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Unethical Decision Making in Organizations

Approx. 20 hours to complete

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Course Summary

Unethical Decision Making is a course that explores the psychological and social factors that can lead to unethical behavior. The course covers various topics such as biases, group dynamics, and rationalizations that can affect decision-making and provides strategies for avoiding unethical actions.

Key Learning Points

Gain an understanding of the psychological and social factors that can lead to unethical behavior
Learn about biases, group dynamics, and rationalizations that can affect decision-making
Develop strategies for avoiding unethical actions

Learning Outcomes

Identify the psychological and social factors that can lead to unethical behavior
Evaluate biases, group dynamics, and rationalizations that can affect decision-making
Develop strategies for avoiding unethical actions

Prerequisites or good to have knowledge before taking this course

Basic understanding of psychology and social behavior
Interest in ethical decision-making

Course Difficulty Level

Intermediate

Course Format

Online
Self-paced

Similar Courses

Business Ethics
Moralities of Everyday Life
Leadership, Ethics and Compliance

Related Education Paths

Related Books

Description

This course 'Unethical decision making in organizations : A seminar on the dark side of the force' will teach you how strong organizational contexts push good people towards unethical decisions. You will also learn how to protect yourself and your organization against such forces lurking in the dark.

About the Course This course teaches how narrow frames and strong contexts can push good people towards unethical decisions and how they can protect themselves and their organization against ethical blindness. The goal of this course is to empower the participants to analyze the risks of unethical or illegal behavior that might be triggered by powerful contexts. It draws from various disciplines such as management, psychology, sociology, philosophy, and literature, in order to learn what these disciplines contribute to a better understanding of unethical behavior. The course also analyzes some of the most prominent organizational scandals of the recent decades through the lenses of these disciplines. Whenever we hear about ethical scandals, we tend to believe that unethical or illegal behaviour in organizations is driven by character deficiencies of individual actors. Put differently, we simply assume that bad things are done by bad people. However, numerous corporate scandals have demonstrated that even people with a high level of integrity can break the rules if they are put into a strong context. A better understanding of why and under what conditions good people make bad ethical decisions will enable us to better protect individuals as well as their respective organizations against the potentially overwhelming power of the context. It will also enable us to cure societies from problems like corruption. At the end of the course, you are able to: 1. Explain the impact of social context on individual decision making using various theories (from Management, Sociology, Psychology, and Philosophy) 2. Apply these theories to the analysis of some of the most eminent organizational scandals of the recent decades 3. Assess risks of ethical blindness in your own organizational context 4. Design interventions to reduce such risks for yourself and your organization Recommended Background No background expertise is required. The course is open for interested layperson as well as experts who work on related topics, be it as researchers or practitioners (e.g., compliance managers in corporations). Why is this course important for me? Currently, the understanding of why good people make unethical decisions is rather limited, related research is rather fragmented, and the management of such problems in organizations is overly simplistic, legalistic, and inadequate. Understanding contexts, including the dangers of routines, the mindlessness of our daily decisions, and the healing power of mindful decision-making routines is of increasing importance. In this course, you will learn the latest knowledge and the appropriate tool box for dealing with ethical challenges that you will face throughout your life! What do I need to follow this course? We build bridges between various scientific disciplines and will familiarize you with those disciplines smoothly. You need no expertise, just come and share your own real-world experiences about unethical decisions. After all, we are all experts in making decisions—some more ethically, some less ethically—aren’t we?

Outline

Week 1- Ethical and unethical decision making
1.1 - Introduction to the course
1.2 - A little history of Evil
1.3 - Dilemma - How to make ethical decisions
Syllabus and Grading policies
Discussion forum guidelines
Our stance on Plagiarism
Instructors
Development team
Getting started : Meet and Greet !
Learning Outcomes and Assignments
Suggested discussions
Additional readings
To read before starting Ethical Dilemma assignment
Quiz 1
Ethical dilemma assignment

Week 2- Introduction to unethical decisions in organizations
2.1 - The Emperor's new clothes I
2.2 - The Emperor's new clothes II
2.3 - The story of the Ford Pinto
2.4 - The concept of ethical blindness I
2.5 - The concept of ethical blindness II
Learning Outcomes
Additional readings

Week 3- The power of frames: How people construct their reality
3.1 - How People Make Sense of Their World
3.2 - The Enron Story
3.3 - Lehman Brothers and the Power of Language
3.4 - The Power of Langage
Learning Outcomes and assignment
Suggested discussions
Additional readings
Quiz Week 3

Week 4- The power of routines
4.1 - Simple Heuristics
4.1.bis - Simple Heuristics Part II
4.2 - Organizing for Ethical Blindness Part I
4.3 - Organizing for Ethical Blindness Part II
4.4 - Gunfire at Sea - When Habits are Stronger Than Reason
Learning Outcomes and Assignment
Suggested discussions
Additional readings
Quiz Week 4

Week 5- The power of strong situations
5.1 - The Power of Strong Situations
5.2 - The Challenger Case
5.3 - Fear and Unethical Decision Making
Learning Outcomes
Additional readings and videos

Week 6 - The power of institutions
6.1 - Shifting Baselines – The Impact of Time on Decisions
6.2 - The Power of Institutions
6.3 - The Ideological Power of Capitalism
Types of Unethical Behavior Part I
Types of Unethical Behavior Part II
Learning Outcomes
Suggested discussions
Additional readings and videos

Week 7- The wind of change: how to fight ethical blindness
7 - Nudging
7.1 - Mindfulness and Moral Stretching Part I
7.2 - Mindfulness and Moral Stretching Part II
7.3 - How to Protect Organizations against Ethical Blindness
Learning Outcomes and Assignments
Suggested discussions
Additional readings and videos
To read before starting your final assignment
Example of essays
Quiz Week 7

Summary of User Reviews

The course 'Unethical Decision Making' on Coursera received positive reviews from users. Users appreciated the course for its in-depth analysis of different ethical scenarios and real-life examples. Overall, the course was found to be insightful, informative, and engaging.

Key Aspect Users Liked About This Course

The course provides a comprehensive analysis of different ethical scenarios and real-life examples.

Pros from User Reviews

Insightful and informative course material
Engaging and interactive learning experience
Expert instructors with industry experience
Relevant real-life case studies and examples
Flexible learning schedule with self-paced modules

Cons from User Reviews

Limited opportunities for interaction with instructors and peers
Some users found the course material to be repetitive
The course may be too basic for users with prior knowledge of ethics
Lack of focus on specific industries or professions
No certificate or accreditation provided upon course completion

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