts of ethics, corporate citizenship,

social responsibility and sustainability are as important as profitability, balance
sheets and productivity. Students will be asked to review and access different
processes of good ethical processes affecting business organisations, compare
and contrast current international accepted ethical business practices of US
companies, UK companies and Singaporean companies. This course aims to instill
in students an understanding that governance issues and influences includes best
practices derived from business ethics that impinge on the economic, financial,
managerial and environmental aspects of management. It will be important for
students in today's business environment to be aware of how sustainable
business practices based on ethical practices and corporate citizenship models
can be developed and contribute to an organisation's profile and profitability.

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1.3 Aims

• Developing an understanding of the underlying concepts of ethics, corporate

citizenship, social responsibility and sustainability.
• Review and access different processes of good ethical processes affecting
business organizations.
• Compare and contrast current international accepted ethical business practices
of US companies, UK companies, SEA companies.
• Instill into students an understanding that governance issues and influences
includes best practices derived from business ethics that impinge on the
economic, financial, managerial and environmental aspects of management.
• Assist students to be aware of how sustainable business practices based on
ethical practices and corporate citizenship models can be developed.

1.4 Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module, the candidates will be able to:

1. Explain and analyse the theoretical and practical basis of values systems that
could permeate in business practices.
2. Critically evaluate ways for ethical practices to be embedded in organisations so
that corrupt practices can be avoided.
3. Explain and evaluate sustainable business models based on ethical practices and
corporate citizenship models can be developed.
4. Explain and assess the role of agency relations play in corporate governance
perspective of a corporation driven by the board of directors.
5. Apply practical ethical guidelines in their workplace and to develop critical leaders
direction in determining strategies to address ethical issues in their organisation.
6. Evaluate and choose appropriate course of actions that would help improve
corporate citizenship and social responsibility in their organisations.

1.5 Attendance
Attendance is strongly recommended in order for students to be able to
satisfactorily attempt the final examination. Students are required to sign in their
attendance for every lecture attended.

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1.6 Required Texts & Readings

Name of Author/s Title and Edition Name of Publisher Publication
Year
Tom L. Beauchamp, Ethical Theory and Prentice Hall 2008
Norman Bowie, Denis Business (8th Edition)
Arnold

1.7 Supplementary Reading

Name of Author/s Title and Edition Name of Publisher Publication Year
Brown, M. T. Corporate Integrity: Cambridge 2005
Rethinking University
Organizational Ethics Press
and Leadership
Velasquez, M.G Business Ethics: Prentice Hall 2001
Concepts and Cases
(5th Edition)

Brenkert, G. Corporate Integrity Sage Publications 2004

and Accountability
Donalson, T, Ethical Issues In Prentice Hall 2007
Werhane, P.H. and Business: A
Cording, M Philosophical
Approach, 8th ed.

Ferrell, O. C. Ethics: Ethical Houghtom Mifflin 2004

Decision Making and
Cases, (6th Edition)

Galea, C. Teaching Business Greenleaf Publishing 2004

Sustainability: From
Theory to Practice
Hoffman, W. M. & Business Ethics: McGraw Hill 2000
Frederick, R.E., Readings and Cases
Schwartz, M. in Corporate
Morality, (4th Edition)

Shaw, W.H. Ethics at Work: Basic Oxford University 2002

Readings in Business Press
Ethics

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Name of Author/s Title and Edition Name of Publisher Publication Year

Trevino, L.K., Nelson, Managing Business Wiley 2006
K.A. Ethics: Straight Talk
About How To Do It
Right, 4th ed.

Velasquez, M.G Business Ethics: Prentice Hall 2001

Concepts and Cases
(5th Edition)

Wieland, J. Standards and Audits Springer 2003

for Ethics
Management
Systems: The
European
Perspective
Supplementary Journals & Websites

Business Ethics Quarterly Journal

Business Ethics: A European Review
Journal of Business Ethics
World Business Council for Sustainability Development [http://www.wbcsd.ch/]
Business for Social Responsibility [http://www.bsr.org]
Directors and Boards Journal
Journal of Financial Economics

1.8 Course Schedule

The following schedule covers materials to be addressed over the weekend
sessions.

Students are advised that they should seek to cover as much of the material as
possible prior to attending each of the weekends.

Weekend Dates Indicative Content

1 30th Jan 2009 TBA
31st Jan 2009
01st Feb 2009

2 13th Feb 2009 TBA

14th Feb 2009
15th Feb 2009

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1.9 Web References

It is expected that students will make good use of the online materials
that are now available from a myriad of organisations on the world-
wide-web. The following are a list of predominant organisations whose
web sites will provide material most a appropriate to this module.

Http://www.wales.ac.uk/ University of Wales

http://www.economist.com/ The Economist
http://www.forbes.com/ Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/home_asia/ Forbes Asia
http://www.agsm.edu.au/~eajm/ Australian Journal of Management
http://www.springerlink.com/content/100281/ Journal of Business Ethics
http://www.businessweek.com/ Business Week
http://www.obmnetwork.com/resources/JOBM/ Journal of Organizational Behavior
Management
http://cbae.nmsu.edu/~dboje/jocm.html Journal of Organizational Change
Management
http://sloanreview.mit.edu/smr/ MIT Sloan Management Review
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldesc Organizational Behavior & Human
ription.cws_home/622929/description#descri Decision Processes
ption
http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/hbsp/hbr/index.j Harvard Business Review
sp

1.10 Policies on Educational Issues and Student matters

Please refer to the student handbook available from the University of
Wales Website.

1.11 Assessments
All assignments are expected to be the original work of students. Each
assignment should give details of references used and all quotations
should be clearly attributed to their source. Although group
preparation is encouraged it should be noted that collusion and
plagiarism will not be tolerated and will be subjected to severe
penalties.

If you do not understand the above statement, please consult

your lecturer.

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1.12 Submission Dates & Method

Assignments should be submitted to the office and not directly to the

lecturer. A completed Assignment Submission Cover (see attached)
should accompany each assignment. The centre will set deadlines for
submission of assignments and students must adhere to this deadline.
Assignments received one week after the deadline will be marked
“Late submission” and 5% of marks apportioned to the assignment
will be deducted. Assignments submitted later than a week after the
deadline will be deemed as a fail. Submission of assignments is
compulsory: you cannot pass a module unless you have completed
the assignments.

Submission of an assignment is considered to be final. A student is not

entitled to revise an unsatisfactory assignment and may only re-
submit an assignment when the Examination Board gives permission
to do so. The assignment mark provides part of the composite subject
mark upon which the award of MBA is based and the submission of
assignments should be treated as part of the final assessment and as
a formal process.

Submission is to be through the online submission site Turnitin (http://

submit.ac.uk). Information on submitting assignments electronically is
available at the end of this outline.

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SECTION 2: ASSESSMENT

2.1 Grades Awarded

The approved grades of performance and associated ranges of marks this subject
is:

A Grade: To be awarded a Grade A you must provide evidence of wide reading of

relevant literature, exercising discernment in the selection of appropriate
quotations and evidence to support your work. The use of appropriate models and
concepts should be accurate and demonstrate depth of understanding and
creative application to the subject companies. Your work should be logical and
coherent, presented in an interesting and accessible style. By definition A Grade
work is of an “exceptional” standard.

B Grade: To be awarded a Grade B you must provide evidence of wide reading of

relevant literature, selecting appropriate quotations and evidence to support your
work. The use of appropriate models and concepts should be accurate and
demonstrate understanding and application to the subject companies. Your work
should be logical and presented in an interesting and accessible style. Work in the
G Grades can be generally defined as very good.

C Grade: To be awarded a Grade C you must demonstrate that you have

undertaken a review of relevant literature and that you have used the information
to illustrate your answer. You should clearly demonstrate your ability to apply the
key theories and concepts to the given circumstances. Your work should be
logical, correctly referenced and convincing. Work in the C range can generally be
described as average.

D Grade: To be awarded a Grade D you must demonstrate that you have

undertaken a review of relevant literature. You should attempt to apply relevant
models and concepts to the given circumstances. Work in the D range is a
marginal pass.

E Grade: An E Grade is a marginal fail. Your work may be similar to the

description of C grade, but failing to meet the objectives of the assignment and
not satisfying the learning outcomes. Work not properly referenced.

F Grade: This is a clear fail. Inadequate literature review, not properly

referenced. Limited attempt to apply models and concepts to circumstances
and/or inaccurate application. General failure to meet the objectives of the
assignment and not satisfying the learning outcomes. Work not properly
referenced.

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2.2 Satisfactory Completion Requirements of this Subject

In order to satisfactorily complete the requirements of this subject, the student
must achieve an aggregate mark of at least 40% for the subject, and achieve a
mark of at least 60 % in the final examination. Students must ‘reasonably’
complete all assessment components other than the final examination and submit
by the final week of session/ intake or by the final examination date (whichever is
earlier) in order to pass the subject. ‘Reasonable’ completion of an assessment
will consider instructions given to the student including; word length,
demonstration of research and analysis where required, University Plagiarism
Policy, and completion of each section/ component of the assessment. Failure to
‘reasonably’ complete any assessment components to the standard specified
above will result in a Fail grade awarded for the subject. Assessment tasks
submitted after the due date may be penalized. Refer to Penalties for Late
Submission of Assessment policy.

2.3 Assessment Weight

Assessment Type Word Length Weight Due Date

1. Individual 3000-3500 40% 23rd February, 2009

Assignment

2. Examination - 60% 21st March 2009

2.4 Assessments
There are two pieces of assessment for this subject.

The assignment information is available in a separate handout.

Assignment Guidelines
Assessment of postgraduate assignments is based on postgraduate standards.
This means that an assignment should demonstrate evidence of good
understanding of what the question asks. The structure of the answer should be
relevant to the question and provide evidence of critical thinking and good use of
appropriate research material. Assignments should be correctly referenced using
the Harvard System of Referencing and Citation of Electronic Sources in line with
the guidelines provided in this Outline.

The assignment is a paper is to be prepared in no more than +/- 10% of the word
count indicated.

Please type wherever possible, using 12 point font, Times New Roman or Arial.

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Please note: Any analysis and evaluation conducted should make appropriate use
of the methodologies, concepts and frameworks studied in the module.

You are also encouraged to read other sources at your discretion.

Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Please see the guides to citation,

referencing and plagiarism appended to this outline.

Students must retain a copy of all assessment work submitted. Marks will not
usually be modified or scaled. Feedback on assessment tasks will be returned to
students before the final examination date.

Although student attendance records will be kept, attendance or class

participation will not be part of the assessment for this subject.

2.5 Examination Information

There is an examination for this subject. It is scheduled for 21st March, 2009.

Please refer to the examination information as uploaded in your Google Group for
more information.

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2.6 Google Groups

Additional information is made available to students from the school and your
lecturer through the use of Google Groups. This allows:
• Files to be shared amongst everyone in the group
• Emails to be sent to everyone using a single email address

Please note that basic information about the requirements for citation and
referencing, information about examinations and other useful documents are also
placed in the group for your access.

When you commence each subject, you will be sent an email that will allow you to
access the Google Group for that subject. A step-by-step guide on how to access
Google Groups follows.

STEP 1: Open the email

(please check your spam box if you cannot see the email in your in box)

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Step 2: Sign in to the Google Group

If you are not signed in to a Google Account

Click on the 'sign in and apply for membership' as indicated above. This will allow
you to sign in to Google Accounts, Apply for a Google Account (if you don't already
have one) and enter the group.

If you are already signed in to a Google Account

Refer to Step 4 – you should be permitted to access the account automatically. If

this doesn't happen, then please click on 'Apply for membership'.

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Step 3: Sign into your Google Account

(1) If you already have a Google account, please sign in.

(2) If you do not have a Google account, please create one **

** Note that creating a Google Account DOES NOT automatically give you a new
email address. It just associates a Google Account with your existing email
address.

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Step 4: Set up how you want to participate in the group.

Our suggestions are below.

You MUST specify a nickname. Your name is probably a good idea.

Please note that you must click on 'Accept invitation' to access the group.

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Step 5: Access and Explore the online area of the group

Note the areas 1, 2 and 3 above which will have information for your reference.

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2.7 Assignment Submission

You are required to submit your assignment online through the website service
called Turn It In. Instructions are as follows.
STEP 1: You will receive an email like the one below.

Click on the link in the email: http://submit.ac.uk

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STEP 2: Enter the 'Turn It In UK' website

After you click on the link in the email, you will see the following web site (or
something similar)
Click on [user login]

Use the username and password in the email to log in.

You will be prompted to change your password. Please do so and choose a

password that you will remember. Write it down somewhere just in case.

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STEP 3: Enter the class

Click on the class name for the assessment that you are going to submit.

STEP 4: Click on the 'Paper icon' with the green cross next to the name
of the assignment you will be submitting.

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Note – you can click on the assignment title and you will view notes and other
information about the assignment.

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STEP 5: Upload the file to the system

Fill in the fields as requested, select the file using the browse button, and click on
'SUBMIT':

Please note:
1. Note the yellow section which highlights the files that are acceptable.
2. Do not print and scan your assignment – it will not be accepted by the
system
3. Put all your assignment in a single file. Cut and paste spreadsheets into
Word documents or compile multiple PDF files into a single file to be
uploaded altogether.

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STEP 6: Verify your submission

You will see the screen below, which will have a copy of your assignment printed
out. Read your assignment AND VERIFY THAT IT IS ALL THERE. If it is OK, click on
'yes, submit'.
If there is a problem, click on 'cancel, go back' and upload your file again.

The file types that will be accepted are: MS Word, WordPerfect, PostScript,
PDF, HTML, RTF, and plain text.
TROUBLESHOOTING TIP: If you have trouble submitting your file using Microsoft
Word, then use the cut and paste method. To do this, go back to Step 5 and
change the 'submit a paper by' to 'cut and paste' instead of 'file upload'.
FAQ: All I can see is the text. Does this mean that the marker will not see my
charts and tables?
Answer: The marker will see your file as you originally formatted it. This is just a
check to make sure all the text is picked up. There is no need to email your
assignment to the school.
STEP 7: Once your assignment has been submitted, your screen will show
confirmation of the submission and email you a digital receipt to confirm that your
assignment has been received by the system.

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You can check assignments that have been submitted by going back to the
original subject page.

FAQ: Oops! I just noticed that I left something out! Can I resubmit?
Answer: Yes – you can resubmit as many times as you like without penalty up
until the assignment due date and time.

FAQ: What is the green bar and the percentage that appears next to my
assignment submission after a few minutes?
Answer: This is a similarity report and reports on the 'sameness' of similarity of
your report when compared to other pages on the internet, other assignments
submitted by students around the world in the past, and scholarly articles and
journals. This is to assist you in making sure that you don't quote too much, that
you paraphrase and cite correctly, and to ensure that you are not using too many
words from other sources. You should keep this percentage as low as possible.

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SECTION 3: CITATION & PLAGIARISM

Please see the attached guide from the University of Wales for information on how
to avoid plagiarism and reference for your assignments.