Overview: Study of ways in which individuals and organizations communicate core values. Areas of inquiry will include corporate social responsibility, employee social responsibility, marketing ethics, environmental responsibility, diversity and discrimination, and the role of capitalistic values in globalization among others. Examination of how businesses create, meet, obfuscate or avoid ethical values through communication with stakeholders.

Focus of Communicating Ethical Values in Business: This class is intended to assist you in examining corporate core values as they apply to myriad stakeholders from entry-level employee to CEO, from board member to consumer. We will look at the meaning and value of work; the role of a corporation in society (both for and nonprofit); the ways in which corporations express core values through actions, marketing campaigns, philanthropy, concern for the environment in its broadest application; the treatment of employees in the workplace; employee responsibilities and the overarching manner and method through which organizations communicate their core values.

Ground rules for this class: It is expected that you will resolve the distribution of team assignments and always submit a statement of team effort which describes the work each contributed and affirms the equity of the creation of any work product. Moreover, team assignments should be discussed early on so project leaders are assigned and a timeline agreed upon. Class participants are expected to focus on the topic at hand, not on work assigned for another class or e-mail—tempting though it may be. Everyone is expected to carry his/her share of class discussion and to respect the right and time for others to speak.

The breakdown is as follows:

Availability: If needed and possible, I will be at Alton Jones on Friday nights of in-residence weekends at 9:00 p.m. to work with you individually or in your teams on any issues with which you need assistance. Otherwise, I will always be available by e-mail at jswift@uri.edu or phone 401-524-1427 (cell) / 401-874-4809 (office). I know you have busy schedules in your work life, so feel free to call me early or late.

General Notes: This syllabus is an outline of proposed events. It is subject to change. I will never change it to make anything due earlier for you. I may change the order of things to allow for a special opportunity or to allow additional exploration on a particular topic. I will supply supplementary readings along the way.

Overlap with Other Classes: This class is designed to overlap in part with Professor Dunn's class in Business Law. While we may discuss the moral or ethical issue at stake, he will focus on the legal. At times, one decision making process and procedure will not agree neatly with the other. This should serve to inform and enliven our discussions. At all times we will be mindful of ethics as communicated by a corporation.

Communication: I expect everyone to use e-mail in order that we can communicate efficiently with each other. As in Phase I, we will use the listserv at EMBA19@pete.uri.edu to increase class discussion by posting additional ideas, observations, questions and insights. Remember, this is a public posting to the class. Everyone can read the contents. Please do not use it for extraneous postings. Also, avoid cluttering up each other's mailboxes with quick lines such as "got it" or "thanks." Send personal notes to individuals instead. For any individual or personal issues, contact me at jswift@uri.edu. If you need to meet with or talk to me, call or e-mail and I’ll respond as quickly as possible.

Attendance: Timely attendance is expected. You are graduate students and I know you want the stimulation of class discussion with a professor and your peers. In the case of an EMBA program, there is a tremendous opportunity to learn from fellow classmates. If the class is working as it should, I serve as an informed moderator as much as a professor. If you will not attend on a given day, please call or e-mail. Class participation is an important aspect of my evaluation of your work.

Honor Code: I expect each of you to contribute his/her own work; however, I also expect you to work together as part of the team process to solve problems, achieve solid analysis, discuss cases, and even to prepare and explore the theses of your final papers. I also expect that you will all be direct about crediting yourself and/or others about completed work. Assisting each other is a major part of this learning experience. The only caveat is to acknowledge that assistance. With regard to group work, you are responsible for disclosing the amount of your work and to be forthright about how much you did or did not contribute. This saves each of you from ever having to be in the awkward position of reporting or covering for another student. You all signed an agreement to this effect. Fairness is the watchword. I also know each of you want to be honorable in your individual or group projects. You must include citations of any research. Faculty are asked to inform all students that the University of Rhode Island has very clear rules pertaining to plagiarism. See The University Manual, 8.27.10-8.27.19 and The Graduate Student Manual, 4.95.

Philosophy of Teaching: By now, you know that I am open to lively commentary, difference of opinion and engaged learning. This topic of business ethics and how corporations communicate their core values to stakeholders — both intentionally and inadvertently—is one that has touched us all in recent months due to the egregious actions of several corporations beginning most publicly with Enron. However, as our retrospective look at history will reveal, the clash between ethics and corporate behavior is not new. Perhaps one of the most interesting examples exists in Rhode Island where the Peacedale Mill instituted the first profit-sharing plan for employees in America while financing those profits from the dollars made producing slave cloth. The timeliness of the topic of business ethics makes this an exciting moment in history.

Updates and readings:

Time Magazine: Persons of the Year

Corporate Misdeeds

Post-Enron Rules

EMBA Writing Manual