Current debates in business ethics research
The purpose of this seminar is to enable students to attain an in-depth understanding of selected topics, methods and authors within cutting-edge research and scholarly debates on business ethics and corporate responsibility. After the completion of this course, students will be able to evaluate a scholarly article’s theoretical and practical contribution and overall quality as well as to write a coherent essay arguing for their own opinion.
This semester’s central theme is “business in times of war”. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had a broad range of effects on business and society in Europe and beyond. In addition to this, Western companies doing business in or with Russia has become a contentious and widely debated topic. However, while the current Russian war in Ukraine has given rise to renewed debates on the responsibility of business in times of war, history provides many more cases that can be discussed – ranging from companies profiting from the Holocaust to the issue of conflict minerals.
Building upon the study of literature and classroom discussions, the aim of this course is to equip students with the philosophical foundations underlying the different positions on the responsibilities of business in times of war, learn to understand and evaluate the current scholarly debate, and (ideally) develop their own position on the central theme.
The module is offered every winter term.
The module is applicable to:
- Business Ethics and Responsible Management