Units

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Sample subject outline - 6 Week Teaching Period - 3 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

The accountability demands for clients and funding bodies of philanthropic and nonprofit organisations increasingly require members of the Philanthropic and Not for Profit (PANFP) sector to adopt decision-making practices that are not only effective and efficient but are also consistent with the mission and values of their organisation. This unit serves to provide an introduction to a broad array of ethical reasoning skills and contemporary integrity management practices, in the context of the need for such organisations to build and maintain their reputational capital and contribute more fully to the creation of social capital.

Aims

This unit is designed to develop the ethical reasoning skills necessary to deal with the ethical decision-making challenges experienced within PANFP organisations.

Objectives

Course Learning Goals (Postgraduate)

The Faculty of Business has established the Assurance of Learning (AoL) Goals to meet contemporary industry needs and standards. Achieving these learning outcomes will assist you to meet the desired graduate outcomes set at QUT - aligned with other internationally renowned business schools.

Students will develop the following capabilities relevant to a contemporary global and sustainable business environment:


Have knowledge and skills pertinent to a particular discipline (KS)

1.1 Well-researched knowledge and critical understanding applied to issues at the forefront of a specialised discipline area
1.2 Ability to select and use effectively a range of tools and technologies to locate and/or generate information appropriate to the disciplinary context

Be critical thinkers and effective problem solvers (CTA)

2.1 Apply logical, critical and creative thinking and judgement to generate appropriate solutions to problems in the disciplinary context

Be professional communicators in an intercultural context (PC)

3.1 Ability to create and present professional documents and/or reports using high levels of analysis/synthesis/evaluation for a range of contexts and audiences
3.2 Ability to orally communicate and justify ideas and information, at a professional level, for a variety of contexts and audiences, including peers and discipline specialists

Be able to work effectively in a Team Environment (TW)

4.1 Operate effectively and with flexibility to achieve common goals in collaborative settings, using a range of skills, including leadership, negotiation, reflection, proactivity and support for team members

Have a Social and Ethical Understanding (SEU)

5.1 Apply knowledge of the ethical, social and cultural dimensions relevant to business situations, including appropriate standards or codes of practice, to provide courses of action

The specific course learning goals that apply to this unit are shown in the assessment section of this unit outline.

Upon completion of this unit, you should be able to:
1. Know and understand the key principles and concepts informing ethical decision making in PANFP organisations;
2. Apply classical and contemporary ethical theory to a variety to decision making contexts within PANFP organisations; and
3. Evaluate, develop and strengthen the integrity management systems within the PANFP sector, by addressing the morally significant specificities of the PANFP sector in comparison to the private sector.

Content

In this unit students will be introduced to a diversity of ethical reasoning skills and ethical decision-making constructs. This exploration will be grounded in both classical and contemporary ethical theory. This course is designed to apply the theories and constructs of organisational ethics to four specific operational aspects of philanthropic and not for profit organisations. Specifically, the course follows the following outline:
1. Course introduction and overview
2. Theoretical perspectives and approaches to ethics
3. Applied ethics: Accountability and finance management issues in PANF;
4. Applied ethics: marketing and fundraising issues in PANF
5. Applied ethics: human resource management issues in PANF; and
6. Applied ethics: Governance issues in PANF.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

The delivery of this unit is based around a blended delivery approach to teaching and learning, which involves a mix of online and face to face delivery of content, supported by the unit website.

The purpose of the unit is to introduce students to ethical theories and constructs, and to develop critical and moral reasoning skills in relation to the issues and dilemmas facing the PANFP sector. Both live and recorded sessions will be utilised to develop students' abilities to apply the concepts and theories to their personal and organisational decision making within the PANFP sector.

The unit is supported by the QUT online learning system, Blackboard. In addition to basic information such as the unit outline, lecture outlines, assessment information and staff contact details, the Blackboard site contains links to additional resources such as journal articles, ebooks, cases, external websites, and various multimedia resources.

To access the GSN483 Blackboard site, simply bookmark the following URL:

Note: The Blackboard site can only be accessed with the use of your QUT access username and password.

Assessment

Students will receive feedback in various forms throughout the semester which may include:

Informal: worked examples, such as verbal feedback in class, personal consultation

Formal: in writing, such as checklists (e.g. criteria sheets), written commentary

Direct: to individual students, either in written form or in consultation

Indirect: to the whole class

Assessment name: Assessment in Discussion Forum
Description: Students are required to develop and articulate responses, based on ethical theory and research, to a number of ethical issues and dilemmas facing philanthropic and nonprofit organisations. This will be done in the context of weekly lectures, as well as discussion forums on the unit blackboard site. Participation in these discussions, verbally and in writing, is a compulsory element of this course, in order to familiarise .
Length: 1000 words.
Formative or Summative: Formative and Summative.
Relates to objectives: Unit Objectives: 1, 2 and 3 and AoL: KS (1.1), KS (1.2), PC (3.1) and SEU (5.1)
Weight: 40%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 6

Assessment name: Written Project
Description: Students choose a personal or hypothetical ethical issue or dilemma relevant to a PANFP organisation or the PANFP sector and discuss their response to this issue. The response will be framed in light of current ethical theory and research.

Length: 2000 words
Formative or Summative: Formative and Summative
Relates to objectives: Unit Objectives: 1, 2 and 3 and AoL: KS(1.1), KS(1.2), CTA(2.1), PC(3.1) and SEU (5.1)
Weight: 60%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 6

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

Harrison, John (2000) Ethics for Australian Business. Sydney: Prentice Hall.

Risk assessment statement

There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with lectures or tutorials in this unit. You should, however, familiarise yourself with evacuation procedures operating in the buildings in which you attend classes and take the time to
view the Emergency video.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 24-Jan-2013