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Business Ethics (MKTG30012)
Undergraduate level 3Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
For information about the University’s phased return to campus and in-person activity in Winter and Semester 2, please refer to the on-campus subjects page.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Semester 1
Please refer to the LMS for up-to-date subject information, including assessment and participation requirements, for subjects being offered in 2020.
Overview
Availability | Semester 1 |
---|---|
Fees | Look up fees |
This subject addresses the ethical challenges confronting managers and marketers in contemporary business organisations. Ethically questionable practices can include sweatshop labour, the destruction of the natural environment, sex in advertising, and political lobbying and influence. But business and marketing can also demonstrate ethical leadership, for example through green products, cause-related marketing and sustainable supply chains. The subject will explore why firms respond in these ways from the context of debates on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability, including strategic, ethical and critical/political perspectives. The subject then addresses what ethical issues are important to specific stakeholder groups, including employees, consumers, governments and NGO activists.
Intended learning outcomes
On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:
- appreciate the variety of social, political and economic forces, stakeholders and issues affecting business organisations today at global and local levels.
- identify and analyse current public issues in the interplay between businesses and their stakeholders, such as social justice, environmental degradation, and government regulation.
- critically evaluate the debates around ethics, social responsibilities and sustainability for business; identify the different ethical frameworks for engaging in those debates; and understand how managers and marketers can respond to calls for social responsibility and sustainability.
- apply the above learnings to real-world cases and situations.
Generic skills
On successful completion of this subject, students should have improved the following generic skills:
- critical thinking about ethical, societal and environmental issues in organised settings;
- oral and written communication;
- problem solving and collaborative learning;
- synthesis of data and other information.
Last updated: 9 April 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Please refer to Recommended Background Knowledge.
Corequisites
Please refer to Recommended Background Knowledge.
Non-allowed subjects
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
MGMT30008 | Organisations, Ethics and Society | Not available in 2024 |
12.5 |
MKTG30007 | Marketing and Society | Not available in 2024 |
12.5 |
Recommended background knowledge
Please note this is a third-year level subject. Students should have completed at least 175 points of study prior to taking this subject.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 9 April 2024
Assessment
Due to the impact of COVID-19, assessment may differ from that published in the Handbook. Students are reminded to check the subject assessment requirements published in the subject outline on the LMS
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Reflective essay
| Week 3 | 5% |
Reflective essay
| Week 11 | 5% |
A group presentation in an assigned tutorial | 10% | |
Group assignment (in groups of 2-3)
| Week 9 | 20% |
Tutorial preparation and participation | Throughout the teaching period | 10% |
An examination
| During the examination period | 50% |
Last updated: 9 April 2024
Dates & times
- Semester 1
Principal coordinator Ben Neville Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours One 2-hour lecture plus one 1-hour tutorial per week. Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 2 March 2020 to 7 June 2020 Last self-enrol date 13 March 2020 Census date 30 April 2020 Last date to withdraw without fail 5 June 2020 Assessment period ends 3 July 2020 Semester 1 contact information
Time commitment details
170 hours
Last updated: 9 April 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Crane & Matten, 2010, Business Ethics (3E), Oxford
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 9 April 2024