TENTATIVE 10/12/07

Acc 399 Business & Professional Ethics for Directors, Executives, and Accountants

Summer 2008 Miami University Luxembourg

Instructor: Barry Arlinghaus, 317 Laws, 529-6216, arlingbp@muohio.edu

Business and Professional Ethics for Directors, Executives and Accountants provides an understanding of broadened stakeholder-oriented accountability and corporate governance in a post-Sarbanes-Oxley era. The role and impact of accounting scandals and Sarbanes-Oxley developments are examined as well as how ethical decision-making can be improved and be a critical success factor in business strategy and operations. Special issues facing multinational and European corporations operating in different cultures and regulatory regimes are also examined. This course is broadly focused and should be of interest to anyone who majors in business or who plans to invest in the stock market as well as to those entering the accounting profession. Pedagogy includes case discussion and presentations, readings, role playing, and speakers. Prerequisite: none

(However, you must meet Luxembourg program prerequisites). 

Course Objectives:

1. Explore ethical tragedies and trends affecting business and the accounting profession;
2. Identify frameworks for ethical analysis and decision making;
3. Examine the role and ethical expectations for the accounting professional;
4. Enhance each student’s understanding of ethical guidance available in accounting practice (AICPA, Sarbanes-Oxley, etc.);
5. Consider how to develop a corporate governance system;
6. Enhance each student’s understanding of corporate social responsibility;
7. Consider the above in light of being in Europe.

Text: Brooks, Leonard J., Business & Professional Ethics for Directors, Executives & Accountants, 4th Edition, Thomson Southwestern 2007.

Source of Vignettes (instructor will supply): McCain, John, with Salter, Mark, Character is Destiny: Inspiring Stories Every Young Person should Know and Every Adult Should Remember, Random House, 2005. 

Moral Competency Inventory Personal Self-Assessment: Kiel, Fred and Lennick, Doug, http://www.moralcompass.com. You will be asked to go to this website and complete the inventory, get it scored and bring it to the second evening session in the spring.

LEARNING APPROACHES

Seminar Format: Ethics is a subject that does not lend it-self to lecture. Thus, the class will be conducted primarily using the discussion format. Cases will be assigned to facilitate group and class discussions.

In-class Participation: Prior preparation and reflection accompanied by verbal interaction in class are important components of the learning experience. 125 points are allocated to participation. Fairly evaluating quantitatively each student’s contribution to discussion is difficult. Therefore, you will be awarded 100 of the points if you attend all classes and are prepared for every class (it appears to the instructor that you have read the cases and readings). The remaining 25 points are for providing quality insights and input into the discussion on a regular basis.

Ethics Cases: These cases are the heart of the course. Some cases are designated as “class cases.” The class, as a whole, will lead discussion (some questions to these cases may be assigned to individuals or a student group in order to ensure preparedness and participation). Other cases are designated as group cases. Each group will lead the presentation of one of the group cases. Each group will have one such case. However, students not presenting that case should be prepared to take part in discussion (see participation above).

The group assigned to lead the discussion will also write-up the case and turn in its write-up the day of the presentation. 100 points are allocated to the case write-up and 100 points to the presentation. A template will be distributed so that case write-ups carry approximately the “same workload” regardless of the case. Cases will be assigned randomly to groups the first day of class (5/19). How you approach the oral presentation and “discussion leadership” is up to each group – use your imagination.

Analysis of “Character is Destiny” Vignettes: Each student, individually, is responsible for two vignette write-ups. One will be due prior to leaving Oxford and will be used in the spring evening sessions to get you to start thinking about ethics and for you to get to know other students in the class. The second is due the first day class in Luxembourg (5/19). This will enable you to get to know each other better and to rekindle your awareness of ethical behavior. Each student will make 5-7 minute presentation to 3 other students. This is allocated 50 points (25 points each).  Each vignette is about a person of historical (and ethical) significance and 4-8 pages long. The instructor will supply the vignettes.

The write-up should (you will be given a template for a two-page write-up):

1. Describe the ethical dilemma(s) faced by the person;
2. Identify what encouraged them to act ethically and what tempted them to act unethically;
3. Reason out what the person could have done to act more ethically; and
4. Describe the effect(s) of the person acting ethically.

Moral Competency Inventory Personal Self-Assessment: Kiel, Fred and Lennick, Doug, http://www.moralcompass.com. You will be asked to go to this website and complete the inventory, get it scored and bring it to the second evening session in the spring. This is allocated 25 points.

Corporate Code of Conduct and Corporate Social Responsibility: Each group will be assigned a company. Each group will obtain information from the company’s website. The company will be a large multi-national corporation headquartered in either the U.S. or Europe. There are two parts to this assignment.

You (group of 3) will provide a two to four page (typed single-spaced but double-spaced between paragraphs) summary of the corporation’s code of conduct (or similar title). At the end of your summary comment on what you think is missing and/or what you think will be difficult for the company to enforce and why. Your write-up is due April 24th.

You (group of 3) will provide a two to four page (typed single-spaced but double-spaced between paragraphs) summary of the corporation’s statement of corporate social responsibility (or similar title). At the end of your summary comment on what you think is missing and/or what you think will be difficult for the company to accomplish and why. Your write-up is due April 24th.

You (group of 3) will present your summaries of corporate codes of conduct and corporate social responsibility to the class in Luxembourg. Presentations should take 12-15 minutes. Each write-up is allocated 100 points and each presentation 75 points. Use your imagination on the presentations. 

Final Exam: In your packet of materials for the course you will be given a list of 40 terms and/or concepts that are covered in the reading assignments (Brooks’ text and outside readings). The same 40 terms or concepts will be listed on the final along with 30 statements. The statements will either be definitions of the terms, descriptions of the concepts, applications of the terms, or applications of the concepts. Many of the statements will be application oriented. You will have to select 30 from the list of 40 and match them to the 30 statements of application, definition, description, etc. This will count for 180 of the 200 of the exam points. A prudent student would do the assigned reading and become familiar with the terms and/or concepts as the course progresses. This exam is closed book and closed notes.

The other 20 points of the exam will be for short essay questions about selected in-class videos - those shown on June 16 and June 23.     

Grading:

* 3 students to a group (assuming 30 students in a section)

Ethics Case Assignments:

Videos Shown and Discussed in Class in Luxembourg:

Daily Class Assignments: