Module overview
Some of the key ethical challenges that arise in business stem from the fact that businesses are organisations, structured social arrangements of multiple individuals. For example, how can individuals hope to act ethically within an organisation, when their actions necessarily have consequences that are beyond their knowledge and control, and are bound by rules and roles which they often do not choose for themselves? Can organisations manage their workforce so as to make them behave morally? What then of the role of autonomy in moral action? And how do these issues affect businesses whose product cannot be measured in simple economic terms—such as information, health, and education? This module will explore some of these challenging issues that arise out of the fact that are our working lives are inevitably organised lives.