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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Unethical Decision Making in Organizations by University of Lausanne

4.8
stars
415 ratings

About the Course

This course 'Unethical decision making in organizations : A seminar on the dark side of the force' will teach you how strong organizational contexts push good people towards unethical decisions. You will also learn how to protect yourself and your organization against such forces lurking in the dark. About the Course This course teaches how narrow frames and strong contexts can push good people towards unethical decisions and how they can protect themselves and their organization against ethical blindness. The goal of this course is to empower the participants to analyze the risks of unethical or illegal behavior that might be triggered by powerful contexts. It draws from various disciplines such as management, psychology, sociology, philosophy, and literature, in order to learn what these disciplines contribute to a better understanding of unethical behavior. The course also analyzes some of the most prominent organizational scandals of the recent decades through the lenses of these disciplines. Whenever we hear about ethical scandals, we tend to believe that unethical or illegal behaviour in organizations is driven by character deficiencies of individual actors. Put differently, we simply assume that bad things are done by bad people. However, numerous corporate scandals have demonstrated that even people with a high level of integrity can break the rules if they are put into a strong context. A better understanding of why and under what conditions good people make bad ethical decisions will enable us to better protect individuals as well as their respective organizations against the potentially overwhelming power of the context. It will also enable us to cure societies from problems like corruption. At the end of the course, you are able to: 1. Explain the impact of social context on individual decision making using various theories (from Management, Sociology, Psychology, and Philosophy) 2. Apply these theories to the analysis of some of the most eminent organizational scandals of the recent decades 3. Assess risks of ethical blindness in your own organizational context 4. Design interventions to reduce such risks for yourself and your organization Recommended Background No background expertise is required. The course is open for interested layperson as well as experts who work on related topics, be it as researchers or practitioners (e.g., compliance managers in corporations). Why is this course important for me? Currently, the understanding of why good people make unethical decisions is rather limited, related research is rather fragmented, and the management of such problems in organizations is overly simplistic, legalistic, and inadequate. Understanding contexts, including the dangers of routines, the mindlessness of our daily decisions, and the healing power of mindful decision-making routines is of increasing importance. In this course, you will learn the latest knowledge and the appropriate tool box for dealing with ethical challenges that you will face throughout your life! What do I need to follow this course? We build bridges between various scientific disciplines and will familiarize you with those disciplines smoothly. You need no expertise, just come and share your own real-world experiences about unethical decisions. After all, we are all experts in making decisions—some more ethically, some less ethically—aren’t we?...

Top reviews

PS

Jul 29, 2017

i am faculty in an engineer college in vizag. I teach Professional ethics to the undergraduate student. Your course content is extremely useful. Thanks for provide great contents

MK

Mar 31, 2022

It brought me new perspectives on wrongdoing, and it will help me to indentity and prevent causes of unethical decision making. Thank you for the opportunity!

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126 - 150 of 152 Reviews for Unethical Decision Making in Organizations

By Rabia A

May 25, 2018

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By Sue C

Mar 27, 2017

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By Tracy G

Jul 23, 2021

The course had great information and activities overall, but there was no interaction whatsoever from the instructors other than video lectures. It was pretty much left to the students of the course to support one another, and since students begin and finish course and all different times I found it difficult at times to get any responses in the discussion boards. Tip: Finish the final assignment several days early to give plenty of time for peer review. Mine was submitted about 9 days early with no peer review until about a day before the due date. Some on the discussion boards had no peer reviews even after the due dates. Again, the information and videos were great, but I would have liked to have at least a little interaction from instructors (or at least assistants) in the discussion boards.

By david e

Mar 7, 2017

This course is well worthwhile. Its main objective is make you think about ethical issues, as opposed to making decisions in a rote manner. Their argument about ethical blindness is persuasive and it helps you to understand corporate behaviors that appear to be inconceivable (Enron, Ford Pinto, etc).

My hope was to learn more about guidelines for making corporate decisions that have internal economic costs or benefits, with associated external social benefits or costs. However, I was assured that this would not be possible in the confines of this course. But this course does make you hungry for more. Hopefully, this faculty will be able to offer a follow-up course in the near future.

By Michael B

Dec 13, 2021

Very well structured and presented course with a good mix of theory and practical guidance. It is delivered in a digestible format with engaging speakers and good examples. I particularly liken the questions embedded within certain videos to keep viewers attention (though the questions don't seem to work on mobile platforms). My only complaint is that the last section on how to guard against ethical blindness was squeezed into the last week and felt a bit rushed and generic. It did not seem to have received the same amount of attention as the rest of the course.

By Colette R

Feb 8, 2021

This was a good course that incorporated not only philosophical background, but actual case studies to demonstrate how actual ethical breaches in business today. It describes how ethical blindness may have arisen and allowed such circumstances to proceed within an organization. It outlines potential frameworks to assist in preventing ethical blindness and potential results. Tests and assignment allow good consolidation of course information. Well-laid out and easy to work through.

By Carrie H

Feb 24, 2021

This course was well worth my time and effort. It was clear concise. It has made me more aware of the pitfalls that I may inadvertently set up for others and has made me more aware of ones that surround me in my work environment and ways to identify and to alleviate ethical blindness.

By Altaf N A

Dec 11, 2024

Ethics is a subject which is thought of as marginal and not the core of your personality. Most people feel overconfident about self understanding of this subject. I have always believed that this subject must be taught in the beginning and not the end.

By Kasia B

Sep 14, 2017

Very interesting course, as a lawyer I got another perspective on non-compliance. Appreciate the possibility to learn new things in an approachable and well structured manner.

By Gonzalo S d C S

Feb 12, 2017

Great course. Fantastic lecturers and the whole approach of the course on how to tackle important decisions when there is an ethical side.

By Muhammad B

Dec 1, 2017

This course changed my perspective not just to the organization but to the whole world.

I strongly recommend it for almost anyone.

By Kostas P

Nov 15, 2016

Interesting and well structured course!

Started off great, felt like needed a boost in the end

Overall a valuable course

By Joy S

Jun 12, 2019

Has some pretty interesting ideas. The whole ethics thing sounds slipperier than one assumes.

By Sezin I

Dec 2, 2016

It was easy to understand, it has nice rityhm to follow

By scott s

Sep 20, 2016

Interesting concepts - but gets a little repetitive

By Teun U d W

Mar 25, 2021

Very interesting and fun to do the course!

By Joao F K A

Mar 22, 2018

Very professional and detailed content!

By Ieva S

Aug 28, 2017

Very interesting concept. Thank you!

By Priyank c

Jan 30, 2017

Really worth investing time into!!!

By Danilo N G

Feb 24, 2018

Guido as usual, outstanding!

By Mqirage M

Jun 28, 2019

good course, instructive .

By Victoria A S

Jul 20, 2020

It was very educational

By Louise L M

Jan 23, 2023

Very good course

By Nadège S

May 23, 2022

Très interessant

By Hooper, N

Feb 7, 2024

Course was rather long and laboured, could be shortened to achieve greater engagement