Curricular Unit:			Code:
Ethics and Deontology			865EDEO
Year:	Level:	Course:	Credits:
3	Undergraduate	Business Sciences	2 ects
Learning Period:		Language of Instruction:	Total Hours:
		Portuguese/English	26
Learning Outcomes of the Curricular Unit:
(i) To know how to define ethics, morals and deontology; (ii) To develop an autonomous and responsible moral reasoning; (iii) To identify the types of ethical responsibilities inherent to organisations; (iv) To identify the main ethical topics in corporate culture; (v) To be able to solve ethical and deontological problems in work and civil life and to build personal reasoning; (vi) To demonstrate skills in gathering, sorting and interpreting relevant information, particularly at work, in order to be able to justify solutions and judgments, especially in the analysis of relevant ethical issues; (vii) To develop skills to a lifelong learning with high levels of autonomy.
Syllabus:
I – Basic concepts to develop an ethical reasoning: 1. Definition of ethics; 2. Definition of deontology; 3. Relation and distinction between ethics and morals; 4. Circles of ethical reasoning. II – Framing ethical responsibility in organizational responsibilities: 1. Economic responsibility; 2. Legal responsibility; 3. Ethical responsibility; 4. Social responsibility. III – Corporate culture and ethics: 1. Ethical leaderships; 2. Ethical employees; 3. State, ethical responsibility and common good. IV – Codes of ethics: 1. Motivations; 2. Contents; 3. Efficacy; 4. Examples of codes of ethics.
Demonstration of the Syllabus Coherence with the Curricular Unit's Objectives:
I: syllabus contents provide students with basic knowledge on ethics and deontology as well as in their relation with morals. Students will also be provided with knowledge in the field of personal, inter-personal and social ethics. This will facilitate the development of an autonomous and responsible reasoning. II: syllabus contents aim to frame ethical responsibility of organizations in the responsibilities of the organizations, by presenting models for their articulation and ranking. III: syllabus contents provide students with knowledge on the field of corporate culture and its relation with ethics, identifying ethical leaders, employees and societies. IV: syllabus contents provide students with knowledge and with examples of codes of ethics in the field of corporations. This will facilitate the development of skills to solve ethical dilemmas, to search and collect information and to make a critical evaluation of information.
Teaching Methodologies (Including Evaluation):
Teaching methodology will include theoretical lecturing, research, reading and discussion of specific references, as well as thematic debating and critical reflection. Assessment will be continuous and based on a written test (50%) about chapters I and II, a theoretical essay (20%) a case study (20%), an individual review of a text on chapters III and IV (10%).
Demonstration of the Coherence between the Teaching Methodologies and the Learning Outcomes:
Part I: Theoretical explanation of the concepts of ethics, deontology and morals. Explanation of the relation and distinction existing between ethics and morals. Presentation of the circles of ethical reasoning according to Paul Ricoeur: personal, inter-personal and social reasoning. Explanation of the concept of justice according to John Rawls as context for ethics in corporations (corporate ethics in the context of an economic ethical reasoning). Students read texts on the topics. These texts are discussed in the classroom. Part II: Theoretical presentation of the Carroll’s pyramid of corporate responsibilities in order to facilitate the understanding of the existence of various corporate responsibilities, as well as their articulation and ranking. Debate on the pertinence of this model and on other possible models. The students write a critical review of an article on ethical corporate responsibility. Part III: Theoretical and analytical explanation of the elements of corporate culture, as well as of the key characteristics of ethical leaders and ethical employees. Explanation of the relevance of the concepts of “corporate citizenship” and of “extra-role behaviours”. Explanation and debate on ethical responsibility of the State and on the notion of “common good”. The students make a written exercise on the first three topics. Parte IV: Presentation of examples of organisational codes of ethics. Case studies: the students analyse (in group) a situation in the context of a corporation and try to solve it from the point of view of the knowledge they already have on corporate ethics.
Reading:
Cortina, A. (2008). Ética de la empresa: Claves para una nueva cultura empresarial. Valladolid: Ed. Trotta. Moreira, José Manuel (20082). A contas com a ética empresarial. Cascais: Principia. Passos, Elizete (2004). Ética nas Organizações. São Paulo: Atlas Rebelo, Glória (2010), “Ética nos negócios e responsabilidade social”. In: Dirigir: a revista para chefias e quadros, nº 111 (Jul-Set 2010), pp. 41-44. Disponível on-line: http://www.iefp.pt/iefp/publicacoes/Dirigir/Documents/2010/DIRIGIR_111.pdf Rego, A. et al. (2009), “Dez bússolas de apoio à liderança ética”. In: Dirigir: a revista para chefias e quadros, nº 107 (Julho-Setembro 2009), pp. 22-24. Disponível on-line: http://www.iefp.pt/iefp/publicacoes/Dirigir/Documents/2009/DIRIGIR_107.pdf Srour, R. H. (20039). Ética Empresarial: A Gestão da Reputação. Rio de Janeiro: Campus. Vargas, R. (2005). Os meios justificam os fins: gestão baseada em valores: da ética individual à ética empresarial. Lisboa: Gradiva.