Ethics Concentration (B.Com.) (15 credits)
Offered by: Management (Desautels Faculty of Management)
Degree: Bachelor of Commerce
Program credit weight: 15
Program Description
The B.Com; Concentration in Ethics provides the foundations to examine and respond to ethics-related questions and problems that exist in management. Topics include but are not limited to: corporate social responsibility, transparency, compliance, prioritizing product safety, responsible data use, sustainable growth aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, fair labour practices.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Required Courses (3 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MGPO 450 | Ethics in Management. | 3 |
Ethics in Management. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of the economic, legal and ethical responsibilities of managers in both private and public organizations. Through readings, case studies, discussions and projects the class evaluates alternative ethical systems and norms of behaviour and draws conclusions as to the right, proper and just decisions and actions in the face of moral dilemmas. The focus of this course is on the decision process, values and consistency of values of the individual and on the impact of systems control and incentives on managerial morality. | ||
Complementary Courses (12 credits)
12 credits from the following list:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ACCT 401 | Sustainability and Environmental Accounting. | 3 |
Sustainability and Environmental Accounting. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Developing measures of corporate environmental performance, assessing their reliability and reporting to external stakeholders. Using sustainability metrics in strategic and operational business decisions. Implementing and utilizing Environmental management systems and standards. Managing corporate environmental risks and accounting for environmental costs. Environmental auditing. | ||
| ACCT 463 | Management Control. | 3 |
Management Control. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The theoretical frameworks for the examination and evaluation of management accounting and control systems. The technical aspects of accounting along with behavioural issues of management control. | ||
| ECSE 557 | Introduction to Ethics of Intelligent Systems. | 3 |
Introduction to Ethics of Intelligent Systems. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Ethics and social issues related to AI and robotic systems. Consideration for normative values (e.g., fairness) in the design. Ethics principles, data and privacy issues, ethics challenges in interaction and interface design. | ||
| FINE 465 | Sustainable Finance . | 3 |
Sustainable Finance . Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Exploration of the financial implications associated with climate change and the transition to a low carbon economy. Topics covered include the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into the decision-making process of investment managers and corporate financial managers, including conducting a sustainability analysis for a company in an investment context. | ||
| FINE 490 | Mergers and Corporate Reorganizations. | 3 |
Mergers and Corporate Reorganizations. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Mergers, acquisitions, and leveraged buyouts or restructurings in bankruptcy in relation to corporate governance. Conceptual aspects of these transactions (their purposes, executions, and structures), as well as applied aspects such as their valuations and implications on firm value. | ||
| INSY 331 | Managing and Organizing Digital Technology. | 3 |
Managing and Organizing Digital Technology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Tools and concepts necessary to manage information systems in an organization: hardware/software/telecom administration, knowledge discovery/management, web-technologies, and computer security. Focuses on both mechanical aspects of IT and conceptual understanding with regard to impact on business organizations. | ||
| MGPO 435 | The Origins of Capitalism. | 3 |
The Origins of Capitalism. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course covers the evolution of modern business institutions from their roots in the early middle ages to the modern era. Covering economic issues in the context of arts and culture, it offers a "distant mirror on globalization." | ||
| MGPO 438 | Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation. | 3 |
Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Explores key concepts associated with social entrepreneurship and social innovation – the application of principles of entrepreneurship and innovation to solve social problems through social ventures, enterprises and not-for-profit organizations. Focuses on the social economy, including how the market system can be leveraged to create social value. | ||
| MGPO 475 | Strategies for Developing Countries. | 3 |
Strategies for Developing Countries. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Strategic management challenges in developing and emerging economies. Focus on strategies that foster both firm competitiveness and economic development, including: technological capabilities, new forms of organization, small and large firms, global production, social impact, global standards and governance. | ||
| MRKT 351 | Marketing and Society. | 3 |
Marketing and Society. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The social issues and concerns affecting marketing management are examined and the two way relationship between marketing and social change is explored. Particular attention is paid to consumerism, government regulation in marketing, corporate social responsibility, social marketing and marketing role in a conserve society. | ||
| MSUS 402 | Systems Thinking and Sustainability. | 3 |
Systems Thinking and Sustainability. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Examines interconnected dynamics of organizations and social, economic, and ecological systems. Introduces systems thinking principles to foster learning, inform organizational decision-making, and solve real-world problems. Covers problem diagnosis and resolution of organizational and societal sustainability issues through causal loop diagrams, stock-and-flow mapping, group model building, computational simulations and case studies. | ||
| ORGB 321 | Leadership. | 3 |
Leadership. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Leadership theories provide students with opportunities to assess and work on improving their leadership skills. Topics include: the ability to know oneself as a leader, to formulate a vision, to have the courage to lead, to lead creatively, and to lead effectively with others. | ||
| ORGB 325 | Negotiations and Conflict Resolution. | 3 |
Negotiations and Conflict Resolution. Terms offered: Summer 2025 A conceptual framework to guide participants through negotiation and conflict resolution process. | ||
| ORGB 330 | People Analytics. | 3 |
People Analytics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This is the era of big data. Companies and organizations are collecting an enormous amount of information and we are only just beginning to grasp the ways in which this information might be used. This course covers the emerging field of people analytics, which involves applying data collection and analysis techniques to improve the management of people within organizations. We will cover current people analytics techniques, common pitfalls, and possible shortcomings of people analytics, as well as the ethical questions involved in undertaking such analyses. | ||
| ORGB 380 | Cross Cultural Management. | 3 |
Cross Cultural Management. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Addresses dilemmas and opportunities that managers experience in international, multicultural environments. Development of conceptual knowledge and behavioural skills (e.g. bridging skills, communication, tolerance of ambiguity, cognitive complexity) relevant to the interaction of different cultures in business and organizational settings, using several methods including research, case studies and experiential learning. | ||
| ORGB 423 | Human Resources Management. | 3 |
Human Resources Management. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Issues involved in personnel administration. Topics include: human resource planning, job analysis, recruitment and selection, training and development, performance appraisal, organization development and change, issues in compensation and benefits, and labour-management relations. | ||
| PHIL 230 | Introduction to Moral Philosophy 1. | 3 |
Introduction to Moral Philosophy 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A survey of a number of historically important and influential theories. Philosophers to be discussed may include Aristotle, Hume, Kant, Bentham, Mill, and Moore. | ||
| PHIL 237 | Contemporary Moral Issues. | 3 |
Contemporary Moral Issues. Terms offered: Summer 2025 An introductory discussion of central ethical questions (the value of persons, or the relationship of rights and utilities, for example) through the investigation of currently disputed social and political issues. Specific issues to be discussed may include pornography and censorship, affirmative action, civil disobedience, punishment, abortion, and euthanasia. | ||