Download Ethics

LS311
Business Law
Sundays 9:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. EST
March 21, 2012 – May 29, 2012
Melissa Borrelli, Esq.
Agenda
• Syllabus and Course Housekeeping
• The Legal and Ethical Environment
Syllabus
Instructor Information
Office Hours and Seminars
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• Office Hours: Tuesdays
9:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
EST; Sundays 8:00 p.m. –
9:00 p.m. EST; or by
appointment
• Seminars: Sundays 9:00 –
10:00 p.m. EST
Melissa Borrelli, Esq.
[email protected]
916-322-1955 (office)
AIM: maborrelli
Chat Room
I am in PST
Syllabus
Late Policy
Incompletes
• All assignments due the
last day of the week at
11:59 p.m. EST
• A maximum penalty of
5% per week will be
assessed on all late work.
• No late work will be
accepted more than 3
weeks after the original
due date or after the
conclusion of Unit 7
without an extenuating
circumstance AND prior
instructor approval.
• Last day to request
incomplete from instructor:
May 21, 2012
• Last day to turn in work with
approved incomplete: June
8, 2012
Term Calendar
Syllabus
Seminar
• Make-up policy
• Plan B policy
Syllabus
Discussion Boards (DBs) Expectations
• Original response to DB—in before the weekend
(on or before Friday), in the 200 – 300 word count
range
• Minimum of two substantive posts to EACH DB
each week, not including your original response to
the DB question, in the 100 – 200 word count range
• The more substantive, the more points
• Cite and share resources
• See netiquette discussion in syllabus
Discussion Board Rubric
Discussion Board Rubric
Syllabus
Plagiarism
Resources
• What is the plagiarism
policy?
• What do you do if you are
not sure whether you are
plagiarizing or not?
• Writing Center
• Student Support Services
• Student Success
Coaching
• Tutoring
• Others?
Syllabus
Writing Assignments
Resources
• Writing tips
• Review
• Writing Center
• Student Support Services
• Student Success
Coaching
• Tutoring
• Westlaw
• Others
Writing Tips
1) You MUST proofread. I have a zero tolerance policy for typos, misspellings, and grammar
errors. My suggestions for this include:
a) Use the spell check feature on your word processing software. Change the properties
so that it checks for passive writing and grammar errors.
b) Finish your paper early enough that you can submit it to the Writing Center for their
assistance in proofreading. Participate in as many Writing Center programs and webinars as
you can--this is an amazing and wonderful resource to you as students that you will not have
access to after you graduate--take advantage of it while you can.
c) Put your paper away for ten minutes, an hour, a day--whatever you need to have a fresh
perspective on the paper to be able to spot errors. It is hard for a writer to see errors because
they are too close to the paper so put some distance between yourself and the paper.
d) Ask a friend or a classmate to proofread your paper--often their fresh set of eyes will help
you find mistakes, errors in thinking, and logic.
2) There should be two spaces between sentences.
3) Check your formatting. Microsoft Word has prepopulated templates you can use for writing
papers, memos, presentations, and the like--if you don't know how to use bullets, headings,
and other formatting features use the templates so that you do not lose points. This is
especially important if you are copying and pasting quotes from another document.
Writing Tips
4) DO NOT use contractions in academic and legal writing, i.e., do not use "don't" use "do
not".
5) You MUST use APA format for title pages, headings, and citations. See the APA sample
guide attached and the Center for Writing Excellence for help on this formatting. Remember, I
have this sample guide in front of me when I am grading--you should do the same when you
are writing.
6) Pay attention the minimum word count, if applicable. I do not mark down if you go over the
word count, I DO mark down if you do not meet the minimum number.
7) Do NOT assume your reader knows what an acronym stands for. You must define an
acronym the first time you use it to inform your reader. For instance: "The Environmental
Protection Act (EPA) ..." After you have defined it the first time you have used it you can then
use the acronym.
8) Try not to end sentences with prepositions. If you are unsure about this do a Google
search on prepositions and/or see the Writing Center for tutorials.
9) A conclusion should NOT contain new information or ideas. The purpose of the conclusion
is to briefly reiterate the bones of your paper, it is not the time to include new facts or
recommendations--those should be within the paper.
Writing Tips
10) Avoid run-on sentences, run-on paragraphs, and fragment sentences.
11) Ensure your topic is relevant to the assignment and that you answer all assignment
prompts. If you are not sure whether you have chosen a relevant topic get in touch with me
regarding your idea immediately. Start your paper with an outline with a heading for each
assignment prompt you must answer and then fill in your paper--this ensures you do not
forget to answer a question or leave out a section.
12) Use capitalizations appropriately. If you are not sure whether a word should be
capitalized look it up in the Center for Writing Excellence, in the APA guides, and/or on online
grammar webpages.
13) Watch your tense--if something happened in the past, use the past tense, for instance.
14) Do NOT use lists and bullet points in place of narrative and full sentences and
paragraphs. You are expected to write academic papers and lists and bullet points in the
place of narrative is inappropriate.
15) Avoid using gender-specific language so that you do not inadvertently offend your
reader.
Textbook
Course Description
Course Outcomes
Course Calendar
Writing Assignment Rubrics
Unit One To Do’s
• Complete the assigned textbook reading
• Participate in the Unit Discussions
• Complete the Assignment
• Participate in the Seminar
• Complete the Ethics Literacy Pre-Test (why is
this important?)
• Take the Self-Check Quiz (why is this
important?)
The Classroom
• Webliography
• Doc Sharing
• Live/Chat Room
Questions
• Any questions about any aspect of the
course?
• Anything specific you want to learn about?
• What are your goals in this class?
Law v. Ethics
• Jaws scenario
– http://wdvl.westbuslaw.com/now_videos/lfx/lfx
_01.html
• Questions to consider
• Economic pressures v. ethics
Law v. Ethics
• Ethics
– The branch of philosophy related to
morals, moral principles, and moral
judgments.
– Ethics, as part of philosophy, uses
reason and logic to analyze
problems and find solutions.
– Ethics, in general, is concerned with
the actions and practices that are
directed at improving the welfare of
people in a moral way.
– The study of ethics forces us to use
reason and logic to answer difficult
questions concerning life, death,
and everything in between.
– In modern terms, we use words
such as right, wrong, good, and bad
when making ethical judgments. In
other cases, people refer to issues
or actions that are just and unjust or
fair and unfair.
• Law
Ethical Decision-Making Models
• Kenneth Blanchard and Norman Vincent
Peale advise the use of a three-step
model when evaluating an ethical
dilemma. The three steps are to ask
yourself the following questions:
– Is it legal?
– Is it balanced?
– How does it make me feel?
Ethical Decision-Making Models
• The Seven-Step Decision Model
I. Determine the facts by asking the following questions:
What do we need to know?
Who is involved in the situation?
Where does the ethical situation take place?
When does it occur?
II. Define the precise ethical issue.
III. Identify the major principles, rules, and values. For example, is this a matter
of integrity, quality, respect for others, or profit?
IV. Specify the alternatives. List the major alternative courses of action,
including those that represent some form of compromise. This may be a
choice between simply doing or not doing something.
V. Compare values and alternatives. Determine if there is one principle or
value, or a combination of principles and values, that is so compelling that
the proper alternative is clear.
VI. Assess the consequences. Identify short-term, long-term, positive, and
negative consequences for the major alternatives. The short-term gain or
loss is often overridden when long-term consequences are considered. This
step often reveals an unanticipated result of major importance.
VII. Make a decision. The consequences are balanced against one’s primary
principles or values.
What Ethics is Not
• Ethics is not just about how you feel, the
sincerity of your beliefs, or your emotions;
nor is it only about religious viewpoints.
Law v. Ethics
• Ethics
– The branch of philosophy related to
morals, moral principles, and moral
judgments.
– Ethics, as part of philosophy, uses
reason and logic to analyze
problems and find solutions.
– Ethics, in general, is concerned with
the actions and practices that are
directed at improving the welfare of
people in a moral way.
– The study of ethics forces us to use
reason and logic to answer difficult
questions concerning life, death,
and everything in between.
– In modern terms, we use words
such as right, wrong, good, and bad
when making ethical judgments. In
other cases, people refer to issues
or actions that are just and unjust or
fair and unfair.
• Law
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Constitutions
Statutes
Case law
Regulations
Rules
What are Functions of the Law?
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Keeping the peace
Shaping moral standards
Promoting social justice
Maintaining the status quo
Others?
NEXT WEEK’S SEMINAR
During next week's Seminar, we will discuss alternative dispute
resolution—come prepared to answer the questions listed in the
classroom.