BUS-FPX2012 applies ethical reasoning frameworks to real business dilemmas and covers corporate social responsibility as a strategic, not purely charitable, business function.
Ethical decision-making frameworks in business
BUS-FPX2012 covers utilitarian, deontological, and stakeholder-based ethical frameworks applied to recurring business dilemmas — a decision to lay off workers ahead of schedule to boost quarterly numbers, or whether to disclose a product defect that would trigger a costly but arguably necessary recall.
Corporate social responsibility as strategy
The course examines CSR not as pure philanthropy disconnected from business strategy, but as a function that can build brand trust, attract talent, and reduce regulatory and reputational risk, while also critically examining "greenwashing" — CSR messaging that overstates genuine commitment.
Key topics in BUS-FPX2012
- Utilitarian, deontological, and stakeholder ethical frameworks
- Applying ethical frameworks to real business dilemmas
- Corporate social responsibility (CSR) as strategic function
- Triple bottom line: people, planet, profit
- Identifying greenwashing and superficial CSR messaging
- Balancing shareholder interests against broader stakeholder interests
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Worked example: applying multiple ethical frameworks to a layoff decision
- Scenario: A company considers layoffs six months earlier than needed, purely to improve this quarter's earnings report
- Utilitarian analysis: Weighs harm to laid-off employees against benefit to shareholders and remaining employees' job security
- Deontological analysis: Asks whether using employees' livelihoods as a lever for a short-term financial metric violates a duty of fair treatment, independent of the outcome
- Stakeholder analysis: Considers effects on employees, shareholders, customers, and community, not shareholders alone
- Assessment framing: FlexPath assessments typically require applying at least two frameworks and comparing their conclusions
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Frequently asked questions
Different ethical frameworks weigh moral considerations differently — utilitarianism focuses on aggregate consequences, deontology focuses on duties and rights regardless of consequences, and stakeholder theory focuses on the full range of parties affected by a decision — and a real business dilemma often looks different depending on which lens is applied. BUS-FPX2012 teaches multiple frameworks because a genuinely well-reasoned ethical business decision usually needs to be defensible from more than one angle, and relying on a single framework risks missing morally relevant considerations that framework doesn't weigh heavily — using multiple frameworks surfaces the full range of ethical stakes in a decision rather than a partial view.
Greenwashing refers to a company presenting itself as more environmentally or socially responsible than its actual practices warrant — using marketing and PR to create an impression of genuine commitment while making minimal substantive changes to actual business practices. BUS-FPX2012 teaches students to critically evaluate CSR claims against concrete evidence (verified certifications, third-party audits, actual measured outcomes) rather than accepting marketing language at face value, because the ability to distinguish substantive CSR commitment from superficial messaging is an increasingly important skill for consumers, investors, and business professionals evaluating a company's genuine social and environmental impact.