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Course specification
The current and official versions of the course specifications are available on the web at http://www.usq.edu.au/course/specification/current.
Please consult the web for updates that may occur during the year.

MBA8000 Applied Business Research and Ethics

Semester 2, 2019 Online
Short Description: Applied Bus Research & Ethics
Units : 1
Faculty or Section : Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts
School or Department : School of Management and Enterprise
Student contribution band : Band 3
ASCED code : 080300 - Business and Management
Grading basis : Graded

Staffing

Examiner: Jane Summers

Other requisites

Students are required to have access to a personal computer, e-mail capabilities and Internet access to UConnect. Current details of computer requirements can be found at http://www.usq.edu.au/current-students/support/computing/hardware.

Rationale

This course provides students with foundation knowledge of ethical principles and applied research processes. The course examines ethical considerations implicit in business and professional contexts including issues of governance and economic corruption. Students will apply a range of theoretical approaches to corporate ethical decision making within the context of case based analysis and applied research methodologies.

Synopsis

This course will expose students to a range of complex and problematic ethical dilemmas in business and research. Students will be required to consider a variety of possible solutions for these dilemmas and to explore the ethical consequences of those solutions. The design of the course, and the associated assessment items, will result in students developing a holistic understanding of ethical business practice and ethical business research along with the associated issues, challenges and consequences of ethical decision making.

Objectives

On successful completion of this course students should be able to:

  1. use applied knowledge of the foundations of business ethics to address complex ethical dilemmas
  2. identify ethical issues in complex cases and be able to apply business solutions to those issues
  3. design and critically evaluate research to solve applied business problems
  4. apply reflective practice to find solutions for ethical issues inherent in business decisions and behaviours
  5. effectively communicate ideas and solutions to both ethical and research based problems to a professional standard.

Topics

Description Weighting(%)
1. Why bother with ethics? 10.00
2. Overview of ethical thinking 20.00
3. Ethical frameworks for decision making 20.00
4. Ethics in business 20.00
5. Ethics in research 20.00
6. Our global future: ethics in business and research. 10.00

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from USQ's Online Bookshop (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2019&sem=02&subject1=MBA8000)

Please contact us for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)

Shaw, WH, Barry, VE, Issa, T, Catley, B & Muntean, D 2016, Moral issues in business, 3rd Asia Pacific edn, Cengage Learning, South Melbourne, Victoria.
(E-book is available at http://www.cengagebrain.com.au/shop/isbn/9780170366694.)
Summers, J & Smith, B 2014, Communication skills handbook, 4th edn, John Wiley & Sons, Milton, Queensland.

Reference materials

Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.
Boatright, J 2016, Ethics and the conduct of business, 8th edn, Loyola University, Chicago.
Buchholz, RA 2009, Rethinking capitalism: community and responsibility in business, Routledge, New York.
Schweickart, D 2011, After capitalism, 2nd edn, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, Maryland.
Whyte, WF & Whyte, KK 1991, Making mondragon: the growth and dynamics of the worker cooperative complex, 2nd revised edn, ILR Press, Ithaca, New York.

Student workload expectations

Activity Hours
Directed Study 100.00
Independent Study 64.00

Assessment details

Description Marks out of Wtg (%) Due Date Notes
ASSIGNMENT 1 100 25 27 Aug 2019
ASSIGNMENT 2 100 40 15 Oct 2019
EXAMINATION 100 35 End S2 (see note 1)

Notes
  1. This is a restricted examination. The total working time for the examination is 2 hours. The examination date will be available via UConnect when the official examination timetable has been released

Important assessment information

  1. Attendance requirements:
    Online: There are no attendance requirements for this course. However, it is the students' responsibility to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.

    On-campus: It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.
  2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
    To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks. (Depending upon the requirements in Statement 4 below, students may not have to satisfactorily complete each assessment item to receive a passing grade in this course.)
  3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
    Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure http://policy.usq.edu.au/documents.php?id=14749PL (point 4.2.4)
  4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
    To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.
  5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
    The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.
  6. Examination information:
    This is a restricted examination. The only materials that candidates may use in the examination for this course are:
    1. writing materials. These must be non-electronic and free from material which could give the student an unfair advantage in the examination.
    2. an unmarked non-electronic translation dictionary (but not technical dictionary). A student whose first language is not English may take a translation dictionary into the examination room. A translation dictionary with any handwritten notes will not be permitted. Translation dictionaries will be subject to perusal and may be removed from the candidate's possession until appropriate disciplinary action is completed if found to contain material that could give the candidate an unfair advantage.
  7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
    Any Deferred or Supplementary examinations for this course will be held during the next examination period.
  8. University Student Policies:
    Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene University policies and practices. These policies can be found at http://policy.usq.edu.au.

Assessment notes

  1. Harvard (AGPS) is the referencing system required in this course. Students should use Harvard (AGPS) style in their assignments to format details of the information sources they have cited in their work. The Harvard (AGPS) style to be used is defined by the USQ Library's referencing guide at http://www.usq.edu.au/library/referencing.