Introduction to ethics & critical thinking

Summary

In a society that is changing at high speed, the solutions that we have learned and the challenges we face, do no longer fit together. The accelerating ecological crisis and digitalization are profoundly transforming our way of life. In times of great change and disorientation, ethics moves center s

Content

Keywords

business ethics; ecological transition, storytelling, critical thinking, unethical behavior

Learning Prerequisites

Required courses

none

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

• Examine the various driving forces of the current societal crisis.
• Analyze sustainability narratives
• Manage ethical risks in organizations

Assessment methods

Your grade is based on one group assignment and one individual assignment.

Assignment 1 (group): Analyzing the CSR performance of companies critically. By and large all big companies have sustainability or CSR engagement and reports. And in their own reports, they of course present themselves as responsible, sustainable and ethical. How can we differentiate facts from fiction? How can we evaluate the sustainability performance of a company? In groups of three students you will critically analyse a company. You will be assigned one of the following companies (Nike, Unilever, Volkswagen, Chevron, Tesla, Google, Johnson & Johnson, Japan Tobacco, Walmart, Allianz, Danone, Siemens, Novartis). You will research the company material but also other independent sources to make your evaluation. In session 2 we will develop the criteria for your analysis. In your analysis you will assign a performance grade to the company from 1 (totally irresponsible) to 10 (role model of responsibility), please grade each criterion and then give an overall grade. Your assignment will consist in a powerpoint presentation of not more than 8 slides (excluding title slide and references, no "thank you" or "questions?" slide please). The assignment is due on December 3 at 24h. You will present in our final session on December 6. The assignment will count for 30% of your overall grade.

Assignment 2 (individual): Analyzing corporate scandals. Everybody will be assigned one of the following two scandals: UK Post Office or WeWork. You will receive a more or less unorganized collection of material on your case. Your assignment is to analyze the case based on what you learned from the Dark Pattern book. To understand the method well, you should at least read chapters 1-3 and two of the case chapters. Next to the material I provide, you can do your own research and feel free to involve ChatGPT in the writing process. Your essay should have 3400-3500 words and it should look like one of the case chapters of the book (with the building blocks of the dark pattern in boxes). Please add a wordcount. References should not be included in the word count. Exceeding the word limit will be (mildly) penalized. Your essay is due on November 30 at 24h. We will discuss the cases in the session of November 29. The essay will count for 30% of your overall grade.

Supervision

Resources

Bibliography

in the syllabus

Moodle Link

• https://go.epfl.ch/MGT-495