ETHICS, ENTERPRISE & LEADERSHIP
Sponsored by the Henry A. Schimberg
Endowment to the
The Department of Religious Studies
Spring, 2006
Course:
Professor: Laurie
Harris Office
Telephone: 893-6015
Classroom: HSSB
3041 Office
Hours: W
Time:
TUESDAY
E-mail
address: lharris@global.ucsb.edu
“Civilization is first
of all a moral thing. Without truth, respect
for duty, love of
neighbor, and virtue, everything is destroyed.
The morality of a
society is alone the basis of civilization.”
Henri Frederic Amiel, Swiss philosopher,
poet and critic
(1821-1881)
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This new seminar course is designed to examine ethical
issues and behavior in personal and public life through the use of case studies
in individual, business and political morality and to sample current thinking
about ethics and leadership through interaction with distinguished guest
speakers from the public and private sector.
This course will provide a forum for intense interactive discussion of
these important issues and will study how business and other behavior is shaped
by the vision and ethics of its leaders and which foundational principles bear
upon responsible decision making in private and public sectors.
We will also consider the impact of blending principles
of American law with economic and business practices that has fostered the
growth of the corporation and the multinational corporation. We will use post modern theories for
analyzing ethical dilemmas and stakeholder theory.
NOTE: This seminar is specifically designed for students,
who are seriously interested in the relationship of ethics to leadership in
politics, business and government; who may aspire to public service or public
office or corporate leadership; who want to examine more carefully basic
assumptions about values and social and personal choices; or who simply wish to
sharpen their insights and understanding of what is ethical behavior
.
The goals of this course are to:
- explore the continuum of philosophical and
religious thought about ethics
- create familiarity with concepts of ethical
behavior and how to use ethical frameworks
to make business and personal decisions;
- examine basic assumptions about values and
social and personal choices;
- evaluate and understand ethical aspects of
leadership and how to transmit ethics oriented leadership skills to
business and other enterprises
- analyze global and domestic business conduct
and obligations according to various ethical standards and theories of
behavior;
- establish a strong sense of the connection between personal
and business ethics and the qualities of personal and business leadership.
Course
Format:
The course will be organized into ten topics related to
various aspects of ethics and leadership.
In the second half of the quarter, (beginning Week 5),
pre-assigned groups of students
will be responsible for preparing an in-depth briefing for the rest of the
class. The briefing will be presented orally and in writing and should be
crafted as though the students are briefing
a decision making council (like the President’s Cabinet, for example) on
the background, policy options, political strategy and ethical considerations
and leadership dimensions associated with the topic. The students responsible for each briefing
will be expected to research the topic independently from a variety of
suggested sources in order to prepare a thorough presentation. The entire class will be expected to
participate actively in discussion. I
have tried to match guests to the week’s topic and will invite each guest to
participate in the class discussion. The
presentations will be scheduled from
SCHEDULE
OF CLASSES AND ASSIGNMENTS:
All assigned reading and handouts
should be completed in advance of each class and will form the basis of class
discussion. Some
handouts will be distributed at the start of class and used during that class.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1.
Completion of all reading assignments and class
attendance. Class participation will count as 25% of your
final course grade.
2.
In-class group case study presentation, with both
oral and written component. This
will count as 30% of the final course grade.
3.
Extra-course films and lectures. Each student
is required to attend two events listed below and to turn in a one-page
summary of the film or lecture at the class immediately following the film or
lecture. The lectures etc are listed at the end of this syllabus. This
assignment will count as 10% of the final course grade. Both assignments must be completed to receive
credit for this assignment. If you
attend only one film or lecture, you will not receive credit for this
assignment. Summaries may not be
turned in outside of the class meeting or via e-mail
4.
A book
report/paper to be due finals week. Details by week 3. In addition to briefing the Cabinet (that’s
you class) as part of the group project presentation, everyone will be expected
to write a book review/final paper covering both the material in the book and
its relation to the dialogue and theories we will cover in this class. The
paper should be approximately 10 -12 pages in length and will be due on the
June date scheduled for the final exam in this class . This
will count as 35% percent of the final course grade.
GRADING: Grades will be weighted on the basis of the
class briefing (30%), class participation (25%), extra course films/lectures
(10%), and final examination or paper (35%).
Active participation in class discussions will affect final course
grade, because of the weight given to class participation.
NOTE: All written work will be evaluated and
graded based on ability to organize and
understand the relevant problems,
ability to critically analyze the ethical issues raised from a broad
theoretical and practical perspective and
ability to offer a solution supported by reference to information and
cases covered in the texts and in class.
READINGS
Required texts:
The Ethics of Leadership, by Joanne B. Ciulla
Reader (The Reader is available for purchase at
Graffikart Copy Shop in
Various
materials and news articles to be distributed in class
I will have office hours for this class every Wednesday
from 1 -
A schedule of topics for the course is listed below. This
is subject to change as the quarter progresses. There is a schedule of specific
reading assignments for each week.
I hope you are as excited about this course as I am, and
if you are a little bit apprehensive, I share that as well. This is a fascinating and daunting course of
study. This class has been the focus of
much discussion and scrutiny as to course content and approach. I am looking forward to sharing some of that,
to examining with you this unique area of study, to learning our guests’
opinions about the direction we are taking in so many of our important
institutions and to forging a better understanding of leadership.
CLASS SCHEDULE:
4/4 Week
1—Overview—What is the Study of Ethics? (Harris)
What is the field of business ethics?
What are ethical dilemmas? Frameworks for resolving
them?
How ethics are taught….“Schools
that Graduate Thieves….”
PERHAPS:
Introduction from Henry A. Schimberg
Assigned
SPECIAL EVENT MONDAY APRIL 10,
4/11 Week
2—Philosophy –What is the philosophical line between
ethics, leadership and a “just” society?
What is the role of religion in ethics?
A survey of ideas from Eastern and Western philosophy
How do religions through their teachings shape ethics
and leadership?
GUEST: DR.
RICHARD D. HECHT, UCSB DEPARTMENT OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Assigned reading: EOL pages 93 -123; Reader Chapter 2
4/18 Week
3—Religion—Buddhist Ethics and Eastern Religions
What religious tenets lead us to strive towards
“excellence”? (honor)
A sampling from various religions and cultures, with
emphasis on engaged Buddhism
GUEST: DR. VESNA
WALLACE, UCSB DEPARTMENT OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Assigned
4/25 Week
4—Leadership—Leadership in its various dimensions, including over time and
through cultures
Who are leaders? How do leaders emerge? What are
qualities of leadership?
GUEST: DR. KEITH
BERWICK, THE ASPEN INSTITUTE
Assigned
Reader,
Chapter 4
5/2 Week
5—The Modern Corporation—Ethics and enterprise
The evolution and role of the corporation in modern
society;
GUEST: HENRY A. SCHIMBERG, FORMER PRESIDENT AND CEO OF COCA
COLA ENTERPRISES
How
do I as CEO transmit my values and run an ethically competent company?
What is corporate culture and how can it be changed?
A discussion of corporate culture and how it
is shaped by leadership
Assigned
NOTE: STUDENT GROUP PROJECTS CASE STUDY
PRESENTATIONS BEGIN
[SHOW
THE CORPORATION OR ENRON SOMEWHERE HERE?]
5/9 Week
6—What are the obligations and responsibilities of corporate leaders?
Stakeholders of corporations in all dimensions;
Start corporate social responsibility (Harris)
GUEST: PATTY DE
DOMINIC, CEO PDQ CAREERS AND CEO EXECUTIVE
SEARCH; INTERNATIONAL
CORPORATE CONSULTANT
Assigned
Reader, World Bank Report on CSR (O’Rourke)
Case Study Presentation
5/16 Week 7 What has happened to
our social safety net?
What is the relationship between business choices
and social realities? How can NGOs
use American law to “correct” business decisions?
GUESTS: DAN
STORMER, ESQ., CIVIL RIGHTS AND CONSTITUTIONAL LAWYER;
DR. RICHARD APPELBAUM, UCSB DEPARTMENT OF GLOBAL & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
Assigned
Handout: EXCERPTS
FROM NELSON LICHTENSTEIN BOOK
5/23 Week
8: The modern
corporation, Part 2
Continue with CSR & stakeholder evaluation (Harris) (1 hour)
GUEST: MARILYN
TAM, CO-CHAIR, THE
The Corporation in
the 21st century—leadership and sustainability
Assigned
Excerpt from Lester Brown (handout)
5/30 Week 9 What would
Aristotle do?
Exploring future issues in social and business ethics
GUEST: US CONGRESS MEMBER LOIS CAPPS (D-23)
Case study
Assigned
handout
6/5 Week
10—Last Class
Either—
The Israeli Commission on Future Generations and other Commissions on Sustainability, or;
How
to create momentum to “do the right thing” in various sectors-
How do citizens and NGOs advocate for and create change
in important social policies—to get
government and business institutions to “do the right thing”?
Guest Panel of business/philanthropists
Assigned
Book List for Book Report Will Be Handed Out in
Week 3
Extra Course Lectures
and Films: (additional lectures for credit may be announced
in class)
Capps
Forum on Ethics
Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, Former
Tobacco Industry Executive turned reformer
whose story is chronicled in the film, The Insider (1999)
"What Do You Do With What You Know: The Power of One"
Monday, April 10 / 8:00 p.m. / Free Victoria
Hall, 33 West Victoria Street, Santa Barbara
The
Taubman Lecture
Bernard-Henri Lévy—The Resurgence of Anti-Semitism in
Monday, April 10 / 8 pm /
Campbell Hall / Free
French philosopher, war
reporter and public intellectual Bernard-Henri Lévy is best known in the
Wangari Maathai
2004 Nobel Peace Laureate
Assistant Minister for Environment and Natural Resources, Republic of Kenya
Founder and Former Coordinator, the Green Belt Movement
"Sustainable Development, Democracy, and Peace"
Friday, April 28 / 7:00 p.m. / UCSB Students $10, UCSB Campbell Hall
His Holiness The Dalai Lama
June 2 --further details
TBA
After
Innocence, with
filmmaker Jessica Sanders and exoneree Herman Atkins, on Thursday, May 11 at
HUMAN RIGHTS
FILM FESTIVAL:
Friday, May 19 / Lobero Theatre
State of Fear – The Truth about Terrorism With filmmaker Peter Kinoy and other guests to be announced“One
of the most remarkable explorations of recent history ever conducted” Salon.comThe
acclaimed 2005 documentary State of Fear juxtaposes the spectacular
beauty of Peru with disturbing revelations about the terrorism, violence,
abuses of civil authority and social breakdown that racked the Andean nation
for several decades. (Pamela Yates, Paco de Onís & Peter
Kinoy, 2005, 94 min.)
Mardi Gras – Made in
11:30 am La Sierra Shot over the course of a year, this
startling film focuses on a peasant leader, a soldier and a young woman
affiliated with Colombia’s illegal paramilitary armies as they make difficult
life choices in the barrio La Sierra in Medellín. (Scott
Dalton & Margarita
1:30 pm The Liberace of Baghdad A gripping account of the toll of the
occupation and insurgency on ordinary civilians, this film examines pianist
Samir Peter, stranded in a heavily fortified Baghdad hotel, trying to survive
in post-war Iraq while waiting for an exit visa to the United States. (Sean
McAllister, 2004, 75 min.)
3 pm Street Fight This gripping story of the underbelly
of democracy focuses on a recent bare-knuckles race for mayor of Newark, NJ
between two African-American Democratic candidates, one hoping for reform, the
other the head of an old-style political machine. (Marshall Curry, 2005, 83
min.)
4:45 pm No More Tears Sister Set during the violent ethnic conflict
that has enveloped Sri Lanka over decades, this film renders the courageous
life of human rights activist Dr. Rajani Thiranagama. The film delves into the
rarely explored theme of revolutionary women and their dangerous pursuit of
justice. (Helene Klodawsky, 2004, 79 min.)
9:15 pm Videoletters Unfailingly moving and inspiring, Videoletters,
shot over the past five years, documents actual videos that were made as means
of reconciliation between estranged individuals from the war-scarred former
Yugoslavia. (Katarina Rejger & Eric van den Broek,
2004/2005, 75 min.)
Festival pass: $30 Admits one person to all film screenings,
including Opening Night (limited to 100 total passes / non-transferable); Individual film
tickets: $6On sale in advance at the Arts & Lectures Ticket Office and at
the door, if still available.
Monday, May
22 with The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till, a documentary that
is not merely a powerful film, but has also led to a criminal case being
reopened.
