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CoursespecificationforMBA8000

Coursespecification
Thecurrentandofficialversionsofthecoursespecificationsareavailableonthewebat
http://www.usq.edu.au/course/specification/current.
Pleaseconsultthewebforupdatesthatmayoccurduringtheyear.

MBA8000AppliedBusinessResearchandEthics
Semester2,2015OnlineToowoomba
Units:
1
FacultyorSection:
FacultyofBusiness,Education,LawandArts
SchoolorDepartment: SchoolofManagementandEnterprise
Versionproduced:
19July2016

Staffing
Examiner:AnnCormack
Moderator:JaneSummers

Otherrequisites
Studentsarerequiredtohaveaccesstoapersonalcomputer,emailcapabilitiesandInternetaccesstoUConnect.
Currentdetailsofcomputerrequirementscanbefoundathttp://www.usq.edu.au/current
students/support/computing/hardware.

Rationale
Thiscoursewillfocusonbuildinganethicallyandempiricallybasedexaminationofbusinessandprofessionalissues
relevanttotherealitiesofthecorporateendeavourincludingthegovernanceofcorporations,theimpactsof
corporatedecisionsonvariousstakeholdersandtheissueofeconomiccorruption.Thecoursewillintroduce
studentstoarangeoftheoreticalapproachestocorporateethicaldecisionmakingwithinthecontextofcasebased
analysisandappliedresearchmethodologies.

Synopsis
Thefundamentalroleofbusinessistobenefitsocietythroughtheprovisionofvalueaddingproductsandservices.
Thiscoursewillexposestudentstoarangeofcomplexandproblematicmoralcasesthatwillrequirethecollection
ofdatatoprovidethebasisforsolutionsthatwillachievecorporateoutcomeswithoutrestraintfromtheoretical
moralreasoning.Studentswillberequiredtoconsideravarietyofpossibilitiesofmoralconsequencestotheir
decisionsandtodeveloptheabilitytoimagineawiderangeofpossibleissues,consequencesandsolutions.

Objectives
Onsuccessfulcompletionofthiscourse,studentsshouldbeableto:
1.demonstrateappliedknowledgeofbusinessethicsandpracticesufficienttocomprehendandaddress
complexethicaldilemmas
2.identifyandcriticallydiscusstheethicalissuesinherentinarangeofcomplexorganizationalcases
3.designresearchandbeabletoevaluate,synthesiseandcriticallyanalysedatawithothertheoreticalevidence

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3.designresearchandbeabletoevaluate,synthesiseandcriticallyanalysedatawithothertheoreticalevidence
toprovidesolutionsformoraldebatesthatarebothcreativeandpractical
4.demonstratereflectivepracticeabouttheethicalissuesinherentinbusinessdecisionsandbehaviours.

Topics
Description

Weighting(%)

1.

Anintroductiontoethicalissuesassociatedwithresearch

5.00

2.

Appliedresearchmethodsfordecisionmaking

10.00

3.

Researchdesignandmethodologies

10.00

4.

Datadecisionsandtheimpactofethicsonresearchdesigns

10.00

5.

Anintroductiontoethicalframeworksandperspectivesforbusiness

10.00

6.

Ethicalissuesinthecorporatesphere,responsibilitytostakeholders,systemsandthe
environment

10.00

7.

Ethicaldecisionmaking,moraljudgementandthelegislativeenvironmentinbusiness

15.00

8.

Theimpactofcorporatephilosophyonissuesofgovernanceandethicsintheworkplace

10.00

9.

Corruptionandbriberyinbusinessandprofessionallife

10.00

10. Theimpactofglobalisationonresearchandethicaldecisions

10.00

Textandmaterialsrequiredtobepurchasedoraccessed
ALLtextbooksandmaterialsavailabletobepurchasedcanbesourcedfromUSQ'sOnlineBookshop(unless
otherwisestated).
(https://bookshop.usq.edu.au/bookweb/subject.cgi?year=2015&sem=02&subject1=MBA8000)
PleasecontactusforalternativepurchaseoptionsfromUSQBookshop.
(https://bookshop.usq.edu.au/contact/)
Shaw,W,Barry,V,Issa,T&Catley,B2013,Moralissuesinbusiness,2ndAsiaPacificedn,CengageLearning,
Australia.
(Ebookalsoavailableathttp://www.cengagebrain.com.au/shop/isbn/9780170214957.)
Summers,J&Smith,B2014,Communicationskillshandbook,4thedn,JohnWiley&Sons,Milton,Queensland.

Referencematerials
Referencematerialsarematerialsthat,ifaccessedbystudents,mayimprovetheirknowledgeandunderstandingof
thematerialinthecourseandenrichtheirlearningexperience.
Beauchamp,T,Bowie,N,&Arnold,D2009,Ethicaltheoryandbusiness,8thedn,Pearson,London.
Boatright,J2012,Ethicsandtheconductofbusiness,7thedn,LoyolaUniversity,Chicago.
Buchholz,RA2009,Rethinkingcapitalism:communityandresponsibilityinbusiness,Routledge,NewYork.
Schweickart,D2002,Aftercapitalism,Rowman&Littlefield,Lanham,Maryland.

Whyte,WF&Whyte,KK1991,Makingmondragon:thegrowthanddynamicsoftheworkercooperativecomplex,
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Whyte,WF&Whyte,KK1991,Makingmondragon:thegrowthanddynamicsoftheworkercooperativecomplex,
2ndrevisededn,ILRPress,Ithaca,NewYork.

Studentworkloadrequirements
Activity

Hours

Assessments

40.00

DirectedStudy

100.00

PrivateStudy

24.00

Assessmentdetails
Description

Marksoutof Wtg(%)

DueDate

ASSIGNMENT1

100

25

01Sep2015

ASSIGNMENT2

100

40

20Oct2015

2HOUREXAMINATION

100

35

EndS2

Notes

(seenote1)

NOTES
1.TheexaminationdatewillbeavailableviaUConnectwhentheofficialexaminationtimetablehasbeen
released

Importantassessmentinformation
1.Attendancerequirements:
External/Online:IfyouareaninternationalstudentinAustralia,youareadvisedtoattendallclassesatyour
campus.Forallotherstudents,therearenoattendancerequirementsforthiscourse.However,itisthe
students'responsibilitytostudyallmaterialprovidedtothemorrequiredtobeaccessedbythemtomaximise
theirchanceofmeetingtheobjectivesofthecourseandtobeinformedofcourserelatedactivitiesand
administration.
Oncampus:Itisthestudents'responsibilitytoattendandparticipateappropriatelyinallactivities(suchas
lectures,tutorials,laboratoriesandpracticalwork)scheduledforthem,andtostudyallmaterialprovidedto
themorrequiredtobeaccessedbythemtomaximisetheirchanceofmeetingtheobjectivesofthecourse
andtobeinformedofcourserelatedactivitiesandadministration.
2.Requirementsforstudentstocompleteeachassessmentitemsatisfactorily:
Tosatisfactorilycompleteanindividualassessmentitemastudentmustachieveatleast50%ofthemarks.
(DependingupontherequirementsinStatement4below,studentsmaynothavetosatisfactorilycomplete
eachassessmentitemtoreceiveapassinggradeinthiscourse.)
3.Penaltiesforlatesubmissionofrequiredwork:
StudentsshouldrefertotheAssessmentProcedurehttp://policy.usq.edu.au/documents.php?id=14749PL
(point4.2.4)
4.Requirementsforstudenttobeawardedapassinggradeinthecourse:
Tobeassuredofreceivingapassinggradeastudentmustachieveatleast50%ofthetotalweightedmarks
availableforthecourse.
5.Methodusedtocombineassessmentresultstoattainfinalgrade:
Thefinalgradesforstudentswillbeassignedonthebasisoftheaggregateoftheweightedmarksobtained
foreachofthesummativeassessmentitemsinthecourse.
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6.Examinationinformation:
Thisisarestrictedexamination.Theonlymaterialsthatcandidatesmayuseintheexaminationforthiscourse
are:
i.writingmaterials.Thesemustbenonelectronicandfreefrommaterialwhichcouldgivethestudentan
unfairadvantageintheexamination.
ii.anunmarkednonelectronictranslationdictionary(butnottechnicaldictionary).Astudentwhosefirst
languageisnotEnglishmaytakeatranslationdictionaryintotheexaminationroom.Atranslation
dictionarywithanyhandwrittennoteswillnotbepermitted.Translationdictionarieswillbesubjectto
perusalandmayberemovedfromthecandidate'spossessionuntilappropriatedisciplinaryactionis
completediffoundtocontainmaterialthatcouldgivethecandidateanunfairadvantage.
7.ExaminationperiodwhenDeferred/Supplementaryexaminationswillbeheld:
AnyDeferredorSupplementaryexaminationsforthiscoursewillbeheldduringthenextexaminationperiod.
8.UniversityStudentPolicies:
StudentsshouldreadtheUSQpolicies:Definitions,AssessmentandStudentAcademicMisconducttoavoid
actionswhichmightcontraveneUniversitypoliciesandpractices.Thesepoliciescanbefoundat
http://policy.usq.edu.au.

Assessmentnotes
1.Harvard(AGPS)isthereferencingsystemrequiredinthiscourse.StudentsshoulduseHarvard(AGPS)style
intheirassignmentstoformatdetailsoftheinformationsourcestheyhavecitedintheirwork.TheHarvard
(AGPS)styletobeusedisdefinedbytheUSQLibrary'sreferencingguideat
http://www.usq.edu.au/library/referencing.

CRICOS:QLD00244B|NSW02225M|UniversityofSouthernQueensland|Updated19July2016

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