2. Overview of this event
Introduction to the course
The syllabus
Questions and refreshments at 5:20pm
How the course is taught
Short case study
Questions and discussion
Finish at 7pm
3. Introduction to the course
4. Rationale
An online distance learning course allowing you to:
develop ethical reasoning skills to tackle ethical issues in your
work
apply these skills to the resolution of practical ethical problems
that arise across working life
focus on ethical issues arising in your own area of work, and
discuss your experience with people from other professional
backgrounds
5. Background
Developed by Inter-disciplinary Ethics Applied, a Centre for
Excellence in Teaching and Learning based at the University of
Leeds
Builds on the success of our long-standing Masters course in Health
Care ethics
Uses teaching materials and case studies developed through
partnerships with professional bodies and colleagues at
Leeds
6. Professional focus
Appropriate for people from a range of backgrounds, including the
professions, business and the public and third sectors
Case studies will be drawn from, for example:
Finance, business and accountancy
The computer industry
The environmental sector
Engineering and industry
7. Three principles
The course aims to be:
Practical: addressing problems that youll recognise from day-to-day
working life
Welfare-enhancing: providing skills that help you deal with
troubling ethical challenges
Intellectually demanding: stretching you with challenging and
engaging ideas and materials
8. Practical details
The course will run for the first time from September 2010
The course takes two years to complete as a part-time student
The course is entirely online, with no lectures, seminars or
supervisions to attend
Applicants need either a first degree, or relevant professional
experience (but no prior background in philosophy is
expected)
9. The syllabus
10. Structure of the course
Eight taught modules in a range of subjects:
Three compulsory modules
Option to replace one of the other five modules with a special
project
A dissertation
Students can register for a Postgraduate Diploma which does not
include the dissertation element
11. 1. Introduction to ethics
Examines some of concerns that are prominent in ethical discussion
generally
Moral psychology
Duty or obligation
The good human life (or well-being or happiness)
The importance of consequences
Virtues and vices, such as truthfulness, justice, courage,
self-control, cowardice, meanness, foolishness
12. 2. Professional Issues
Introduces the concept of professional ethics
What a profession is, and the role of ethics in professional
life
Professional codes of ethics
Personal and professional integrity
Fragmentation between personal and professional life
Professional duty and conscientious objection
Trust, honesty, openness
13. 3. Agents and Responsibility
Examines how we understand individuals and their
responsibilities
Individual responsibilities and duties
The practices of praise, blame, punishment and reward, and various
ways in which these practices can be justified
People assessment in issues such as pay, hiring and firing,
corporate culture, and disciplinary practice
The ethics of leadership
14. 4. Privacy and Confidentiality
The right to privacy, and how far it extends
Do some people give up their right to privacy (by becoming
celebrities for example?
Whose duty is it to protect/respect a persons privacy?
Whether confidentiality should be limited or absolute
Contrasting approaches in different professional domains
15. 5. Consent and Contracts
Moral limits on what a person may consent or agree to
The role and limits of consent and contract in explaining
obligations and rights
Exploitation
Promise keeping and contracts
16. 6. Justice, Rights and Interests
The nature of justice
Justice, equity and diversity
Justice and public and private interests
Just prices and just rewards
17. 7. Environmental Ethics
The moral status of the environment
Justice and fairness considerations: is environmental harm unfair
to animals, plants, future generations or to no-one/nothing?
How environmental considerations should be weighed against
others
18. 8. Business Ethics
What is the purpose of business?
Corporate Social Responsibility and License to Operate
Hiring and firing and human resources
Ethics of the supply chain
International business ethics
Ethics and financial decision making
Ethics and marketing
19. 9. Special Project Module
Students may choose a project for this module on which they will
produce a 3-4,000 word essay or presentation equivalent. The normal
expectation is that the topic would be closely related to their
workplace experience.
This module may replace one of modules 4-8
20. Dissertation
Students may choose a project for this module on which they will
produce a 12,000 word dissertation or presentation
equivalent.
The project may be on any topic in the field of applied and
professional ethics, but this module also provides an opportunity
for a student to examine in depth a topic closely related to their
work-place experience or professional practice.
21. Questions?
22. How the course is taught
23. Modules
Modules last for five weeks, and assessments are due three weeks
later