Chevron Left
Back to Unethical Decision Making in Organizations

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

4.8
stars
394 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!

Filter by:

26 - 50 of 145 Reviews for Unethical Decision Making in Organizations

By Guillaume P B

Sep 23, 2016

I already participated in 2015 but was unable to complete the course (made around 25%) due to lack of time to follow the lessons. I remember having learned a lot and read interesting "stories/experiences" from other students in the course forums. Highly recommended.

By Isabella A

Apr 29, 2020

Great course, a very important issue, analyzed through practical cases and with a lot of theories. Just one observation: sometimes difficult for not mother tongue people, especially in the texts as you have to chose among slightly different shades....

By Marcelo C

Nov 22, 2016

Very well prepared and presented. The syllabus is well designed. Study objectives are clearly stated at the beginning of each session and recapped at the end. Test make sense and reconfirm understanding.

I can only recommend it. Thank you very much!

By Pau B O

Dec 1, 2016

Great course. The level of depth of the analysis on how and why good people behave unethically exceeded my expectations. A very interesting cocktail of psychology, ethics, behavioural economics and sociology. Recommended for everyone.

By Mihir B

Oct 20, 2020

This course has given me a new perspective on decision-making, management and ethics. The difficult and highly theoretical concepts are covered with ease. Highly recommended course in today's day and age!

By Oksana K

Jan 15, 2017

Great course, very structured, systemised and clear.

Good examples as cases described, and give a very clear understanding of the reasoning, context and why and what is important.

Very recommended!

By Лабуть Э А

Nov 17, 2017

This course made everyone sure that knowledge about unethical decision making must spread among all people, especially businessmen, student, governmentworkers etc. Good job, Lausanne University!

By Alexandre S

Mar 14, 2018

Awesome course! It really spreads out our minds and make us think about a variety of issues with an unique, different perspective. It's also very practical. I strongly recommend it! :)

By Noaldo M D F

Jul 1, 2017

This course has given me a broader view of how to look at things in the irganisation and myself. I have had the chance to think about things that I normally would have the oportunity.

By pannala s

Jul 30, 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

By Dietmar B

May 23, 2018

This course is the best I have attended on Coursera so far. Some of the content is quite surprising to learn, the whole course was fun the whole 7 weeks! Absolutely recommended!

By Marcia C K

Apr 1, 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!

By kirk m

May 6, 2020

one of the most useful online seminar i have ever done, with many case studies.

Certainly, it will help me, congratulations, and thank you very much.

By Paraskevi M

Jun 9, 2018

amazing ideas, lots of all the things mentioned happen at my job and I didn't notice that they are so connected, unethical decisions are a big chain

By Dennis H

Sep 5, 2018

very helpful practical examples and good structure of the course. I was able to apply the acquired knowledge in business practice. Thanks a lot.

By CARL H M

Oct 23, 2018

Considering todays challenges in society, corporation and politics, in making the world more just, this course is an important contribution.

By Mukul S

May 23, 2022

Terrific Professors with amazing material. Very focused and intellectual lectures that stimulated my thoughts on leadership and management.

By Peter B

May 24, 2017

Excellent course in both content and delivery. Clear explanations provided for what for many people is a new and unusual topic. Thanks!

By John D B

Nov 15, 2017

Excellent course! Well researched and presented, with topics covering many real-world scenarios that help make the subject sensible.

By Rezaidi I

Jan 1, 2022

Very challenging and interesting subject to learn, I would like to learn more and

the best is to know a lot more on the case study.

By Simone E G

Mar 4, 2017

Exceptional course! It should be offered universally to employers and employees all over the world, as well as university students!

By Luis R d S F

Aug 9, 2020

A different way to evaluate and discuss Compliance, that will help everyone to deal with several kinds of unethical situations.

By Jisha J M

Feb 12, 2021

It was very helpful for me to understand why and how good people make unethical decisions. It gave me a whole new perspective.

By Michalis O

Jun 22, 2017

Very good course. Had some flashbacks due to the fact that I studied Business Management but there were lots of aha! moments.

By Corinne F

Apr 2, 2020

Very relevant, very well presented. Examples given were exceptional and very intreaguing subject. Very highly recommended.