OUMM3203 COURSE GUIDE

INTRODUCTION
Professional Ethics is one of the courses offered by the Faculty of Business and Management, Open University Malaysia (OUM). The ethics of professional conduct is being questioned today as never before. Lawyers, physicians, engineers, accountants and other professionals are being criticised for disregarding the rights of clients and the public interest. Perhaps society is reassessing the role of professions and professionals. In any event, many difficult ethical challenges are being faced by both professionals and the public.

COURSE AUDIENCE
This is a compulsory OUM course for all students of OUM.

STUDY SCHEDULE
The OUM standard requires students to accumulate 40 study hours for every credit hour. This course, therefore, involves an accumulation of 120 study hours. Table 1 gives you an approximation of how the 120 hours could be used.
Table 1: Approximate Study Time Allocation

Activity Understanding course content and early discussion Reading 3 text units and completing the suggested exercises at a rate of 20 hours per unit Attending tutorial sessions Online discussions Completing assignment Revision Total

Hours 4 60 10 15 15 16 120

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OUMM3203 COURSE GUIDE

COURSE OBJECTIVES
By the end of this course, learners should be equipped with the knowledge of: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. A variety of ethical issues related to business and professional practices; Different ethical and theoretical perspectives; Law as a combined moral judgement; Several causes of unethical behaviour in organisations; and Good management, employment rights and how the economic system deals with the opportunities related to employment.

COURSE SYNOPSIS
Text Units This course is divided into three units. Unit 1 deals with moral reasoning and ethical theory, moral and social responsibility, and the nature of ethics in modern business. Unit 2 discusses managerial ethics, the rule of law and the organisational design. Unit 3 examines the moral dimensions of economic systems, employees privacy, employees performance appraisal and loyalty to a company.

Unit 1:

Professional Ethics

This unit, which is divided into three chapters, aims to introduce the learner to fundamental concepts and theories of morals, the history and development of ethical theories, and a systematic study of right and wrong with a critical application of ethical theories to current social problems. The learner will also be exposed to ethics in the organisational context, focusing more on social responsibility. The last portion of this unit deals with the question of finding a balance between economic performance and the social performance of an organisation when faced with an ethical dilemma.

Unit 2:

Managerial Ethics, The Rule of Law and The Organizational Design

This unit is divided into two chapters. The first examines issues related to the law as a guide to managerial decisions and actions, and the causes of unethical behaviour in an organisation. The second focuses on unethical behaviour in an organisation and the responsibilities of the senior management.

Unit 3:

Moral Aspects of Economic Systems

Unit 3 consists of three chapters. The first chapter outlines the general economic systems which deal with the opportunity related to employment. The second chapter details the employees right to privacy and instances leading to violations of privacy. This chapter also identifies a variety of factors influencing the appraisal of an employees performance. The last chapter discusses the actual meaning of loyalty to a company or an organisation.

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OUMM3203 COURSE GUIDE

REFERENCES
Leaners are advised to read as many books on ethics as possible. The following are recommended references: Callahan, J.C. (1988). Ethical Issues In Professional Life . New York: Oxford University Press. Gerald, J.W. (1992). Ethics in Modern Management . Quorum Books. Majid, F. (1991). Ethical Theories In Islam. Laden. E.J. Michael, D.B. (1991). Professional Ethics . Wadsworth Publishing Company, Belmont, California. Manuel G. Velasquez, (2002). Business Ethics - Concepts and Cases . 5th Edition. Prentice Hall.

EVALUATION
Refer to MyLMS for the evaluation method.

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