Business Ethics

BMGT 1341.2W001

Fall, 2008

Librarian talk about Getting Started!  As you begin, narrow your topic to a size that you can manage.  Consider keywords that will help you find the information you need. These can be names of people, events, or broader identifying terms.  Use these keywords for locating information in the library catalog, electronic databases, and on the internet. Sample Keywords:  business ethics, benefits, employee pay, customer service, management ethics, Accounting regulation, fraud, hiring practices, inventory control and security, regulation of imported goods, as well as others mentioned below. More about Choosing Keywords (30 sec.)

Assignment: Business Ethics Group Project

You and your group have been hired as consultants to write a code of ethics for Zippy Corporation.  Zippy is a chain of retail stores and online retailer that sells small gift and decorative items across the United States .  Most of the items are produced overseas, mainly China , and imported directly to Zippy.  Zippy stores operated Monday through Saturday 10am to 8pm and Sunday noon to 6pm.  Zippy employs one thousand persons in retail stores, online support, warehouses, and administrative support such as accounting, purchasing, human resources, legal, and facilities management.  All sales are either cash or credit card. 

Management is most concerned about employee theft and customer service, but want to be sure that their new code of ethics covers all employees, upper level management to sales clerk and all major ethical issues.

You and your group will be assigned a section of the ethics code to write.  Your group will need to address the issues that you consider most important in specific detail.  Write a code of ethics that you think covers the major issues based on what your learned in class and additional research.  You may want to look up some codes of ethics as models to begin your task.   Your group should research the major issues or laws relating to your section.  The librarians can help. 

Your code of ethics should cover the major issues that we discussed in class.  Be sure to balance the needs of the employees, the customers, the suppliers, and the company.  Your code should be short, but cover the areas that your group considers important to your section.

In addition to the code, your group will need to write a 3 to 5 page paper explaining the rationale for your code to management.  You will need to include a power point presentation.  Your code will then be posted for other groups to read and discuss. 

You will be given an opportunity to rate your group members for their participation and contribution to the project.  Your grade will be based 40% on the code, the paper and the power point presentation, 40% on your group work, and 20% on the discussion of other groups’ ethical codes.

Due Date:  December 2, 2008

Sections will include:

• General Policy Regarding Laws and Business Conduct
• Employees (How the corporation treats the employee)
• Employees (How the employee conducts himself/herself in work related environments)
• Customers (How the corporation interacts with customers)
• Suppliers (How the corporation interacts with suppliers)
• Health and Safety (Employees, Customers, Suppliers, and Environmental considerations)
• Import and Customs Matters
• Internet Security  

Sections will be assigned based on the number of groups in the class.  Not all sections may be assigned.

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BOOKS 

Librarian Talk about Books! Apply online for a library card.   Use your card to: Place a hold on a book. Request a book listed in the catalog but available from another location. Access databases from home.  The catalog is online at Lone Star College - Kingwood Library Catalog Electronic books or eBooks are available at  NetLibrary. You will need a library card barcode number to read eBooks from off-campus. Create a Free Account to save favorite book titles and notes in NetLibrary.  More about...Finding Books (31 sec.)

DATABASES 

Librarian Talk about Finding Journal and Newspaper Articles!  Electronic databases are purchased by the libraries for your research use. Use them to find articles in newspapers and journals, letters, reference books, illustrations, photographs and more. Home access to article databases is available with your updated library card barcode. If you need assistance finding an article contact the Reference Librarians and they will see that you get the article. They will need full bibliographic information - and your name and address. Send your phone number as well, so they can contact you if necessary. Use your library card to login to these online journal databases.  More about searching databases (25 sec.)

• Business and Company Resource Center   -  International and U.S. Company profiles, industry rankings, current investment ratings, financial ratios. Create lists of companies by SIC code or geographical area. Find news articles from scholarly business and industry publications such as The Financial Times, Business Rankings Annual, 2000 through Present, Oil and Gas Journal, Chemical Week and more. To find articles on ethics and a particular industry, use the "Articles Search" and enter your keywords.
• Business Source Complete   -  Provides full text for over 3,500 scholarly business journals covering management, economics, finance, accounting, international business and much more. Updated daily. This resource is very good for finding articles from professional business publications. For example in topic two above, try using the keyword phrases "business ethics" and "employees" and "compensation" to find articles on how corporations treat employees. The database will offer alternative keywords as you search.
• ProQuest Research Library  -   Articles from journals, magazines, newspapers; many scholarly journals. You will be able to find articles for most of the topics listed above. For example in topic six above, try using the keyword phrase "business ethics" and the keyword "environment." The results page will also include alternate search suggestions and terms to narrow your search further.

INTERNET

Librarian Talk about the Internet! The internet will be a wonderful source of original documents. Browse the sites we have suggested below. Remember, you do want to find reputable sites. Look at: Accuracy - The information should be researched and show proof of that research.  Source - Look at the domain:  .edu   .gov   .org  .net are valid research sources. Your company's website is also a valuable resource. Authority - What are the author's credentials? (Don't quote from another college freshman's paper.) Coverage - Does the page have the information you need for your research? Objectivity - If a work is biased, use it - just make sure your professor knows YOU know. Offer both sides of issues, where applicable.  More about finding internet sources (25 sec.)

• Federal Business Opportunities - This is the government web site which companies use to find jobs to bid on. Because winning a job from the government is a complex task, this web page offers companies information on compliance rules, partner opportunities, vendor regulations and Central Contractor Registration.
• Federal Acquisition Regulation - In order to do business with the Federal Government, business must follow these regulations.
• National Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils - This organization supports energy conservation and ethanol use.
• Analysis of effectiveness of Alternative fuel vehicles - This is part of a report titled "REPORT TO CONGRESS - Effects of the Alternative Motor Fuels Act CAFE Incentives Policy." For more information on CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) try this FAQ page.
• Human Rights Campaign - Information on current federal legislation regarding domestic partner benefits.
• Business Ethics Primer - from the International Business Ethics Institute, this page defines business ethics.
• Corporate Ethics - A group of transcripts from a 2002 PBS series about ethics and Wall Street. Includes the Enron scandal, Imclone, WorldCom, and more.
• The Business Ethics Network - An organization with the mission of improving the effectiveness of corporate campaigns worldwide in order to make business practices more ethical in terms of the environment, health, social justice, and labor.
  

SUPPORT: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Librarian Talk Support for a successful paper is more than finding the right resources.  Putting it all together takes time and effort.  Sometimes it takes additional help from the librarians or tutors.   Please consider the following aids.  More about getting help (25 sec.)

Citing Sources Using the Library MLA Style Guide | LSC - Kingwood Library guide. Examples of both paper and electronic citations.

Avoiding Plagiarism   |   Excellent information and guide on how to avoid plagiarism from the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University.

University of Texas Copyright Crash Course | This helpful guide on copyright is suggested by Lone Star College-Kingwood Teaching and Learning Center.

Learning  Center |   Check our hours for in-house tutoring.

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• Page created by Becky Bradley, Feb. 2008. Updated July, 2008, BB.