Ethics, Society, and the Institution of Business
Areas of Study
Offered through the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, the ESIB minor will help you:
- Acquire basic business literacy and relevant practical skills and a basic understanding of economic concepts and economic decision-making.
- Explore capitalism as the context in which most organizations operate, understanding it not simply as an economic arrangement but also as a force that shapes political institutions and human relations.
- Use your liberal arts education to evaluate and critique the institution of business and to develop practical proposals for positive change.
- Practice integrating ethical reasoning and concerns into discussions about business practices, laying the foundation for the habits of ethical reflection and reasoning necessary for ethical engagement and leadership in business.
- Prepare to act as ethical participants in the institution of business, if you choose to pursue that path.
- Prepare to act as critically engaged citizens of a society in which business touches everything we do.
About the Program
Students interested in the minor in Ethics, Society, and the Institution of Business must apply for admission to the program through the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, following the procedures and dates outlined there. Applications are usually due the first Friday in October and the second Friday in February.
In order to be eligible to apply, you must:
- complete either the Accounting or the Economics requirement
- complete either Capitalism in Context or the Business Fundamentals Lab
- make an appointment with an ESIB advisor
Ideally, students will begin their studies with four foundational courses and a half-credit overload. Students can fulfill the first three requirements and the half-credit overload with successful completion of:
- CISS 113 – Business Fundamentals Lab (half-credit overload)
- ACCT 181 – Financial Accounting
- ECON 110 – Principles of Economics
- CISS 230 – Capitalism in Context
Prospective ESIB students will also take one class addressing ethical or political theory. Students can fulfill this requirement with successful completion of one of the courses listed below.
- PHIL 204 – Ethics
- PHIL 207 – Foundations of Ethics
- PHIL 265 – Political Philosophy
- PHIL 249 – Environmental Ethics
- PHIL 250 – Medical Ethics
- PHIL 247 – Environmental Political Philosophy
- POLS 101 – Introduction to Political Philosophy
- RELS 143 – Social Ethics
- RELS 141 – Contemporary Christian Morality
As part of designing your own curriculum you will choose a particular ethical or social issue to which the institution of business contributes, for better or worse. Subject to certain constraints, students may choose almost any two courses offered at the College that will support their exploration of this issue as their electives.
The electives must meet several criteria. Absent advisor approval of an exception:
- Electives must be 200-level or above.
- One must be outside of the social sciences and one must have an ethics or social justice emphasis; these two conditions may be fulfilled by the same course.
NOTE: Students may not count more than a total of two courses from their major toward the six courses required for the minor; thus, economics and accounting majors may not use economics or accounting courses as electives at all. Students are responsible for identifying and fulfilling any prerequisites required by their chosen electives.
ESIB students will also need to secure a qualifying work experience and complete three memos requiring minimal research and a series of conversations with their co-workers. A qualifying work experience...
- Involves working at least 150 hours over 8-13 weeks.
- Provides some kind of formal orientation/on-boarding and a supervisor.
- Requires ESIB advisor approval prior to start.
The work experience may be completed during the school year or over the summer, but all three memos must be completed during the work experience. We strongly recommend that students secure acceptance to ESIB before completing the work experience requirement, but students may choose to complete the work experience prior to acceptance. We cannot guarantee that students who complete an ESIB work experience ahead of acceptance to the program will ultimately be admitted.
ESIB students conclude their course of study with the Capstone Seminar. In the Capstone, students will draw on all of the preceding work to propose that a specific entity (a person, organization, or political entity) take a specific ethical action with respect to the student’s chosen issue. In addition to working on these individual projects, students will
- Read and discuss recent scholarship on the ethical and political obligations of business.
- Build a set of personal practices around ethical action in the workplace.
- Develop public speaking and presentation skills.
The Capstone concludes with the students preparing and delivering “pitches”: 20-minute presentations of an ethical, financial, and legal argument in favor of a specific action by which their chosen target can address their chosen issue.
We strongly encourage our ESIB students to consider taking their cases to compete at the International Business Ethics Case Competition.
Meet Your ESIB Advisor
This minor was the main topic I would talk about in my interviews post-grad. Interviewers were surprised I cared about mission statements of the companies at all, so that was something that made me stand-out as a candidate overall...
Opportunities
The Carlyse and Arthur A. Ciocca '59 Center for Business, Ethics, and Society prepares students to become ethical leaders and critically engaged citizens of a society deeply shaped by business. It offers multiple pathways for students interested in business, including certificate programs, workshops, internships and more.
