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Running heading: Module 6

Module 6: Course Reflection

Jenna Baba

Arizona State University

OGL 345-Module 6

April 25, 2022

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MODULE 6: Course Reflection

This course has taught me much about what it takes to be an ethical leader throughout our

readings, discussions, simulations, and more. Here is my reflection on this course.

At the beginning of our reading, I first learned Virtue theory and what it offers to business ethics.

It offers us to think about going beyond just financial assets. It shows us that it is possible for a

business and the people can flourish. To do so we need to support and create virtue and use that

virtue within the community. This is about having respectful and thoughtful connections that go

beyond the community. It shows that a business can promote its intent above its profit and serve

all stakeholders along with the atmosphere. I learned much from ethical relativism. This is about

different ethical attitudes that can be seen in different places and times. It taught me how to see

different people’s views on business ethics and the reasons behind it. We have to think about the

relationship between power and morality. Think about if our judgments are shaped by our own

personal interests or by the interests of the community. One part of the reading that helped me

understand this idea was “just because ethics is a matter of opinion does not mean that there

cannot be a well-informed and poorly informed opinion; and it does not entail that our ethical

convictions can not be improved by exposure to other people’s views” (Fryer, p. 246, 2015). I

also was very interested in care ethics and how the so-called “feminine” ethical approach might

come inherently to many men as it does to women. Women and men have important roles when

communication is at play. We should avoid stereotyping. When you stereotype someone, it can

cause harm when representing others' gender. It was interesting to learn about the difference the

male and female ethics.  When reading about the responsibilities of business executives I learned
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much about how the people at the top, meaning the executives are the primary decision-makers,

but in larger companies, they are more likely to run the business on the behalf of somebody else.

This would be called separation of ownership and control. I liked the theory of separation of

ownership. For larger companies, the owner can't make all the conclusions but having a wider

body next to help make those decisions can help make the company run smoother.

Our book taught me much about ethics theory and business practice and along with it was

our discussion. Throughout the reading, I would sometimes get confused, but seeing what my

peers thought and had to say helped me understand the more difficult parts. I also liked the side

discussions because made me think about our reading more and how we all could agree on

different theories or disagree on them. I especially liked how we could share stories about how

we have seen these theories in real life. I have only worked in more part-time places with lower

roles where I haven't had that much experience but seeing how others related to them helped me

understand them more. 

I very much enjoyed the planet jockey simulations. It made me feel like I was making a big

decision when being the new COO of a pharmaceutical company. Each level put me in different

scenarios where I had to sit and think about the learning lesson. I found the videos during the

game taught me how to approach different ethical decisions. I will take many ideas from the

simulations into real life. Here are some areas I found to be most interesting. Being transparent is

very important. This is about being honest with your audiences. It will empower others and

benefit the community as well as protect your company from accusations of misrepresentations. I

also found that you have to make a conscious and intelligent approach when it comes to applying

company policies on ethical behaviors. Uniformity and consistency are key when it comes to

applying ethical codes. Lastly, I found that as a leader you cannot appoint punitive leadership
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practices it can direct to unethical behaviors. When creating a culture of fear not only suppresses

morale but also can lead to cultural approval for unethical employee behaviors. Overall, I feel

like I used the learning lessons from the game and ended up doing very well. I also appreciated

doing the case study assignment at the beginning of the semester. While going through the

different modules I ended up relating all the cases in different areas multiple times. I could see

how they ended up in difficult areas and learned what they should have done differently. 

Over this semester my leadership style has changed for the better. I am more transparent and

understanding. When it comes to making decisions, I think about all my different options before

doing what first comes to mind to ensure I am making an ethical choice. It also goes along when

I am in conversations with others, I try to think about what I’m going to say before doing so. I

feel like I am more aware of others as well and I try to think from their side of view and how we

can come together to make rational decisions. I plan to continue using what I learned for my

personal development by keeping an open mind, being transparent, and ensuring a comfortable

environment for everyone. The course has taught me much about how to be an ethical leader in

organizations and life. 

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References

Fryer, M. (2015). Ethics theory et business practice. Sage.