Main topics of study:

Part A: Business Ethics

• Introducing Business Ethics
• A Very New Old Subject
• Foundation of Ethical Decision-Making
• Teleological Ethics
• Deontological Theories
• Ronald Green and Norm
• Values
• Moral Reasoning
• Virtue Ethics
• Development of Business Ethics

Rules

• Views of Morality
• Problem of ‘The Line’
• Bluffing and the Individual
• It’s Legal so it’s OK
• Telling the Truth
• Is Business Bluffing Wasteful?

Capitalism and Justice

• Capitalism
• Distributive Justice
• Wealth & Power
• Service
• Rewarding Merit
• Inequality
• State Intervention
• Welfare State

Employees & Rights

• Right to Work
• Equality of Opportunity
• Employer Rights
• Affirmative Action
• Fair Wages
• Unions
• Security and Privacy in the Workplace
• Whistleblowing
• Sexual Harassment

Ethics of Marketing Communications

• Promotion Techniques
• Privacy
• Value of Advertising
• Controls

Rights of Stakeholders

• Stakeholder Theory of The Firm
• Stakeholder Concept in Practice
• Consumerism and Product Liability
• Strict Liability
• Total Quality Management and Business Ethics
• Obligations to Competitors
• Dangers of Competitive Action
• Obligations to Suppliers
• Ethics in Sales
• Misrepresentation
• Internal Conflicts
• Sabotaging Competitors
• Use of Sales Techniques

Financial Ethics

• Creative Accounting
• Insider Dealing
• Leveraged Buyouts
• Buyback

Ethics of Environment

• Global Warming
• Climate Change
• Doomsday Scenario

Ethics of Globalisation

• Low Cost Labour
• Child Labour
• Multinationals
• Bribery and Extortion
• International Manager’s Responsibilities

Corporate Responsibility and the Future of Business Ethics

• Role of Company Directors
• Corporate Responsibility
• Future of Business Ethics

Part B: Customer Care

What Is Customer Service

• Customer Service is Important
• What is Customer Service?
• Understanding of Satisfaction - Excellent Customer Service is Rare
• Five Needs of Every Customer
• External and Internal Customers
• Customer Attributes
• Cost of Losing a Customer
• Skill Building
  

The Challenges of Customer Service

• Elements of Success
• Barriers to Excellent Customer Service
• Power of Perceptions
• Understanding Expectations
• Levels of Expectations
• Scope of Influence
• Reputation Management
• Techniques for Exceeding Customers’ Expectations
• Keys to Credibility
• Importance of Values
• Ethics in Customer Service
• Current Status of Customer Service
• New Trends in Customer Service

Problem Solving

• Role of Problem Solving in Customer Service
• Creativity and Problem Solving
• Problems as Opportunities
• Confronting Conflict
• Problem Solving Process and Strategies
• Developing Negotiation Skills
• Professional Approaches to Apologising and Conveying Bad News
• Barriers to Problem Solving and Decision Making
• Importance of Follow-Up in Problem Solving

Strategy and Formulating a Plan for Success

• Why a Strategy?
• Planning
• Importance of Infrastructure
• Culture
• High and Low Touch Customers
• Consumption Behaviour
• Segmenting the Market
• Developing a Strategy

Empowerment

• What is Empowerment?
• Importance of a Mission and Purpose Statement
• Empowerment and Opportunity
• Examples of Empowerment
• Steps to Empowering Customer Service Providers
• Co-Production of Customer Service
• Why Co-production Works
• Design of Systems
• Guidelines for System Design

Communications in Customer Service

• What is Communication?
• Building Customer Intelligence
• Methods of Communication
• Listening
• Voice Inflection as a Customer Service Tool
• Telephones and Customer Service
• Words to Use and Avoid
• Power Phrases
• Power of Eye Contact
• Appeal to Senses in Communication
• Communication and Technology

Coping with Challenging Customers

• Who are Challenging Customers?
• Why Customers are Challenging
• Creating Challenging Customers
• Characteristics of Challenging Customers
• Respect
• Positive Empathy
• Responsibility Check
• Being Wrong
• Ways of Coping with Challenging Customers
• Payoffs of Coping with Challenging Customers

Motivation

• What is Motivation?
• Needs and Wants
• Motivating Factors
• Understanding Morale
• Self- Concept and Motivation
• Power of Self Motivation
• Teamwork
• Saying Thank You and Motivating Others

Leadership in Customer Service

• Leadership Defined
• Knowledge of Yourself
• Formal and Informal Leaders
• Coach or Counsellor
• Characteristics of Excellent Leaders
• Leadership and Goals
• Creation of a Customer Service Culture
• Benefits of Job Aids
• Leadership without Position
• Your Manager as a Customer

Customer Retention and Measurement of Satisfaction:

• What is Customer Retention?
• Value of Existing Customers
• Understanding Churn
• When to Improve your Customer Retention Programme
• Developing a Customer Retention Programme
• Measurement of Satisfaction
• Sources of Information
• Benefits of Measuring your Effectiveness
• Tips for Realistically Determining your Effectiveness
• Surveys
• Evaluating your Own Performance
• Measuring Performance and the Business

Delivering Customer Service to the Changing Market Place

• Today’s Changing Marketplace
• Understanding Today’s Customer
• Embracing New Technologies
• Call Centres
• Customer Service over the Internet
• Enhancing Service Experiences and Building Customer Loyalty

Excellence in Customer Service

• Excellence is the Goal
• Getting Started
• Rewards of Excellent Customer Service

Main Texts:

Understanding Business Ethics – Roger Bradburn (Continuum)
Customer Service: A Practical Approach – Elaine K Harris (Prentice Hall)