BBA Business Ethics and Corporate Governance

This course explores the ethical dimensions of business decisions and the systems of corporate governance that promote ethical conduct, responsible practices, and system-driven approach with in business organizations.

The main objective of this course is to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of theprinciples, theories, and practices of business ethics and corporate governance

Unit 1: Introduction to Business Ethics and Corporate Governance (6 LHs) 
Business Ethics – Concept of ethics; Concept of business ethics; Myths about businessethics; Causes and consequences of ethical problems in business; Major theories and  frameworks governing business ethics; Corporate Governance – Concept of corporategovernance; Essential elements of good corporate governance; Evolution of corporate  governance; Similarities and differences between business ethics and corporategovernance; Significance of business ethics and corporate governance.

Unit 2: Ethical Issues in Business (8 LHs)
Recognizing an ethical issue (ethical awareness); Foundational values for identifyingethical issues: Integrity, honesty, and fairness; Concept of ethical issues and dilemmas;Emerging ethical issues and dilemmas in business; Ethical issues in functional areas ofbusiness: Ethical issues in marketing and sales; Ethical issues in finance; Ethical issues ininformational technology; Environmental ethics; Whistle blowing; Making ethics work inorganizations.

Unit 3: Ethical Decision-Making (5 LHs)
Concept of ethical decision making; Framework for ethical decision making in business:Ethical issue intensity; individual factors; organizational factors; opportunity; and business
ethics intentions, behavior, and evaluations; Using the ethical decision-making model toimprove ethical decisions; Normative considerations in ethical decision-making.

Unit 4: Corporate Governance Theories and Models (6 LHs) 
Theories and philosophies of corporate governance: Agency theory, transaction costeconomics, stewardship theory, stakeholder theory, and resource dependency theory;
Corporate governance models: Anglo-American model, German model, Japanese model,Indian model, and the Asian family-based model.

Unit 5: Corporate Governance Structures (6 LHs) 
The scope of corporate governance; Role of board of directors (BOD), auditors, management team, shareholders, government and regulators, and other stakeholders in
corporate governance; Corporate governance failure cases (such as Enron) and lessons
from them; Emerging trends in corporate governance.

Unit 6: Business Ethics and Corporate Governance Codes and Standards (7 LHs)
Code of ethics: Concept and importance; Contents of a code of ethics; Code of conducts inNepal: FNCCI's business code of conduct, 2061 and NBI's business code of conduct
concepts, 2070; Key corporate governance provisions in prevailing Nepalese CompanyAct and Nepal Rastra Bank’s Unified Directives; and International standards related tobusiness ethics and corporate governance: United Nation’s Global Compact (UNGC), SA8000, ILO standards, OECD principles of corporate governance, and ISO 37000.

Unit 7: Framing Business Ethics from Corporate Responsibility Perspective (6 LHs) 
Law, business ethics, corporate governance, and corporate social responsibility:similarities and differences; Concept and importance of corporate social responsibility(CSR); Major theoretical perspectives on CSR – Friedman’s shareholder theory,Freeman’s stakeholder theory, Carroll’s CSR pyramid; Elkington’s triple bottom lineapproach, Porter and Kramer’s creating shared value (CSV) approach; Legal provisionsgoverning corporate social responsibility in Nepal.

Unit 8: Business Ethics and Corporate Governance in Nepal (4 LHs) 
Business ethics issues in Nepal; Way forward for improving ethical business practices inNepal; Corporate governance practices in Nepalese family-owned businesses, BFIs, and
other business sectors; Issues and challenges of corporate governance in Nepal; Wayforward for improving corporate governance practices in Nepal.