Syllabus
While the syllabus has not been finalized yet, here is an example of what assignments we had last year.
SYLLABUS FOR SPRING 2024: BUAD681 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ETHICS, London, England and Paris, France
Instructor – Professor Paul Fiorelli, J.D./M.B.A.,
Director, Cintas Institute for Business Ethics
226 Smith Hall, 3800 Victory Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio 45207-1211
(513)745-2050, fiorelli@xavier.edu
Course Purpose – The course will compare and contrast the US to an international view of ethics, especially the UK and France. It will include discussions of ethics-related material, including privacy, compliance, governance, fraud, corruption, and corporate social responsibility.
I strongly recommend that over the holiday break students watch the movie Les Miserables, and write the short paper.
Important Dates
Friday, January 26, 2024 from 5:15-7:30PM EST in person and hybrid via zoom: Mandatory Pre-trip Orientation Meeting. Roommates will be assigned.
Thursday, February 8, 2024: Les Miserables paper due on Canvas at midnight
Friday, February 18, 2024 5:15-9:30PM EST in person and hybrid via zoom, Mandatory Pre-trip meeting and we’ll go over trip details and discuss the companies that will be giving us briefings
Thursday, February 22, 2024: BP/Starbucks/L'Oreal Code of Conduct Comparison paper due on Canvas at midnight
Thursday, March 14, 2024: Reflection paper due on Canvas by midnight
Friday, March 22, 2024 from 5:15-9:30PM in person and hybrid via zoom: Individual presentations
Evaluation
15% Les Miserables Paper
First, review the following web links:
Then watch the movie Les Miserables. There are several "concert versions" of Les Miserables available on youtube, or you can rent the 2012 movie version on iTunes.
After you've watched the movie and read the links, write a 2-3 page (double spaced) paper comparing the law (represented by Javert) to ethics (Jean Valjean). The paper is due by midnight on Thursday, February 8, 2024. If you need additional time, students have a grace period, which expires at 11:59PM, Sunday, February 11, 2024. Any paper submitted after the grace period expires will lose ten (10) points per day from the final grade of the paper. There will be no exceptions due to business or family crises.
25% BP/Starbucks/L'Oreal Code of Conduct Comparison
Review the following web links:
​
BP Code of Conduct
http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/pdf/about-bp/code-of-conduct/bp-code-of-conduct-english.pdf
​
Starbucks Code of Ethics (instead of one pdf file, Starbucks has multiple online links):
https://www.starbucks.com/about-us/company-information/business-ethics-and-compliance
https://www.starbucks.com/about-us/company-information/mission-statement
https://livingourvalues.starbucks.com/
https://livingourvalues.starbucks.com/letter-from-howard
https://livingourvalues.starbucks.com/workplace
https://livingourvalues.starbucks.com/business-practices
https://livingourvalues.starbucks.com/our-responsibilities
https://livingourvalues.starbucks.com/living-our-values
https://livingourvalues.starbucks.com/decision-making-tips
https://livingourvalues.starbucks.com/faq
https://livingourvalues.starbucks.com/legal-compliance
​
L'Oreal Code of Ethics"
and write a 3-5 page double spaced paper comparing and contrasting these three Codes of Conduct. You may consider selecting one or two sections from each code (e.g. how does each business encourage employees to speak up, if they see a violation). You could also address the “tone” of each Code. Does one seem more “legalistic” than the other? This paper is due by Thursday, February 22, 2024 at 11:59PM. There will be a “grace period” that expires on Sunday, February 25, 2024 at 11:59PM. Any paper submitted after the grace period expires will lose ten (10) points per day, from the final grade of the paper. There will be no exceptions due to business or family crises
25% Individual Research Presentation
Research presentation: Only one student is allowed to choose any given topic. Students will be able to choose their presentation topic, on a “first come, first serve basis”. This means a student may “reserve” a topic for their presentation by emailing it to me. On Friday, March 22, 2024 each student will give a 15 minute PowerPoint presentation. We’ll meet in Smith Hall, Room #252 from 5:15-9:30PM, and have a hybrid zoom call for those who are outside of Cincinnati.
Topics for consideration -
(n.b. – this list is not to be considered exhaustive. Students may propose other topics for consideration and may research these other topics, if they receive the permission of the Professor). Topics in red have already been chosen by a student. The following are a “laundry list” of topics that are not arranged in any conceptual order.
1)ethics programs
a.code of ethics - Ben Sence
b.stakeholder analysis
2)compliance programs
a.Federal Sentencing Guidelines equivalent
b.Sarbanes-Oxley equivalent
3)corporate governance
a. The Cadbury Report
b.Business Judgment rule
c.The Role of the Board - David Horton
4)Accounting
a.GAAP v. IFRS - Matt Higgins
b.Rules v. principles
5)Risk assessment
a.Internal controls
b.Section 404, SOX equivalent - Caitlin Krabach
6)Privacy
a.Are privacy rights viewed differently in the US and the UK?
7)Fraud and corruption
a.Transparency International - Brandon Felton
b.FCPA v. UK Bribery Act and Sapin II - Owen Eilerman
8)Whistleblowing
a.Do European companies view whistleblowers, and whistleblower protections differently than the US? - Avery Carrico
b.CNIL (Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés) - Kristyn Jossart
9)Corporate culture
a.Tone at the top, shared values, willingness to bring bad news forward - Jameeda Rucker
10)Sweatshops
a.Workers rights
b.Universal Declaration of Human Rights (50th anniversary)
11)Loyalty
a.At-will employment
b.Works councils
12)Diversity and inclusion
a.Sexual harassment - Sydney Westerbeck
b.Employment discrimination - Meagan Lesher
c.Religious discrimination
d.Age discrimination - Rosemarie Sutton
e.Disability discrimination
f.Work-life balance questions
13)Conflicts of interest
a.transparency
14)Regulatory matters
a.Insider trading - Feng Huang
b.Products liability
c.Antitrust
i.EU regulators prohibiting GE and Honeywell merger
15) Corporate Social Responsibility
a.Environmental issues
i.Global warming - Abby Patterson
ii.Kyoto Protocol - Nina Welp
b.Corporate Philanthropy - Zach Welp
16)Marketing and Consumerism - Patrick Magarian
17)Regulations regarding children
18)Intellectual Protection
19)Software ethics
20% Participation
This is a combination of participation during the trip activities, the reflective blogs, and the evening debrief. Each activity during the trip has a maximum of 10 points for participation. There may be several activities during any given day, and each one will be graded separately. Excellent participation at a briefing (without dominating the discussion) might receive 5 or 6 points. Students will receive 1 point if they show up to the briefing, but do not participate. They will get 0 participation points if they have to miss the briefing.
Students can add to their briefing grade by participating in the reflective blog, even if they could not attend that day’s class. Students who actively participate in class and during the evening debrief, and give thoughtful comments in their reflective blog (note: only the student and the professor can view) will maximize their participation points for any given class.
15% Reflective Paper
Each student will write a 3-page reflective journal on their experiences both within and outside the classroom and briefings. This paper will synthesize the student’s perceptions of the differences and similarities between American and international perspectives on ethics related issues. The reflective paper is due by midnight, Thursday March 21, 2024. There will be a grace period until 5:15PM, Sunday March 24, 2024. Any papers received after this grace period expires will lose up to ten (10) points per day for every day the paper is late.
Final Grading Ranges
A = 95+
A- =90.0- 94.9
B+= 87.0 - 89.9
B = 85.0-86.9
​
B- = 80.0 - 85.9
C+= 77.0 - 79.0
C = 75.0 - 76.9
C- = 70.0 - 74.9
F < 70