Course Description

Business Ethics is a one-credit course for Schwarzman Scholars at Tsinghua University. Its central
purpose is to help students gain basic understanding of (1) the ubiquity of ethical challenges in business
arena, both at personal level and corporate level; (2) ethical considerations as one of the important
and indispensable dimensions for decision making; (3) to whom we should be responsible for and what
responsibilities a person and an entity should bear for the well-being of the whole society; (4) methods
or frameworks by which we can rely on or consult with in order to align our conducts with
these responsibilities.

The course is taught primarily using case study method with some activities and a number of
recommended readings. It requires students’ active and sincere participation in class discussions and
activities. Students shall be able to recognize ethical/moral challenges and stakeholders involved when
decisions or choices have to be made in practices, and possible consequences or impacts their decisions
may bring about to the stakeholders. They shall also be able to reflect on their seemingly reasonable
claims and imbedded value systems, and be capable to apply ethical analysis frameworks in coping with
ethical dilemmas.