Workplace Ethics
Overview
This module introduces learners to key concepts in ethics so that they can distinguish between ethics and other kinds of considerations, such as taste and compliance. Lessons discuss the pros and cons of ethics codes and how to recognize ethically related issues affecting individuals and organizations. The module emphasizes the importance of workplace culture, explaining why leadership and other dimensions of culture are fundamental to the ethical health of organizations while also presenting concrete, practical tools for making good ethical choices. Using realistic scenarios and reflection exercises, students will practice ethical decision-making skills, develop moral self-awareness and think about what matters to them as moral actors at work.
Cost: $200 Time: 90 to 120 minutes
- This training is broken into multiple modules that you can start and stop at your leisure.
- Once you have registered and paid for the module, WMU will provide access to the online module within 3 business days.
- You will receive an email with instructions on how to set up an account and access the module.
- You will have access to your training modules for a period of 1 year.
- If you have any questions or technical difficulties, please contact @email.
- There is a NO Refund policy for the purchase of the modules.
Skills Learned
After completing this course, you will be able to…
- Define key ethical standards that help us answer “Should I do this?” questions
- Explain characteristics of codes of ethics
- Explain why ethics matter in the workplace
- Differentiate among ethics, compliance, taste, and the law
- Analyze the significance of these distinctions in the workplace
- Define terms that are key to understanding the role of culture in an organization’s ethics
- Identify ethical dimensions of workplace culture
- Explain why an ethical culture matters in the workplace
- Recognize aspects of the workplace that can create ethical dilemmas
- Explain the dimensions of good leadership and good followership
- Define key terms to develop an understanding of the stakes of moral decision making
- Evaluate options for responding to ethical dilemmas in the workplace
- Explain ethical choices using well-grounded reasoning based on harms, duties, roles, and other moral considerations
Meet the Instructors
Dr. Fritz Allhoff, J.D., Ph.D.
A professor of philosophy at Western Michigan University and a Community Professor in the Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine’s program in Medical Ethics, Humanity, and Law. He holds a J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research spans applied ethics, law, and public policy, with a focus on bioethics, cybersecurity, and the ethics of emerging technologies. Dr. Allhoff has over 100 publications and conference publications; he has also received over $1M in funding from the National Science Foundation. He serves on the advisory board of WMU’s Center for the Study of Ethics in Society.
Dr. Sandra L. Borden
A professor of communication and director of the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society at Western Michigan University. She holds a Ph.D. in mass communications from Indiana University. Her books include the award-winning Journalism as Practice: MacIntyre, Virtue Ethics and the Press (2007, Ashgate; 2009, Routledge) and The Routledge Companion to Media and Poverty (2022). Borden was a Fulbright Scholar in Spain in both 2023 and 2024 and was awarded a National Science Foundation grant to examine privilege in STEM research. She has held leadership positions in the Society for Ethics Across the Curriculum and the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics.
Dr. Linda Cherrey Reeser
A professor and director of the BSW program at Western Michigan University. She has her Ph.D. in social work and her LMSW. Dr. Reeser writes about ethics, professionalism and social activism and teaches social policy, social change and social welfare history. She is recognized as an expert presenter on the subject of ethics and has led numerous lectures, workshops, and webinars on ethics both nationally and internationally. Dr. Reeser has co-authored two books, one on professionalization and activism in social work and the other on ethical decision making in social work. She received The Lifetime Achievement Award from NASW–Michigan Chapter and the Teaching Excellence Award from the College of Health and Human Services at Western Michigan University. Dr. Reeser is also a member of the NASW Michigan Chapter Ethics Committee and serves on the advisory board for WMU’s Center for the Study of Ethics in Society.
Victoria Vuletich, J.D.
A nationally recognized ethics attorney and former law school professor. Vuletich is a frequent speaker, having lectured at Hertford College, Oxford University UK; The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum; the American Bar Association; the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies; and Grand Valley State University, among others. Through her company, Ethics Squared, Vuletich offers organizational training and consulting services on organizational ethics and related topics. She is an affiliate of Western Michigan University’s Center for the Study of Ethics in Society.