Brian Berkey

Brian is currently working on papers about exploitation and trade justice, equality in the workplace, autonomous vehicle ethics, corporate climate change mitigation obligations, and effective altruism.

Past Courses

• LGST100 - ETHICS & SOCIAL RESP

  This course explores business responsibility from rival theoretical and managerial perspectives. Its focus includes theories of ethics and their application to case studies in business. Topics include moral issues in advertising and sales; hiring and promotion; financial management; corporate pollution; product safety; and decision-making across borders and cultures.

• LGST220 - INT'L BUSINESS ETHICS

  This course is a multidisciplinary, interactive study of business ethics within a global economy. A central aim of the course is to enable students to develop a framework to address ethical challenges as they arise within and across different countries. Alternative theories about acting ethically in global environments are presented, and critical current issues are introduced and analyzed. Examples include bribery, global sourcing, environmental sustainability, social reports, intellectual property, e-commerce, and dealing with conflicting standards and values across cultures. As part of this study, the course considers non-Western ethical traditions and practices as they relate to business.

• LGST299 - SEMINAR IN LAW & SOCIETY

  A study of the nature, functions, and limits of law as an agency of societal policy. Each semester an area of substantive law is studied for the purpose of examining the relationship between legal norms developed and developing in the area and societal problems and needs. Please see department for current offerings.

• LGST820 - INT'L BUSINESS ETHICS

  This course is a multidisciplinary, interactive study of business ethics within a global economy. A central aim of the course is to enable students to develop a framework to address ethical challenges as they arise within and across different countries. Alternative theories about acting ethically in global environments are presented, and critical current issues are introduced and analyzed. Examples include bribery, global sourcing, environmental sustainability, social reports, intellectual property, e-commerce, and dealing with conflicting standards and values across cultures. As part of this study, the course considers non-Western ethical traditions and practices as they relate to business.

• LGST920 - ETHICS IN BUS & ECON

  The seminar explores the growing academic literature in business ethics. It also provides participants an opportunity to investigate an ethical issue of their choosing in some depth, using their field of specialty as context. The seminar assumes no previous exposure to business ethics. Different business ethics theories and frameworks for investigating issues will be discussed, including corporate social responsibility, corporate moral agency, theories of values, and corporate governance. In turn, these theories will be applied to a range of issues, both domestic and international. Such issues include: corruption in host countries, the management of values in modern corporations, the ethical status of the corporation, ethics in sophisticated financial transactions (such as leveraged derivative transactions), and gender discrimination in the context of cultural differences. Literature not only from business ethics, but from professional and applied ethics, law, and organizational behavior will be discussed. Often, guest speakers will address the seminar. At the discretion of the class, special topics of interest to the class will be examined. Students will be expected to write and present a major paper dealing with a current issue within their major field. The course is open to students across fields, and provides integration of ideas across multiple business disciplines.

• PPE 498 - DIRECTED HONORS RESEARCH

  Student arranges with a faculty member to do research and write a thesis on a suitable topic. For more information on honors visit: https://ppe.sas.upenn.edu/study/curriculum/honors-theses

• Berggruen Fellowship, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University, 2018-2019
• Wolpow Family Endowed Faculty Scholar Award, 2018-2019
• Wharton Teaching Excellence Award, 2017-2018
• Penn Integrating Sustainability Across the Curriculum Program, 2016 Description

  Awarded half-time undergraduate research assistant to help prepare course on Environmental Ethics and Business.

• Interview on Biden’s Plans to Address Gun Violence, Wharton Business Daily - 04/21/2021
• Article on Employer Vaccine Prioritization Ethics, Dilemmas (#4) - 04/15/2021
• Quoted in Article on Billionaire Wealth, Marketplace - 04/15/2021
• Article on the Ethics of Continued COVID Vaccine Studies, Dilemmas (#2) - 02/19/2021
• Quoted in Article on Elon Musk’s $100M Carbon Removal Technology Contest, Marketplace - 02/12/2021
• Interview on U.S. Withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, Wharton Business Daily - 11/05/2020
• Quoted in Article on Amazon’s Climate Commitments and Political Donations, E&E News - 10/14/2020
• Quoted in Article on Amazon’s Sustainability Initiatives, SearchAWS - 08/28/2020
• Interview on Corporate COVID-19 Policies, Wharton Business Daily - 08/10/2020
• Article on Sweatshops and Ethics, Noēma Magazine - 08/04/2020
• Quoted in Article on Corporate COVID-19 Policies, Vox - 07/24/2020
• Interview on IEA Green Recovery Report, Wharton Business Daily - 06/24/2020
• Quoted in Article on What Can Come from a Pandemic, Entrepreneur - 05/06/2020
• Podcast on What Can Come from a Pandemic, Pessimists Archive - 05/01/2020
• Interview on Ethics and Contact Tracing, Wharton Business Daily - 04/14/2020
• Interview on Recent Research, Knowledge@Wharton High School - 02/13/2020
• Interview on Microsoft’s Carbon Negative Pledge, Wharton Business Daily - 01/29/2020
• Quoted in Article on Amazon’s Response to Employee Climate Activism, Thomson Reuters - 01/06/2020
• Quoted in Article on Top Energy/Environmental Stories of 2019, Forbes - 12/22/2019
• Interview on “Sweatshops, Structural Injustice, and the Wrong of Exploitation”, Wharton Business Daily - 12/17/2019
• Brief on How Autonomous Vehicles Should Redistribute the Risks of the Road, Wharton Public Policy Initiative - 12/03/2019
• Article on New Ethics Center in Yaoundé, Cameroon, Blog of the American Philosophical Association - 11/14/2019
• Quoted in Article on Uber’s Use of Third-Party Claims Company in Sexual Assault Cases, USA Today - 10/04/2019
• Quoted in Article on Global Climate Strike and Business Response to Activism, Knowledge@Wharton High School - 09/19/2019
• Panel Discussion on CEOs Letter Advocating Gun Control Measures, Knowledge@Wharton/SiriusXM - 09/16/2019
• Panel Discussion on CNN Climate Town Hall, Knowledge@Wharton - 09/05/2019
• Quoted in Article on Walmart Decision and American Politics, CNN Politics - 09/04/2019
• Quoted in Article on Walmart Decision to Stop Selling Handgun Ammo, Los Angeles Times - 09/03/2019
• Quoted in Article on Climate Change and Increased Vaccine Needs, ClimateWire - 07/31/2019
• Panel Discussion on Nomination of Eugene Scalia, Knowledge@Wharton/SiriusXM - 07/24/2019
• Quoted in Article on Environmental Justice, Knowledge@Wharton High School - 07/10/2019
• Quoted in Article on Law, Ethics, and Disruptive Technologies, Technical.ly Philly - 04/30/2019
• Panel Discussion on Supreme Court Lamps Plus v. Varela Decision, Knowledge@Wharton/SiriusXM - 04/25/2019
• Quoted in Article on Ethics and Democracy, Forbes - 04/24/2019
• Early Career Research Spotlight, Blog of the American Philosophical Association - 04/04/2019
• Quoted in Article on Former Governor’s Involvement on Board of Symbiont, Delaware News Journal - 02/14/2019
• Quoted in Article on Hunters Point Superfund Development Site, San Francisco Chronicle - 12/13/2018
• Panel Discussion on US Climate Report, Knowledge@Wharton/SiriusXM - 11/26/2018
• Panel Discussion on District Court Keystone Pipeline Decision, Knowledge@Wharton/SiriusXM - 11/12/2018
• Quoted in Article on Shell’s Approach to Climate Change Issues, Fast Company - 11/01/2018
• Quoted in Article on “Blitzscaling”, CNN Business - 10/31/2018
• Panel Discussion on Climate Change and Food, Knowledge@Wharton - 10/25/2018
• Quoted in Article on Friendship and Business, VICE - 10/19/2018
• Panel Discussion on UN Climate Report, Knowledge@Wharton - 10/12/2018
• Panel Discussion on Corporate Responses to Parkland, Knowledge@Wharton - 03/12/2018
• Quoted in Report on Business Ethics and Moral Philosophy, Knowledge@Wharton/AKO Foundation - 01/15/2018
• Podcast on “The Institutional Critique of Effective Altruism”, Knowledge@Wharton - 12/06/2017
• Quoted in Article on Boycotts and Corporate Behavior, Knowledge@Wharton - 12/01/2017
• Interview on Philosophy in Business Schools, Blog of the American Philosophical Association - 10/04/2017
• Quoted in Article on Corporate Responsibility for Addressing Climate Change, Knowledge@Wharton - 06/16/2017
• Quoted in Article on Renewable Energy and Climate Change, Knowledge@Wharton - 10/10/2016
• Panel Discussion on Campus Free Speech, Knowledge@Wharton - 11/17/2015
• Quoted in Article on Chinese Production of Hereke Carpets, Atlas Obscura - 11/17/2015
• Research Discussion, Knowledge@Wharton - 10/09/2015
• Interview on Volkswagen Scandal, This Morning with Alex Jensen - 09/30/2015

Knowledge @ Wharton

• How the Biden Administration Could Tackle Climate Change, Knowledge @ Wharton - 11/9/2020
• The Climate Change Debate: Will New Proposals Provide Any Solutions?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 9/6/2019
• Food for Thought: Can Changing Our Diets Save the Planet?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 10/25/2018
• Can the World Change Course on Climate Change?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 10/12/2018
• Gun Control After Parkland: What Can Firms Really Do?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 3/12/2018
• Why It Is Not Enough to Merely Vote for Social Change, Knowledge @ Wharton - 12/6/2017
• Does Your Product Boycott Really Matter?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 12/1/2017
• How Business Can Take the Lead on Combating Climate Change, Knowledge @ Wharton - 6/16/2017
• Solar and Wind Power Are Growing – but Won’t Solve Climate Change, Knowledge @ Wharton - 10/10/2016
• How Injustice Affects Decision-making, Knowledge @ Wharton - 10/9/2015