This course is organized by the multidisciplinary department of Ethics, Governance and Society and aims to introduce students to several key concepts, theories and research discussions in behavioral social sciences and artificial intelligence (AI). By integrating these disciplines, graduate students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the most common ethical problems faced by companies, their consequences and underlying causes.
The course is designed as a five-week program, with each week focussing on a different topic listed below. In the final week, students will present their research proposals. This course is ideal for any graduate student in business and economics (e.g., HRM, behavioral economics, strategic management) who is looking to deepen their understanding of interdisciplinary research relating to business ethics.
- Ethical dilemmas faced by companies – Explore the close connection between ethical decision-making and categorization. We discuss ethical decision-making in the marketplace as well as the complex environment in which companies operate.
- Personality and moral values applied to leadership – Study various approaches to measuring personality traits and moral values and their relationship with ethical business outcomes, with a particular focus on business leadership.
- Cognitive bias and heuristics applied to gender bias – Investigate how cognitive biases and heuristics, such as gender stereotypes, challenge ethical decision-making, with a specific emphasis on gender bias.
- The ethical dimension of AI – Delve into the challenges posed by ongoing developments in AI and its use by companies. We will discuss the underlying assumptions of these algorithms, their creation goals, and their ethical implications.
