MASINDE MULIRO UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Department of Business Administration and Management Science

BCB 207 - Business Ethics Lecturer: Mr. Olieki Gideon

Course Outline

Course Objectives

At the end of the course the students should be able to:

1. Appreciate the need to incorporate ethical decisions in operating business concerns.

2. Demonstrate sound knowledge of ethical principles needed to operate business.
3. Differentiate between bad business practices and acceptable business policies.

Course content

1. Meaning and features of ethical and moral standards

2. Sources of a professional’s values: Internal, External
3. Core principles and tenets of professionalism
4. Managing personal etethi: guides to personal decision making
5. Ethical tests;
6. Managing organizational ethics
Factors affecting organizational moral climate;
Improving organizational moral climate;
7. A stakeholder approach to business ethics:
Business and community: Corporate social responsibilities;
Business and government;
Business and consumers;
Business and shareholders: Corporate Governance;
Business and employees: Job related issues,
8. procurement law; ethics and professional standards;
9. meaning of marketing ethics;
marketing ethics and the law;
ethical issues in product decisions: product design, product positioning, product
packaging and labeling, the product and the environment;
ethical issues in pricing decisions: predatory pricing, price conspiracies- price fixing, price-
leadership, unit pricing and item pricing, misleading prices;
ethical issues in distribution decisions: trade promotions, gray markets – allied channels
and parallel importation;
ethical issues in advertising, sales promotion and personal selling;
10. professional codes of ethics

Recommended texts:

Banks, S (1995) ethics and values in business, Basingstoke Mc Millan

Baron, M.W, Pettit P(1997), Three methods of Ethics

Childress J F(1989) Principles of Ethics 3rd Edition, Oxford University Press

William H(1976), Business Ethics(International Edition) 8th edition Word Worth USA

Mode of Delivery: Lectures, Case Study analysis, group work and class discussions

Assessment: Coursework 30%

End of Semester Exam 70%