21513 Business Ethics and Sustainability

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.

UTS: Business: Management
Credit points: 6 cp

Subject level:

Undergraduate

Result type: Grade and marks

There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Anti-requisite(s): 21226 Sustainable Enterprise

Description

This subject explores the breadth and depth of ethical issues confronting contemporary organisations as they relate to general business practice and sustainability. It examines major philosophical conceptualisations of ethics and applies these to critically analyse both theory and practice. It places particular emphasis on developing students' ethical vocabulary and ethical argumentation so that they are better equipped to successfully carry an ethically informed subjectivity into their organisational practice. This subject provides students with various frameworks for incorporating and critically evaluating sustainability in organisational practices and decision-making.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

1.	Apply relevant theoretical/philosophical understandings of ethics to critically appraise organisational and individual responses to ethical issues, conflicts and dilemmas
2.	Demonstrate an ability to develop, and clearly articulate, an informed ethical position on business issues
3.	Articulate the global sustainability landscape of principles, legal and regulatory frameworks and the social and environmental drivers of the sustainable enterprise logic
4.	Explain the relationships between sustainability and innovation, entrepreneurship, value creation and corporate governance

Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)

This subject also contributes specifically to the following program learning objectives:

Make judgements and business decisions consistent with the principles of social responsibility and inclusion (3.1)

Contribution to the development of graduate attributes

The Business Ethics and Sustainability unit contributes to the Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Management by developing in students a critical understanding of the ethical issues, conflicts and dilemmas facing contemporary organisations as well as the conceptualisation of these ethical issues within the business ethics, corporate social responsibility and allied academic and practitioner fields. Using current ethical case studies, the subject equips students with a critical understanding concerning the management considerations necessary to advance their ethical vocabulary and ethical argumentation in a broad variety of organisational contexts. Through activities and content exploration, students sharpen their critical management skills and knowledge by equipping themselves with critical appreciation, and embodiment, of ethical attitudes and values. This subject is geared towards developing both a theoretical understanding and a practical capability in students regarding ethics and sustainability in organisations.

This subject contributes to the development of the following graduate attribute:

Social responsibility and cultural awareness

Teaching and learning strategies

The subject will be taught using a combination of lectures and tutorials. The lectures provide the structure of the topic area, discussion of the theory and introduce students to critical issues and controversies. Tutorials provide students with a forum to apply, develop and deepen their understanding of the topic area covered in the lectures through discussion of specific cases, issues and examples. Students are required to complete preparatory work in the form of academic readings, videos and other forms of media prior to their attendance at the weekly lectures.

All students will be provided with the opportunity for initial feedback on their performance in the subject during the first six weeks of the semester, for example, through tutorial exercises, draft assignments and other assessment methods. Further feedback will be provided in relation to submitted assessment tasks.

Content (topics)

What is Ethics? What is Business Ethics?
Ethics and Management in the 21st Century
Ethics, Leadership and Justice
Organizational Culture and Ethics
Ethics, Diversity and Discrimination
Democratic Business Ethics and Civil Society
Managing for Sustainability in a Global Context
Business and Climate Change
The Business Logic of Sustainability
Compliance and Compliance Plus
Strategic Proactivity
Ideal and New Business Models

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Point of View Analysis and Presentation (Individual)*

Objective(s):	This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1 and 2
Weight:	40%
Length:	Individual video submissions should be three minutes in length. Work exceeding this limit will not be assessed.
Criteria:	Depth of critical analysis Application of relevant theoretical/philosophical understandings of ethics in the individual argument or perspective presented Synthesis in concluding judgements and recommendations *Note: Late submission of the assessment task will not be marked and awarded a mark of zero.

Assessment task 2: Case Study Analysis and Report (40% Individual and 20% Group)*

Objective(s):	This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1, 2, 3 and 4 This addresses program learning objectives(s): 3.1
Weight:	60%
Length:	Each student will speak for three minutes, with an additional five minutes allocated to the group recommendations and reflections.
Criteria:	Individual: Identifies core ethical and/or sustainability issues facing the target organisations Application of ethical and sustainability theories and principles Demonstrate principles of social responsibility (including ethics, sustainability and Indigenous perspectives) in critical analysis and recommendations Group: Articulate the social and ecological drivers shaping the challenge posed Articulate principles, legal and regulatory frameworks as context for the challenge posed Synthesis, prioritisation and proposed roadmap/sequencing of individual recommendations Justification of overall recommendations Collaboration and cohesion in presentation *Note: Late submission of the assessment task will not be marked and awarded a mark of zero.

Minimum requirements

Students are required to attend 80% of all tutorials.
Students must achieve at least 50% of the subject’s total marks.

Required texts

There is no required textbook for this subject.

Recommended texts

Benn, S., Edwards, M., & Williams, T. 2018. Organizational change for corporate sustainability (4th ed.). Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge.

Benn, S., Edwards, M., & Williams, T. 2021. Sustainability: a key idea for business and society (1st ed.). London: Routledge.

Dubbink, W., & van der Deijl, W. 2023 Business ethics: a philosophical introduction. Cham: Springer.

Rhodes, C. 2021. Woke capitalism?: how corporate morality is sabotaging democracy. Bristol University Press.