08832323.2012.749205
Journal of Education for Business
ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
The Migration Toward Ethical Decision Making
as a Core Course Into the B-School: Instructional
Strategies and Approaches for Consideration
Johnathan Nelson , Lola B. Smith & Clifford Steven Hunt
To cite this article: Johnathan Nelson , Lola B. Smith & Clifford Steven Hunt (2014) The
Migration Toward Ethical Decision Making as a Core Course Into the B-School: Instructional
Strategies and Approaches for Consideration, Journal of Education for Business, 89:1, 49-56,
DOI: 10.1080/08832323.2012.749205
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Date: 11 January 2016, At: 20:27
JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR BUSINESS, 89: 49–56, 2014
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Copyright
ISSN: 0883-2323 print / 1940-3356 online
DOI: 10.1080/08832323.2012.749205
The Migration Toward Ethical Decision Making
as a Core Course Into the B-School: Instructional
Strategies and Approaches for Consideration
Johnathan Nelson, Lola B. Smith, and Clifford Steven Hunt
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Morehead State University, Morehead, Kentucky, USA
Many academicians are asking the following question: “Are we ill-preparing our business
students if we fail to offer future business professionals the opportunity to engage in a greater
understanding of the ethical decision making process?” The authors provide a current review
of the literature on the state of ethics education in business curricula, as well as a detailed
justification and rationale for incorporating ethical concepts as a core course in business school
programs. They conclude with a wealth of resources, approaches, and instructional strategies
to help develop a culture of integrity, inclusive of simulations, articles, cases, role-playing, and
presentations.
Keywords: business curriculum, business education, business ethics, ethical behavior, instructional strategies
When Edwin Gay founded the Harvard Business School in
1908, he proclaimed the purpose of business was to do both
“well and good” (Beer, 2011). Such a methodology indicates
the need for business persons to do well for the company and
shareholders by making an honest profit; it also includes a
caveat that business must be conducted in a manner that also
does good for society. Such a mission statement encompasses
a multiplicity of business ethics considerations and points
to the need to incorporate all aspects of strong and ethical
decision making.
But what is ethics? Some may say it is a requirement
for human life, a way to organize our goals so that we can
demonstrate our core values. Yet while it is generally agreed
that “all people recognize some common ethical norms, different individuals interpret, apply, and balance these norms
in different ways in light of their own values and life experiences” (Resnik, 2011, para. 3). However, taken to this
extreme, this perspective suggests each individual has their
own unique moral principles that they should not seek to
impose on others. As such, multiple authors suggest Treviño
and Nelson’s (2011) definition of ethics, where they define
ethics as “the principles, norms, and standards of conduct
governing an individual or group” (p. 17). Thus, while the
Correspondence should be addressed to Johnathan Nelson, Morehead
State University, School of Business Administration, Combs Building 313B,
Morehead, KY 40351, USA. E-mail: j.nelson@moreheadstate.edu
bottom line in business may often be to make money or go
bust, this definition highlights that there are guidelines related to ethical conduct that society expects employers and
employees to be guided by in their pursuit of profit. As such,
being ethical is not necessarily the same as following the law
(Velasquez, Andre, Shanks, & Meyer, 2010).
Today’s business leaders, in a continued expansion of
Gay’s ideas (see Beer, 2011), must make collective decisions
which impact events around the globe, not to mention influencing the quality of life for many persons. So, as business educators, it is necessary to ask: “Are professors letting business
students down if they do not offer students the opportunity
to engage in a greater understanding of the ethical decision
making process?” The answer appears to be yes, given recent
findings of the Institute of Business Ethics indicate only 20%
of human resources professionals believe business students
are “adequately knowledgeable about business ethics” (Institute of Business Ethics, 2011). To improve such statistics, it
appears that business schools must do a better job in providing business students with the opportunity to escalate their
awareness about what it means to do business ethically, as
well as how to conduct business in such a manner. Such an
approach, at the very least, signals students that ethics has,
or should have, a high priority in business practices.
In this article, we include a review of the literature, which
contains justification and rationale for incorporating ethical concepts as a core course in business school instructional strategies. We also include examples of approaches and
50
J. NELSON ET AL.
instructional strategies to help develop a culture of integrity,
inclusive of simulations, cases, role-playing, and presentations. Such activities give a voice to values (Gentile, 2010)
and help students better understand the impact of choices
they must make.
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THE STATE OF ETHICS IN MANAGEMENT
EDUCATION
Greater emphasis is being placed on business ethics in management education. This is in large part due to ethics scandals
such as Enron, Tyco, the 2008 Financial Crisis, the desire of
organizations to employ people of integrity, and business
education accreditation requirements placing an increased
emphasis on ethics (Wankel & Stachowicz-Stanusch, 2011).
Many of the leaders involved in these ethics scandals were
educated in business schools, causing some scholars to argue
that business schools are at least partly responsible for these
events; either for not fully preparing students to handle ethical issues (Ghoshal, 2005), or worse, for promoting unethical
behavior in the business curriculum (Gioia, 2003). However,
business education has also been viewed as an essential part
of the solution (Ashforth, Gioia, Robinson, & Treviño, 2008).
From this view, educators can work to prevent future ethical
lapses by more effectively addressing ethics in the business
curriculum. In this section we describe factors that influence whether ethics is covered and approaches for integrating
ethics into the business curriculum.
Factors Influencing the Integration of Ethics
Into Business Curricula
Despite an increased general emphasis on ethics in business education, business schools vary widely in how ethics
is actually integrated into the curriculum (Evans & Marcal,
2005; Evans, Treviño, & Weaver, 2006; Rutherford, Parks,
Cavazos, & White, 2012). Recently, research has examined
factors influencing the decision to include ethics as part of
the required curriculum at the master of business administration (MBA) and undergraduate levels. Based on a review
of MBA programs in the United States, Evans et al. (2006)
observed that ethics courses were more likely to be included
in the MBA curriculum for those programs rated as more
prestigious, that had a religious affiliation, and that had a
relatively large percentage of management and marketing
faculty members. These findings appear to largely hold true
at the undergraduate level as well. In examining factors contributing to the decision to require ethics in the undergraduate
curriculum, Rutherford et al. (2012) observed that private institutions and programs with a religious affiliation were more
likely to require ethics as part of the business curriculum for
undergraduates. Thus, it appears that institutional forces are
an important influence on the decision to include ethics as
part of the undergraduate and MBA business curriculum.
Additionally, Rutherford et al. also found evidence for the
importance of characteristics of the business school’s leadership. They observed that required ethics curriculum was
more likely in colleges of business that had deans who were
women or had a background in the area of management.
Taken together, this research has begun to shed light on
some of the specific reasons that ethics is becoming a part
of the required business curriculum. However, while it appears that ethics is increasingly included as required curriculum, Rutherford et al. (2012) observed that only about
25% of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of
Business–accredited schools in the United States currently
include a stand-alone ethics course as part of the required
curriculum. Additionally, to date, educators do not yet have
an adequate understanding of the effectiveness of ethics curriculum on ethical behavior. For example, Evans et al. (2006)
noted that ethics could be integrated across functional areas
rather than a stand-alone course. However, they noted that
there is little consensus on the long-term effectiveness of
either approach on managerial ethical behavior.
Effectiveness of Business Ethics Curriculum
In a recent meta-analysis of the influence of individual and
organizational factors on ethical decision making, KishGephart, Harrison, and Treviño (2010) did not find evidence
to support a relationship between education level and unethical choices. As such, this finding appears to support the
argument of Treviño and Brown (2004) that even educated
adults require further guidance in the workplace in regards to
their ethical behavior and decision making. While this finding focused on general educational level and not on ethics
education per se, Kish-Gephart et al. (2010) argued that this
should be disconcerting to academic instructors and raises the
possibility that educators have not adequately contributed to
the ethical development of students.
This same concern is raised by the results of another
meta-analysis examining the influence of business ethics instruction where the effect of ethics education on the ethics
of students and business people was small (Waples, Antes,
Murphy, Connelly, & Mumford, 2009). However, they emphasized that there is great variability in the effectiveness
of ethics education. Waples et al. argued that their analysis of specific attributes of ethics education as moderators
indicate “that there are several key considerations—some
of which may enhance the effectiveness of business ethics
instruction—to take into account prior to designing, delivering, and evaluating business ethics instruction” (p. 146).
They highlighted a number of course design decisions applicable at the undergraduate level. For example, based on their
meta-analysis they suggested that ethics curriculum should
include a case-based instructional approach with opportunities for active learning and application on the part of students.
While the research described herein is somewhat dismal
in regard to the influence of education on ethical behavior, we
believe first and foremost that it suggests educators need to
do more to contribute to the ethical development of students.
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MIGRATION TOWARD ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
Indeed, the authors believe that there is a silver lining in this
research indicating that while it may be difficult to develop
ethics in students, proactive and carefully designed ethics
interventions can be influential. Indeed, early work on moral
cognitive development found that carefully designed training
increased moral reasoning (Thoma & Rest, 1986). Additionally, there is meta-analytic evidence that ethics curriculum
with the appropriate design features does positively influence
ethics in students and professionals (Waples et al., 2009).
Additionally, it appears that a carefully designed stand-alone
ethics courses as part of the required business curriculum can
provide desired outcomes in regards to ethics (Evans et al.,
2006). Here we present instructional strategies to help programs implement stand-alone ethics courses as part of the
undergraduate curriculum. We hope that future researchers
will continue to shed more light on the effectiveness of instructional elements to further guide such efforts.
Presently there is only limited research on the effectiveness of specific ethics course design elements (Evans et al.,
2006; Waples et al., 2009) to guide curriculum decisions.
However, Warren, Sampson, and McFee (2011) conducted
structured interviews with administration members of 70
top ranked business schools (MBA) according to Business
Week’s 2006 rankings to begin to investigate ethics in the
business curriculum. They observed that 40% of the programs they investigated included a required ethics or law
course. They observed that there was great variety in the actual approaches to teaching ethics; programs varied in the
degree to which they included experiential learning (19%),
student learning projects (19%), speakers (4%), and simulations (2%) as part of the ethics instruction. In line with
the other research described herein, it was observed that a
majority of administrators (59%) acknowledged a need for
greater coverage of the ethics in their curriculum.
As we have described, ethics can be incorporated as a
stand-alone ethics course in a number of different ways. Such
approaches can address not only moral reasoning, an understanding of the psychological and situational influences on
ethical behavior, and philosophical ethical theories, but also
the development of efficacy beliefs for ethics management
(Nelson, Poms, & Wolf, 2012). Thus, instructors of standalone ethics courses are left with a number of different course
design choices. While it is noted that much research is needed
in order to better address the effectiveness of specific course
design choices, we offer some suggestions here, based on
our collective experience, to help guide ethics instructors in
making these course design decisions.
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES AND
APPROACHES FOR INCORPORATING
BUSINESS ETHICS
Ethical decision making is quite abstract in scope, so if one
is to engage students in this process there is a need to illus-
51
trate such choices in more concrete terms. Ethics in and of
itself is an exploration of both problem evasion and problem solving. In this regard, narratives, such as case studies,
movies, or role-playing, present a venue to ask the following
problem-prevention or problem-solving questions: “To begin
with, what could have been done to avoid this situation?” or
“What might have been done to correct this situation once it
emerged?”
Books and Articles
The most obvious narrative teaching tool is one that is text
based. The literature review demonstrates many authors have
sought to define and identify ethical principles. As a result,
numerous books and countless articles have been written on
the subject of business ethics in terms of fostering personal
integrity and social responsibility. So, finding the best text
for a particular set of business students would greatly depend
on the context of that course. However, the authors have suggested a mere sampling of related texts that provide business
students with a solid understanding of basic business-related
ethical conflicts (see Appendix A).
Case Studies
Narratives of events, people, or experiences can readily be
found in clinical case studies, which usually involve a strong
analysis of a person, industry, or company by focusing on
evolving factors for that episode in relation to a specific context. Business schools, such as Harvard, Stanford, and others
frequently use the case study method within their curricula.
See Appendix B for a sampling of relevant ethics-related case
studies as well as a tool called Case Analysis Coach for use
in developing a framework for analysis and synthesis of key
information.
Role-Playing and Simulations
In role-playing, a student assumes the character of another
person, (usually in a fictionalized setting), within structured guidelines related to specific content knowledge. Roleplaying can readily facilitate business students’ grasp of
real-world ethical challenges, such as reflecting on a situation where one might harm other people in order to fulfill
an individual’s own responsibility. For media-related examples of ethics role-playing, see Columbia University’s (1989)
Seminars on Media and Society (Appendix C). Engagement
in such tasks as simulating entrepreneurial/management negotiations, finance negotiations, and/or confronting leadership issues can better equip students to deal with real-life
business dilemmas. Moreover, these active participation scenarios can aid a student’s understanding of conscious or
unconscious biases that frequently intrude on ethical decision making (Banaji, Bazerman, & Chugh, 2003). Technologically driven simulations can also train students to
52
J. NELSON ET AL.
improve their professional business ethics understanding
(see Appendix C).
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Multimedia
Multimedia use is another form of narrative, and these mirrors of ourselves, whether based on actual accounts or fictitious ones can teach a great deal about ethical businessdecision making. In today’s society, perceptions of what is
considered ethical behavior (what is right, fair, or benefiting society) can so easily become warped (greed, fraud, or
corruption) that learning how to deal with these disorienting
forces can be challenging. There is tremendous power in the
moving image to change lives and to shape society. As such,
a retrospective of films and other multimedia mirrors that investigate principled business-related issues in society would
present business students with a great opportunity to reflect
on some of these life-defining concerns. Moreover, research
indicates that utilizing visual narratives increase students’
interest and help focus their attention, as well as aid in retention of key information (Gilakjani, 2012). See Appendix
D for a sampling of recent multimedia concerning ethical
dilemmas.
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In this article, we have provided a literature review illustrating the rationale for incorporating ethical concepts as a
core course in Business school instructional strategies. Examples of approaches and instructional strategies, such as
case studies, multimedia, and role-playing and simulations,
have also been put forth to stimulate the moral imagination
and elicit a sense of honorable responsibility. These methods
have been identified as a means to aid business educators in
moving forth from merely talking about ethics, to incorporating learning processes that foster greater discussion and
reflection on the complexities of the human condition. After
all, “there are ethical decisions for which knowledgeable,
well-meaning, rational, human beings cannot agree on the
best course of action,” (Brinkman & Sanders, 2013, p. 1).
Only by empowering our students with such instruction can
educators hope to imbue them with stronger ethical decisionmaking capabilities.
REFERENCES
Ashforth, B. E., Gioia, D. A., Robinson, S. L., & Treviño, L. K. (2008).
Re-viewing organizational corruption. Academy of Management Review,
33, 670–684. doi: 10.5465/AMR.2008.32465714
Banaji, M. R., Bazerman, M. H., & Chugh, D. (2003).How (un)ethical are
you? Harvard Business Review, 81, 56–64.
Beer, M. (2011, November). MBA programs are failing in ethics: Business schools need a higher ambition. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved
from http://www.businessweek.com/debateroom/archives/2011/11/mba
programs are failing in ethics.html
Brinkman, B., & Sanders, A. (2013). Ethics in a computing culture. Boston,
MA: Cengage Learning.
Evans, F. J., & Marcal, L. E. (2005). Educating for ethics: Business
deans’ perspectives. Business and Society Review, 110, 233–248. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%
291467–8594
Evans, J. M., Treviño, L. K., & Weaver, G. R. (2006). Who’s in the
ethics driver’s seat? Factors influencing ethics in the MBA curriculum. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 5, 278–293. doi:
10.5465/AMLE.2006.22697017
Gentile, M. C. (2010). Giving voice to values: How to speak your mind when
you know what’s right. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Ghoshal, S. (2005). Bad management theories are destroying good management practices. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 4,
75–91. doi: 10.5465/AMLE.2005.16132558
Gilakjani, A. P. (2012). Visual, auditory, kinesthetic learning styles and their
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Gioia, D. A. (2003). Teaching teachers to teach corporate governance
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Institute of Business Ethics. (2011, November 7). Call for business education to integrate ethics into its core curriculum. Retrieved from
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Kish-Gephart, J. J., Harrison, D., & Treviño, L. K. (2010). Bad apples,
bad cases, and bad barrels: Meta-analytic evidence about sources of
unethical decisions at work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95, 1–31.
doi:10.1037/a0017103
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for ethics and diversity management. Academy of Management Learning
& Education, 11, 49–68. doi:10.5465/amle.2009.00115
Resnik, D. B. (2011). What is ethics in research & why is it important? Retrieved from http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/
bioethics/whatis/
Rutherford, M. A., Parks, L., Cavazos, D. E., & White, C. D. (2012).
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Thoma, S. J., & Rest, J. R. (1986). Moral judgment, behavior, decision
making, and attitudes. In J. R. Rest (Ed.), Moral development: Advances
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Treviño, L. K., & Brown, M. E. (2004). Managing to be ethical: Debunking five business ethics myths. Academy of Management Executive, 18,
69–81. doi: 10.5465/AME.2004.13837400
Treviño, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2011). Managing business ethics: Straight
talk about how to do it right (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Velasquez, M., Andre, C., Shanks, T., & Meyer, M. (2010).
What is ethics? Retrieved from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/
decision/whatisethics.html
Wankel, C., & Stachowicz-Stanusch, A. (2011). Management education for
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M. D. (2009). A meta-analytic investigation of business ethics instruction. Journal of Business Ethics, 87, 133–151. doi: 10.1007/s10551-0089875-0
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assurance of learning, and the future. Organization Management Journal,
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MIGRATION TOWARD ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
53
APPENDIX A: A Sampling of Related Books and Articles
Ethics in a Computing Culture, by B. Brinkman & A. F. Sanders
(2013). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. $90.95; available at
Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases, by O.C.
Ferrell, J. Fraedrich, & L. Ferrell (2013). Mason, OH:
South-Western. $54.49; available at Cengage Brain
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The Business Ethics Workshop, by J. Brusseau (2012).
Flatworldknowledge.com. Printed version $34.95, e-version
$24.95; available at
http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/catalog/editions/66
Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Business Ethics and Society (12th
ed.), by L. H. Newton, E. E. Englehardt, & M. Pritchard (2012).
New York: McGraw-Hill. $33.75; available at Course Smart
Ethical Breakdowns, by M. H. Bazerman, & A. E. Tenbrunsel
(2011). Harvard Business Review, 89(4), 58–65; available at
Research Gate:
http://www.researchgate.net/researcher/4609503 Max H
Bazerman
An Introduction to Business Ethics (4th ed.), by J. DesJardins
(2011). New York: McGraw-Hill. $39.25; available at Course
Smart
Honest Work: A Business Ethics Reader, by J. B. Ciulla, C. Martin,
& R. C. Solomon (2010). Oxford, England: Oxford University
Press. $58.81; available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Managing Yourself: Keeping Your Colleagues Honest, by M. C.
Gentile (2010). Harvard Business Review, 88, 114–117; available
at http://hbr.org/2010/03/managing-yourself-keeping-yourcolleagues-honest/ar/1
Giving Voice to Values: How to Speak Your Mind When You Know
What’s Right, by M. C. Gentile (2010). New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press. $19.76; available at Amazon.
This text looks at how computing is changing who people are and
the professional ethics of computing professions, and issues of
trust, safety, reliability, and the transfer of intellectual and
intangible property. It addresses concerns of vulnerable groups
within the computing community.
This text provides an introduction to ethical issues in organizations,
the ethical decision making process, and business ethics in a
global economy. It includes a number of cases highlighting
important ethical issues for students to consider.
This text includes case studies with excerpts taken from
contemporary blogs and newspapers. The topics lean heavily on
bridging the gap between staid discussions of problems faced by
IBM executives in the 1980’s to stories that relate to students’
experiences and workplace interests. The topics are designed to
incite class discussion.
This text offers opposing viewpoints on a number of contemporary
business ethics issues. These readings can be used to frame and
help students prepare for class debates and discussions on these
issues.
Companies are spending time and money to install codes of ethics,
ethics training, compliance programs, and in-house watchdogs.
Yet unethical behavior continues to occur. This article examines
psychological processes that contribute to unethical behavior,
and focuses on actions to circumvent these influences.
This text focuses on ethical reasoning and critical analysis. It
covers a wide range of contemporary business ethics issues
relevant for managers and organizations.
The main focus is that “business ethics” is about the ethics of
individuals.. Includes topics on marketing, privacy, protection of
personal information, and intellectual property issues. This book
features 103 articles and 80 cases concerning such topics as
honesty and trust in the work place, whistle blowing, product
liability, finance and environmental ethics.
This article examines what at first glance appears to be a mundane
accounting matter. But the consequences—in terms of carrying
costs, distorted forecasting, compromised ethical culture, and
even legal ramifications—are very serious. This article explores
how managers must be able to, and can change the ethical
culture of organizations
The book is inspired by a program Gentile launched at the Aspen
Institute with Yale School of Management. The major tenet of
book is that ethics is not a matter of knowing what is right or
wrong but rather having the tools to act on your values to oppose
pressure. This book presents tools to help enact and “voice” your
values.
Note. We have not necessarily done a formal review of texts, but rather highlight these texts or articles as ones that incorporate ideas that can be used in
various ethics conversations in multiple business-related classes.
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J. NELSON ET AL.
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APPENDIX B: A Sampling of Related Case Studies
The Global Oil and Gas Industry (2010). A. C. Inkpen &
M. Moffett. Harvard Business School Review (17 pages).
http://hbr.org/product/the-global-oil-and-gas-industry2010/an/TB0223-PDF-ENG?Ntt=Ethics%2520Case%
2520Studies%25202010 Prod. #: TB0223-PDF-ENG
($6.95 each PDF file.)
Business Ethics: A View from the Trenches (1995). J. L.
Badaracco, Jr. & A. Webb. Harvard Business School
Review (22 pages) Prod. #: CMR050-PDF-ENG ($6.95
each PDF file.) http://hbr.org/product/business-ethics-aview-from-the-trenches/an/CMR050-PDFENG?Ntt=Ethics%2520Case%2520Studies
Kitchen Best: Ethics When Doing Cross-Boundary
Business in Southern China (2011). Say Goo & Grace
Loo. Harvard Business School Publishing (15 pages).
http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu (Search website using title).
Product #: HKU948-PDF-ENG ($6.95 each PDF file.)
A Global Leader’s Guide to Managing Business
Conduct (2011). Lynn S. Paine, Rohit Deshpande &
Joshua D. Margolis. Harvard Business School Publishing
(7 pages). http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu (Search website
using title).
Product #: W1109A-PDF-ENG ($6.95 each PDF file.)
Ethics Hold the Key to Network Contradictions (2011).
Antonino Vaccaro. Harvard Business School Publishing
(7 pages). http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu (Search website
using title). Product #: IIR052-PDF-ENG ($6.95 each
PDF file.)
Blind Spots: The Roots of Unethical Behavior in Life
and Work (2011). Max H. Bazerman & Ann E.
Tenbrunsel Harvard Business School Publishing (4
pages). http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu (Search website using
title).
Product #: ROT140-PDF-ENG ($6.95 each PDF file.)
Ethical Breakdowns (2011). Max H. Bazerman & Ann E.
Tenbrunsel Harvard Business School Publishing (9
pages). http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu (Search website using
title). Product #: R1104C-PDF-ENG ($6.95 each PDF
file.)
This case examines the oil and gas industry, describing industry values and major business
segments, including exploration and production, refining and marketing, natural gas, and
petrochemicals. The case examines the complex structure of the industry and its competitive
dynamics.
Presents a study of how young managers define ethical issues, think about these issues, and
resolve them largely on the basis of personal reflection and individual values, not through
reliance on corporate credos or examples of senior executives.
The case highlights legal and cultural differences that pose a challenge in maintaining ethical
standards when doing business internationally. The reader is asked to explore structural and
internal control mechanisms that may be used to manage such differences. The case also
underlines the importance of personal ethics and system integrity.
An extensive global survey by three Harvard Business School professors finds that employees
agree on core standards of corporate behavior. But meeting those standards will require new
approaches to managing business conduct. Companies must bring to the management of
business conduct the same performance tools and concepts that they use to manage quality,
innovation, and financial results.
This article addresses “network ethics” - an integrated vision of ethical problems as associated
with the management of Internet-driven networks - and highlights the need for carefully
analyzing not only financial and relational drivers but also ethical ones. Sound, conscious,
careful ethical judgment becomes a fundamental tool for managers to understand the
appropriateness of stakeholders’ ethical claims and then build fruitful relationships with
those stakeholders based on trust.
The authors describe the related concepts of bounded awareness and bounded ethicality and
discuss the implications of these states for organizations. They then provide three tools for
improving our individual ethicality and outline several aspects of organizational life that
must be examined more closely to reduce unethical behavior on a group level, including
addressing hidden but powerful informal values’ and ethical sinkholes.
Companies are spending a great deal of time and money to install codes of ethics, ethics
training, compliance programs, and in-house watchdogs and still unethical behavior appears
to be on the rise. The authors observe that even the best-intentioned executives may be
unaware of their own or their employees’ unethical behavior. Drawing from extensive
research on cognitive biases, they offer five reasons for this blindness and suggest what to do
about them.
The case provides a vehicle for analyzing strategic, contextual, and ethical challenges
Blood Bananas: Chiquita in Colombia (2010). Mary B.
underlying Chiquita’s presence in Colombia, a primary global source for bananas.. Concepts
Teagarden & Andreas Schotter. Harvard Business School
from the case include emerging market risk that globalizing companies may encounter;
Publishing (16 pages). http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu
implications of administrative heritage for organizational structure and communication flows;
(Search website using title). Product #:
fundamental challenges of global coordination and control; and strategic communication role
TB0245-PDF-ENG ($6.95 each PDF file.)
of the leader in a crisis. These concepts are applicable in multiple other industries.
The Case Analysis Coach was developed for students to enhance their learning with cases. It is
Case Analysis Coach (2012). Robert D. Austin & Robert
a concise, comprehensive introduction to concepts and processes required for
L. Kelley. Harvard Business School Publishing (90
analyzing/interpreting business case studies. The “Coach” introduces students to the case
minutes). http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu (Search website
method of learning including: main steps, sorts of information, and output recommendations.
using title). Product #: 4380-HTM-ENG ($6.95 each
It also demonstrates how to apply an analysis framework to an in-depth case example
Web Based HTML.)
demonstrating necessary connections formed during analysis.
This article tackles three main myths surrounding cross-cultural management: the appeal to
Learning to Navigate the Rough Seas of Ethics (2010).
local etiquette over moral considerations; the idea that tolerance based on relativism and
Sophia Kusyk. Harvard Business School Publishing (7
subjectivism will solve cross-cultural dilemmas; and the belief that profit justifies dubious
pages). http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu (Search website using
means. The article includes some dilemmas for readers to consider for themselves, all aimed
title). Product #:IRR027-PDF-ENG ($6.95 each PDF
at helping international managers formulate sound approaches to deal with the questionable
file.)
behaviors they face across cultures.
MIGRATION TOWARD ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
55
APPENDIX C: Role Playing of Ethical Situations
Seminars on Media and Society distributed by Public Broadcasting
System as Ethics in America (1989). This 10 one-hour
video-on-demand series uses the Socratic method to build analytical
skills and examine ethical questions. Public figures argue ethical
dilemmas. The programs aim to sharpen moral reasoning without
favoring a particular position by exploring ethical dilemmas in legal,
political, medical, corporate, and military arenas. Produced by
Columbia University Seminars on Media and Society. You have to sign
up, but it is free to download streaming video.
http://www.learner.org/resources/series81.html
LEGAL, POLITICAL, MEDICAL, CORPORATE, AND MILITARY
ARENAS. Each episode is a role-playing debate on various ethics
topics, among which are: What rights do the guilty have? How does
merger mania present an alarming array of ethical problems? Does
finding a cure, justify putting test subjects at risk? Some of the
renowned role-playing participants are: C. Everett Coop; Antonin
Scalia; Rep. Newt Gingrich; Rep. Barney Frank; Rudolph Giuliani;
Jeanne Kirkpatrick; Peter Jennings; Mike Wallace; & Geraldine Ferrero
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APPENDIX D: A Sampling of Movies, TV Interviews, Streaming Videos, and YouTube Clips
Title and synopsis
(2011) Margin Call. Fictionalized (yet very human) view of key players at
an investment firm during the first 24 hours of the 2008 financial crisis.
A slice-of–life glimpse at the inner workings of economic collapse
(DVD—Lionsgate—$14.99). “Be First, Be Smarter, or Cheat!”
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXJZE-FNzIg
(2011) Facebook: The $50 Million Dollar Question. Documentary looks at
the past, present and future of social-networking company Facebook
Inc., and its founder Mark Zuckerberg. (Bloomberg News,
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/65716940/).
(2011) The Social Network. Fictitious account of Mark Zuckerberg’s
creation of Facebook, and subsequent law suits by Winklevoss twins and
the co-founder, Narendra. (DVD—Columbia Pictures—$9.99). “You
can’t make 500 million friends without making a few enemies.”
Trailer:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004HWT6DO/ref=atv feed
catalog?tag=imdb-amazonvideo-20
(2006) Enron—The Smartest Guys in the Room. Documentary of one of
history’s greatest business scandals. In 2001 the top executives of
America’s seventh largest company walked away with over one billion
dollars, while investors and employees lost everything.
(DVD—Amazon.com—$8.99). “The greatest innovation of the new
economy was greed.”
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dNZaKLjYbc
(2010) The Inside Job. Documentary of how 2008 financial crash
happened via deregulation, greed. And deep-rooted corruption that left
middle-income Americans jobless and homeless. Journalist, politicians,
and financial insiders are interviewed. (DVD—Sony—$14.99).
“There’s nothing we can trust anymore.”
Trailer:
http://www.blockbuster.com/browse/catalog/movieDetails/486860
(2005) North Country. A fictionalized account of the experiences of Lois
Jenson, a real person who waged one of first major successful
class-action sexual harassment cases in the United States—Lois E.
Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co. (Warner Home Video
DVD—Amazon.com—$7.63). “All she wanted to do was to make a
living, instead she made history.”
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXkVQm0QPyY
Framework/ethical questions
FINANCE/ECONOMICS: What are corrupting factors that cause a
company to buy worthless assets, then knowingly sell them off, even
though such a move will cause the stock market to collapse?
VENTURE CAPITALISM and REGULATION: Is Facebook
overvalued at $50 billion? The Goldman Sachs/Facebook
situation—seems to skirt around existing regulations.
VENTURE CAPITALISM/IDEA PLAGERISM—
FRIENDSHIP/BETRAYAL: Is Zuckerberg a prophet, genius,
billionaire, or a traitor? What are other examples of plagiarism/
copyright infringement in workplace?
ACCOUNTING FRAUD/SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002: Enron’s
financial condition was sustained by systematic and creatively-planned
accounting fraud. How does Sarbanes-Oxley help to change such
conditions?
FINANCE/ECONOMICS: How did repeal of Glass-Steagall act lead to
the creation of mega-banks that combined traditional lending with risky
investment banking and a high-risk gambling mentality?
WORKPLACE GENDER ISSUES: Moral, social, and legal aspects of a
woman’s right to equal pay for equal work. Many occasions arose when
top management could have taken some positive action to stop the
abuse, but did not. Why not?
(Continued on next page)
56
J. NELSON ET AL.
APPENDIX D: A Sampling of Movies, TV Interviews, Streaming Videos, and YouTube Clips (Continued)
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Title and synopsis
(2005) Thank You For Smoking. Fictional dark-comedy about tobacco
industry lobbyist Nick Naylor whose job is to promote cigarette
smoking in a time when health hazards are all too apparent. Nick,
however, loves his job, and uses twisted logic to place his clients (the
tobacco industry) in the positions of either being altruistic do-gooders or
victims. (DVD—Amazon.com—$2.99). “Nick Naylor doesn’t hide the
truth. . .he filters it.”
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBELC vxqhI
(1999) The Insider. Docudrama about Jeffrey Wigand, a real-life Brown &
Williamson tobacco executive, who decides to appear on the CBS-TV
News show “60 Minutes” to acknowledge the tobacco industry, has been
both aware that cigarettes are addictive. The big tobacco corporations
try to silence Wigand, threatening his life and his family. (DVD—
$6.41—Buy.com). “What got broken here doesn’t go back together
again.”
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wwJp8VDGzE
Framework/ethical questions
ADVERTISING/LOBBYIST—TOBACCO, ALCOHOL AND
FIREARMS: What ethical dilemmas does lobbying present for
products that are lethal? How does an advertising person manage
conflict between a need to protect human lives, and a great bottom line?
WHISTLEBLOWER/HEALTH/LEGAL ISSUES:
How can it be made possible for insiders who know about unethical
situations in corporations be able to come forward without punitive
damages?
Why self-sacrificing oneself at the expense of the safety of one’s family?
ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
The Migration Toward Ethical Decision Making
as a Core Course Into the B-School: Instructional
Strategies and Approaches for Consideration
Johnathan Nelson , Lola B. Smith & Clifford Steven Hunt
To cite this article: Johnathan Nelson , Lola B. Smith & Clifford Steven Hunt (2014) The
Migration Toward Ethical Decision Making as a Core Course Into the B-School: Instructional
Strategies and Approaches for Consideration, Journal of Education for Business, 89:1, 49-56,
DOI: 10.1080/08832323.2012.749205
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2012.749205
Published online: 13 Dec 2013.
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Date: 11 January 2016, At: 20:27
JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR BUSINESS, 89: 49–56, 2014
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Copyright
ISSN: 0883-2323 print / 1940-3356 online
DOI: 10.1080/08832323.2012.749205
The Migration Toward Ethical Decision Making
as a Core Course Into the B-School: Instructional
Strategies and Approaches for Consideration
Johnathan Nelson, Lola B. Smith, and Clifford Steven Hunt
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 20:27 11 January 2016
Morehead State University, Morehead, Kentucky, USA
Many academicians are asking the following question: “Are we ill-preparing our business
students if we fail to offer future business professionals the opportunity to engage in a greater
understanding of the ethical decision making process?” The authors provide a current review
of the literature on the state of ethics education in business curricula, as well as a detailed
justification and rationale for incorporating ethical concepts as a core course in business school
programs. They conclude with a wealth of resources, approaches, and instructional strategies
to help develop a culture of integrity, inclusive of simulations, articles, cases, role-playing, and
presentations.
Keywords: business curriculum, business education, business ethics, ethical behavior, instructional strategies
When Edwin Gay founded the Harvard Business School in
1908, he proclaimed the purpose of business was to do both
“well and good” (Beer, 2011). Such a methodology indicates
the need for business persons to do well for the company and
shareholders by making an honest profit; it also includes a
caveat that business must be conducted in a manner that also
does good for society. Such a mission statement encompasses
a multiplicity of business ethics considerations and points
to the need to incorporate all aspects of strong and ethical
decision making.
But what is ethics? Some may say it is a requirement
for human life, a way to organize our goals so that we can
demonstrate our core values. Yet while it is generally agreed
that “all people recognize some common ethical norms, different individuals interpret, apply, and balance these norms
in different ways in light of their own values and life experiences” (Resnik, 2011, para. 3). However, taken to this
extreme, this perspective suggests each individual has their
own unique moral principles that they should not seek to
impose on others. As such, multiple authors suggest Treviño
and Nelson’s (2011) definition of ethics, where they define
ethics as “the principles, norms, and standards of conduct
governing an individual or group” (p. 17). Thus, while the
Correspondence should be addressed to Johnathan Nelson, Morehead
State University, School of Business Administration, Combs Building 313B,
Morehead, KY 40351, USA. E-mail: j.nelson@moreheadstate.edu
bottom line in business may often be to make money or go
bust, this definition highlights that there are guidelines related to ethical conduct that society expects employers and
employees to be guided by in their pursuit of profit. As such,
being ethical is not necessarily the same as following the law
(Velasquez, Andre, Shanks, & Meyer, 2010).
Today’s business leaders, in a continued expansion of
Gay’s ideas (see Beer, 2011), must make collective decisions
which impact events around the globe, not to mention influencing the quality of life for many persons. So, as business educators, it is necessary to ask: “Are professors letting business
students down if they do not offer students the opportunity
to engage in a greater understanding of the ethical decision
making process?” The answer appears to be yes, given recent
findings of the Institute of Business Ethics indicate only 20%
of human resources professionals believe business students
are “adequately knowledgeable about business ethics” (Institute of Business Ethics, 2011). To improve such statistics, it
appears that business schools must do a better job in providing business students with the opportunity to escalate their
awareness about what it means to do business ethically, as
well as how to conduct business in such a manner. Such an
approach, at the very least, signals students that ethics has,
or should have, a high priority in business practices.
In this article, we include a review of the literature, which
contains justification and rationale for incorporating ethical concepts as a core course in business school instructional strategies. We also include examples of approaches and
50
J. NELSON ET AL.
instructional strategies to help develop a culture of integrity,
inclusive of simulations, cases, role-playing, and presentations. Such activities give a voice to values (Gentile, 2010)
and help students better understand the impact of choices
they must make.
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THE STATE OF ETHICS IN MANAGEMENT
EDUCATION
Greater emphasis is being placed on business ethics in management education. This is in large part due to ethics scandals
such as Enron, Tyco, the 2008 Financial Crisis, the desire of
organizations to employ people of integrity, and business
education accreditation requirements placing an increased
emphasis on ethics (Wankel & Stachowicz-Stanusch, 2011).
Many of the leaders involved in these ethics scandals were
educated in business schools, causing some scholars to argue
that business schools are at least partly responsible for these
events; either for not fully preparing students to handle ethical issues (Ghoshal, 2005), or worse, for promoting unethical
behavior in the business curriculum (Gioia, 2003). However,
business education has also been viewed as an essential part
of the solution (Ashforth, Gioia, Robinson, & Treviño, 2008).
From this view, educators can work to prevent future ethical
lapses by more effectively addressing ethics in the business
curriculum. In this section we describe factors that influence whether ethics is covered and approaches for integrating
ethics into the business curriculum.
Factors Influencing the Integration of Ethics
Into Business Curricula
Despite an increased general emphasis on ethics in business education, business schools vary widely in how ethics
is actually integrated into the curriculum (Evans & Marcal,
2005; Evans, Treviño, & Weaver, 2006; Rutherford, Parks,
Cavazos, & White, 2012). Recently, research has examined
factors influencing the decision to include ethics as part of
the required curriculum at the master of business administration (MBA) and undergraduate levels. Based on a review
of MBA programs in the United States, Evans et al. (2006)
observed that ethics courses were more likely to be included
in the MBA curriculum for those programs rated as more
prestigious, that had a religious affiliation, and that had a
relatively large percentage of management and marketing
faculty members. These findings appear to largely hold true
at the undergraduate level as well. In examining factors contributing to the decision to require ethics in the undergraduate
curriculum, Rutherford et al. (2012) observed that private institutions and programs with a religious affiliation were more
likely to require ethics as part of the business curriculum for
undergraduates. Thus, it appears that institutional forces are
an important influence on the decision to include ethics as
part of the undergraduate and MBA business curriculum.
Additionally, Rutherford et al. also found evidence for the
importance of characteristics of the business school’s leadership. They observed that required ethics curriculum was
more likely in colleges of business that had deans who were
women or had a background in the area of management.
Taken together, this research has begun to shed light on
some of the specific reasons that ethics is becoming a part
of the required business curriculum. However, while it appears that ethics is increasingly included as required curriculum, Rutherford et al. (2012) observed that only about
25% of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of
Business–accredited schools in the United States currently
include a stand-alone ethics course as part of the required
curriculum. Additionally, to date, educators do not yet have
an adequate understanding of the effectiveness of ethics curriculum on ethical behavior. For example, Evans et al. (2006)
noted that ethics could be integrated across functional areas
rather than a stand-alone course. However, they noted that
there is little consensus on the long-term effectiveness of
either approach on managerial ethical behavior.
Effectiveness of Business Ethics Curriculum
In a recent meta-analysis of the influence of individual and
organizational factors on ethical decision making, KishGephart, Harrison, and Treviño (2010) did not find evidence
to support a relationship between education level and unethical choices. As such, this finding appears to support the
argument of Treviño and Brown (2004) that even educated
adults require further guidance in the workplace in regards to
their ethical behavior and decision making. While this finding focused on general educational level and not on ethics
education per se, Kish-Gephart et al. (2010) argued that this
should be disconcerting to academic instructors and raises the
possibility that educators have not adequately contributed to
the ethical development of students.
This same concern is raised by the results of another
meta-analysis examining the influence of business ethics instruction where the effect of ethics education on the ethics
of students and business people was small (Waples, Antes,
Murphy, Connelly, & Mumford, 2009). However, they emphasized that there is great variability in the effectiveness
of ethics education. Waples et al. argued that their analysis of specific attributes of ethics education as moderators
indicate “that there are several key considerations—some
of which may enhance the effectiveness of business ethics
instruction—to take into account prior to designing, delivering, and evaluating business ethics instruction” (p. 146).
They highlighted a number of course design decisions applicable at the undergraduate level. For example, based on their
meta-analysis they suggested that ethics curriculum should
include a case-based instructional approach with opportunities for active learning and application on the part of students.
While the research described herein is somewhat dismal
in regard to the influence of education on ethical behavior, we
believe first and foremost that it suggests educators need to
do more to contribute to the ethical development of students.
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MIGRATION TOWARD ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
Indeed, the authors believe that there is a silver lining in this
research indicating that while it may be difficult to develop
ethics in students, proactive and carefully designed ethics
interventions can be influential. Indeed, early work on moral
cognitive development found that carefully designed training
increased moral reasoning (Thoma & Rest, 1986). Additionally, there is meta-analytic evidence that ethics curriculum
with the appropriate design features does positively influence
ethics in students and professionals (Waples et al., 2009).
Additionally, it appears that a carefully designed stand-alone
ethics courses as part of the required business curriculum can
provide desired outcomes in regards to ethics (Evans et al.,
2006). Here we present instructional strategies to help programs implement stand-alone ethics courses as part of the
undergraduate curriculum. We hope that future researchers
will continue to shed more light on the effectiveness of instructional elements to further guide such efforts.
Presently there is only limited research on the effectiveness of specific ethics course design elements (Evans et al.,
2006; Waples et al., 2009) to guide curriculum decisions.
However, Warren, Sampson, and McFee (2011) conducted
structured interviews with administration members of 70
top ranked business schools (MBA) according to Business
Week’s 2006 rankings to begin to investigate ethics in the
business curriculum. They observed that 40% of the programs they investigated included a required ethics or law
course. They observed that there was great variety in the actual approaches to teaching ethics; programs varied in the
degree to which they included experiential learning (19%),
student learning projects (19%), speakers (4%), and simulations (2%) as part of the ethics instruction. In line with
the other research described herein, it was observed that a
majority of administrators (59%) acknowledged a need for
greater coverage of the ethics in their curriculum.
As we have described, ethics can be incorporated as a
stand-alone ethics course in a number of different ways. Such
approaches can address not only moral reasoning, an understanding of the psychological and situational influences on
ethical behavior, and philosophical ethical theories, but also
the development of efficacy beliefs for ethics management
(Nelson, Poms, & Wolf, 2012). Thus, instructors of standalone ethics courses are left with a number of different course
design choices. While it is noted that much research is needed
in order to better address the effectiveness of specific course
design choices, we offer some suggestions here, based on
our collective experience, to help guide ethics instructors in
making these course design decisions.
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES AND
APPROACHES FOR INCORPORATING
BUSINESS ETHICS
Ethical decision making is quite abstract in scope, so if one
is to engage students in this process there is a need to illus-
51
trate such choices in more concrete terms. Ethics in and of
itself is an exploration of both problem evasion and problem solving. In this regard, narratives, such as case studies,
movies, or role-playing, present a venue to ask the following
problem-prevention or problem-solving questions: “To begin
with, what could have been done to avoid this situation?” or
“What might have been done to correct this situation once it
emerged?”
Books and Articles
The most obvious narrative teaching tool is one that is text
based. The literature review demonstrates many authors have
sought to define and identify ethical principles. As a result,
numerous books and countless articles have been written on
the subject of business ethics in terms of fostering personal
integrity and social responsibility. So, finding the best text
for a particular set of business students would greatly depend
on the context of that course. However, the authors have suggested a mere sampling of related texts that provide business
students with a solid understanding of basic business-related
ethical conflicts (see Appendix A).
Case Studies
Narratives of events, people, or experiences can readily be
found in clinical case studies, which usually involve a strong
analysis of a person, industry, or company by focusing on
evolving factors for that episode in relation to a specific context. Business schools, such as Harvard, Stanford, and others
frequently use the case study method within their curricula.
See Appendix B for a sampling of relevant ethics-related case
studies as well as a tool called Case Analysis Coach for use
in developing a framework for analysis and synthesis of key
information.
Role-Playing and Simulations
In role-playing, a student assumes the character of another
person, (usually in a fictionalized setting), within structured guidelines related to specific content knowledge. Roleplaying can readily facilitate business students’ grasp of
real-world ethical challenges, such as reflecting on a situation where one might harm other people in order to fulfill
an individual’s own responsibility. For media-related examples of ethics role-playing, see Columbia University’s (1989)
Seminars on Media and Society (Appendix C). Engagement
in such tasks as simulating entrepreneurial/management negotiations, finance negotiations, and/or confronting leadership issues can better equip students to deal with real-life
business dilemmas. Moreover, these active participation scenarios can aid a student’s understanding of conscious or
unconscious biases that frequently intrude on ethical decision making (Banaji, Bazerman, & Chugh, 2003). Technologically driven simulations can also train students to
52
J. NELSON ET AL.
improve their professional business ethics understanding
(see Appendix C).
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Multimedia
Multimedia use is another form of narrative, and these mirrors of ourselves, whether based on actual accounts or fictitious ones can teach a great deal about ethical businessdecision making. In today’s society, perceptions of what is
considered ethical behavior (what is right, fair, or benefiting society) can so easily become warped (greed, fraud, or
corruption) that learning how to deal with these disorienting
forces can be challenging. There is tremendous power in the
moving image to change lives and to shape society. As such,
a retrospective of films and other multimedia mirrors that investigate principled business-related issues in society would
present business students with a great opportunity to reflect
on some of these life-defining concerns. Moreover, research
indicates that utilizing visual narratives increase students’
interest and help focus their attention, as well as aid in retention of key information (Gilakjani, 2012). See Appendix
D for a sampling of recent multimedia concerning ethical
dilemmas.
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In this article, we have provided a literature review illustrating the rationale for incorporating ethical concepts as a
core course in Business school instructional strategies. Examples of approaches and instructional strategies, such as
case studies, multimedia, and role-playing and simulations,
have also been put forth to stimulate the moral imagination
and elicit a sense of honorable responsibility. These methods
have been identified as a means to aid business educators in
moving forth from merely talking about ethics, to incorporating learning processes that foster greater discussion and
reflection on the complexities of the human condition. After
all, “there are ethical decisions for which knowledgeable,
well-meaning, rational, human beings cannot agree on the
best course of action,” (Brinkman & Sanders, 2013, p. 1).
Only by empowering our students with such instruction can
educators hope to imbue them with stronger ethical decisionmaking capabilities.
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talk about how to do it right (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Velasquez, M., Andre, C., Shanks, T., & Meyer, M. (2010).
What is ethics? Retrieved from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/
decision/whatisethics.html
Wankel, C., & Stachowicz-Stanusch, A. (2011). Management education for
integrity; transcending amoral business curricula. In C. Wankel & A.
Stachowicz-Stanusch (Eds.), Management education for integrity: Ethically educating tomorrow’s business leaders (pp. 3–14). Bingley, England: Emerald Group.
Waples, E. P., Antes, A. L., Murphy, S. T., Connelly, S., & Mumford,
M. D. (2009). A meta-analytic investigation of business ethics instruction. Journal of Business Ethics, 87, 133–151. doi: 10.1007/s10551-0089875-0
Warren, B., Sampson, S. D., & McFee, E. (2011). Business schools: Ethics,
assurance of learning, and the future. Organization Management Journal,
8, 41–58. doi:10.1057/omj.2011.5
MIGRATION TOWARD ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
53
APPENDIX A: A Sampling of Related Books and Articles
Ethics in a Computing Culture, by B. Brinkman & A. F. Sanders
(2013). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. $90.95; available at
Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases, by O.C.
Ferrell, J. Fraedrich, & L. Ferrell (2013). Mason, OH:
South-Western. $54.49; available at Cengage Brain
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The Business Ethics Workshop, by J. Brusseau (2012).
Flatworldknowledge.com. Printed version $34.95, e-version
$24.95; available at
http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/catalog/editions/66
Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Business Ethics and Society (12th
ed.), by L. H. Newton, E. E. Englehardt, & M. Pritchard (2012).
New York: McGraw-Hill. $33.75; available at Course Smart
Ethical Breakdowns, by M. H. Bazerman, & A. E. Tenbrunsel
(2011). Harvard Business Review, 89(4), 58–65; available at
Research Gate:
http://www.researchgate.net/researcher/4609503 Max H
Bazerman
An Introduction to Business Ethics (4th ed.), by J. DesJardins
(2011). New York: McGraw-Hill. $39.25; available at Course
Smart
Honest Work: A Business Ethics Reader, by J. B. Ciulla, C. Martin,
& R. C. Solomon (2010). Oxford, England: Oxford University
Press. $58.81; available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Managing Yourself: Keeping Your Colleagues Honest, by M. C.
Gentile (2010). Harvard Business Review, 88, 114–117; available
at http://hbr.org/2010/03/managing-yourself-keeping-yourcolleagues-honest/ar/1
Giving Voice to Values: How to Speak Your Mind When You Know
What’s Right, by M. C. Gentile (2010). New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press. $19.76; available at Amazon.
This text looks at how computing is changing who people are and
the professional ethics of computing professions, and issues of
trust, safety, reliability, and the transfer of intellectual and
intangible property. It addresses concerns of vulnerable groups
within the computing community.
This text provides an introduction to ethical issues in organizations,
the ethical decision making process, and business ethics in a
global economy. It includes a number of cases highlighting
important ethical issues for students to consider.
This text includes case studies with excerpts taken from
contemporary blogs and newspapers. The topics lean heavily on
bridging the gap between staid discussions of problems faced by
IBM executives in the 1980’s to stories that relate to students’
experiences and workplace interests. The topics are designed to
incite class discussion.
This text offers opposing viewpoints on a number of contemporary
business ethics issues. These readings can be used to frame and
help students prepare for class debates and discussions on these
issues.
Companies are spending time and money to install codes of ethics,
ethics training, compliance programs, and in-house watchdogs.
Yet unethical behavior continues to occur. This article examines
psychological processes that contribute to unethical behavior,
and focuses on actions to circumvent these influences.
This text focuses on ethical reasoning and critical analysis. It
covers a wide range of contemporary business ethics issues
relevant for managers and organizations.
The main focus is that “business ethics” is about the ethics of
individuals.. Includes topics on marketing, privacy, protection of
personal information, and intellectual property issues. This book
features 103 articles and 80 cases concerning such topics as
honesty and trust in the work place, whistle blowing, product
liability, finance and environmental ethics.
This article examines what at first glance appears to be a mundane
accounting matter. But the consequences—in terms of carrying
costs, distorted forecasting, compromised ethical culture, and
even legal ramifications—are very serious. This article explores
how managers must be able to, and can change the ethical
culture of organizations
The book is inspired by a program Gentile launched at the Aspen
Institute with Yale School of Management. The major tenet of
book is that ethics is not a matter of knowing what is right or
wrong but rather having the tools to act on your values to oppose
pressure. This book presents tools to help enact and “voice” your
values.
Note. We have not necessarily done a formal review of texts, but rather highlight these texts or articles as ones that incorporate ideas that can be used in
various ethics conversations in multiple business-related classes.
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APPENDIX B: A Sampling of Related Case Studies
The Global Oil and Gas Industry (2010). A. C. Inkpen &
M. Moffett. Harvard Business School Review (17 pages).
http://hbr.org/product/the-global-oil-and-gas-industry2010/an/TB0223-PDF-ENG?Ntt=Ethics%2520Case%
2520Studies%25202010 Prod. #: TB0223-PDF-ENG
($6.95 each PDF file.)
Business Ethics: A View from the Trenches (1995). J. L.
Badaracco, Jr. & A. Webb. Harvard Business School
Review (22 pages) Prod. #: CMR050-PDF-ENG ($6.95
each PDF file.) http://hbr.org/product/business-ethics-aview-from-the-trenches/an/CMR050-PDFENG?Ntt=Ethics%2520Case%2520Studies
Kitchen Best: Ethics When Doing Cross-Boundary
Business in Southern China (2011). Say Goo & Grace
Loo. Harvard Business School Publishing (15 pages).
http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu (Search website using title).
Product #: HKU948-PDF-ENG ($6.95 each PDF file.)
A Global Leader’s Guide to Managing Business
Conduct (2011). Lynn S. Paine, Rohit Deshpande &
Joshua D. Margolis. Harvard Business School Publishing
(7 pages). http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu (Search website
using title).
Product #: W1109A-PDF-ENG ($6.95 each PDF file.)
Ethics Hold the Key to Network Contradictions (2011).
Antonino Vaccaro. Harvard Business School Publishing
(7 pages). http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu (Search website
using title). Product #: IIR052-PDF-ENG ($6.95 each
PDF file.)
Blind Spots: The Roots of Unethical Behavior in Life
and Work (2011). Max H. Bazerman & Ann E.
Tenbrunsel Harvard Business School Publishing (4
pages). http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu (Search website using
title).
Product #: ROT140-PDF-ENG ($6.95 each PDF file.)
Ethical Breakdowns (2011). Max H. Bazerman & Ann E.
Tenbrunsel Harvard Business School Publishing (9
pages). http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu (Search website using
title). Product #: R1104C-PDF-ENG ($6.95 each PDF
file.)
This case examines the oil and gas industry, describing industry values and major business
segments, including exploration and production, refining and marketing, natural gas, and
petrochemicals. The case examines the complex structure of the industry and its competitive
dynamics.
Presents a study of how young managers define ethical issues, think about these issues, and
resolve them largely on the basis of personal reflection and individual values, not through
reliance on corporate credos or examples of senior executives.
The case highlights legal and cultural differences that pose a challenge in maintaining ethical
standards when doing business internationally. The reader is asked to explore structural and
internal control mechanisms that may be used to manage such differences. The case also
underlines the importance of personal ethics and system integrity.
An extensive global survey by three Harvard Business School professors finds that employees
agree on core standards of corporate behavior. But meeting those standards will require new
approaches to managing business conduct. Companies must bring to the management of
business conduct the same performance tools and concepts that they use to manage quality,
innovation, and financial results.
This article addresses “network ethics” - an integrated vision of ethical problems as associated
with the management of Internet-driven networks - and highlights the need for carefully
analyzing not only financial and relational drivers but also ethical ones. Sound, conscious,
careful ethical judgment becomes a fundamental tool for managers to understand the
appropriateness of stakeholders’ ethical claims and then build fruitful relationships with
those stakeholders based on trust.
The authors describe the related concepts of bounded awareness and bounded ethicality and
discuss the implications of these states for organizations. They then provide three tools for
improving our individual ethicality and outline several aspects of organizational life that
must be examined more closely to reduce unethical behavior on a group level, including
addressing hidden but powerful informal values’ and ethical sinkholes.
Companies are spending a great deal of time and money to install codes of ethics, ethics
training, compliance programs, and in-house watchdogs and still unethical behavior appears
to be on the rise. The authors observe that even the best-intentioned executives may be
unaware of their own or their employees’ unethical behavior. Drawing from extensive
research on cognitive biases, they offer five reasons for this blindness and suggest what to do
about them.
The case provides a vehicle for analyzing strategic, contextual, and ethical challenges
Blood Bananas: Chiquita in Colombia (2010). Mary B.
underlying Chiquita’s presence in Colombia, a primary global source for bananas.. Concepts
Teagarden & Andreas Schotter. Harvard Business School
from the case include emerging market risk that globalizing companies may encounter;
Publishing (16 pages). http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu
implications of administrative heritage for organizational structure and communication flows;
(Search website using title). Product #:
fundamental challenges of global coordination and control; and strategic communication role
TB0245-PDF-ENG ($6.95 each PDF file.)
of the leader in a crisis. These concepts are applicable in multiple other industries.
The Case Analysis Coach was developed for students to enhance their learning with cases. It is
Case Analysis Coach (2012). Robert D. Austin & Robert
a concise, comprehensive introduction to concepts and processes required for
L. Kelley. Harvard Business School Publishing (90
analyzing/interpreting business case studies. The “Coach” introduces students to the case
minutes). http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu (Search website
method of learning including: main steps, sorts of information, and output recommendations.
using title). Product #: 4380-HTM-ENG ($6.95 each
It also demonstrates how to apply an analysis framework to an in-depth case example
Web Based HTML.)
demonstrating necessary connections formed during analysis.
This article tackles three main myths surrounding cross-cultural management: the appeal to
Learning to Navigate the Rough Seas of Ethics (2010).
local etiquette over moral considerations; the idea that tolerance based on relativism and
Sophia Kusyk. Harvard Business School Publishing (7
subjectivism will solve cross-cultural dilemmas; and the belief that profit justifies dubious
pages). http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu (Search website using
means. The article includes some dilemmas for readers to consider for themselves, all aimed
title). Product #:IRR027-PDF-ENG ($6.95 each PDF
at helping international managers formulate sound approaches to deal with the questionable
file.)
behaviors they face across cultures.
MIGRATION TOWARD ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
55
APPENDIX C: Role Playing of Ethical Situations
Seminars on Media and Society distributed by Public Broadcasting
System as Ethics in America (1989). This 10 one-hour
video-on-demand series uses the Socratic method to build analytical
skills and examine ethical questions. Public figures argue ethical
dilemmas. The programs aim to sharpen moral reasoning without
favoring a particular position by exploring ethical dilemmas in legal,
political, medical, corporate, and military arenas. Produced by
Columbia University Seminars on Media and Society. You have to sign
up, but it is free to download streaming video.
http://www.learner.org/resources/series81.html
LEGAL, POLITICAL, MEDICAL, CORPORATE, AND MILITARY
ARENAS. Each episode is a role-playing debate on various ethics
topics, among which are: What rights do the guilty have? How does
merger mania present an alarming array of ethical problems? Does
finding a cure, justify putting test subjects at risk? Some of the
renowned role-playing participants are: C. Everett Coop; Antonin
Scalia; Rep. Newt Gingrich; Rep. Barney Frank; Rudolph Giuliani;
Jeanne Kirkpatrick; Peter Jennings; Mike Wallace; & Geraldine Ferrero
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APPENDIX D: A Sampling of Movies, TV Interviews, Streaming Videos, and YouTube Clips
Title and synopsis
(2011) Margin Call. Fictionalized (yet very human) view of key players at
an investment firm during the first 24 hours of the 2008 financial crisis.
A slice-of–life glimpse at the inner workings of economic collapse
(DVD—Lionsgate—$14.99). “Be First, Be Smarter, or Cheat!”
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXJZE-FNzIg
(2011) Facebook: The $50 Million Dollar Question. Documentary looks at
the past, present and future of social-networking company Facebook
Inc., and its founder Mark Zuckerberg. (Bloomberg News,
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/65716940/).
(2011) The Social Network. Fictitious account of Mark Zuckerberg’s
creation of Facebook, and subsequent law suits by Winklevoss twins and
the co-founder, Narendra. (DVD—Columbia Pictures—$9.99). “You
can’t make 500 million friends without making a few enemies.”
Trailer:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004HWT6DO/ref=atv feed
catalog?tag=imdb-amazonvideo-20
(2006) Enron—The Smartest Guys in the Room. Documentary of one of
history’s greatest business scandals. In 2001 the top executives of
America’s seventh largest company walked away with over one billion
dollars, while investors and employees lost everything.
(DVD—Amazon.com—$8.99). “The greatest innovation of the new
economy was greed.”
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dNZaKLjYbc
(2010) The Inside Job. Documentary of how 2008 financial crash
happened via deregulation, greed. And deep-rooted corruption that left
middle-income Americans jobless and homeless. Journalist, politicians,
and financial insiders are interviewed. (DVD—Sony—$14.99).
“There’s nothing we can trust anymore.”
Trailer:
http://www.blockbuster.com/browse/catalog/movieDetails/486860
(2005) North Country. A fictionalized account of the experiences of Lois
Jenson, a real person who waged one of first major successful
class-action sexual harassment cases in the United States—Lois E.
Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co. (Warner Home Video
DVD—Amazon.com—$7.63). “All she wanted to do was to make a
living, instead she made history.”
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXkVQm0QPyY
Framework/ethical questions
FINANCE/ECONOMICS: What are corrupting factors that cause a
company to buy worthless assets, then knowingly sell them off, even
though such a move will cause the stock market to collapse?
VENTURE CAPITALISM and REGULATION: Is Facebook
overvalued at $50 billion? The Goldman Sachs/Facebook
situation—seems to skirt around existing regulations.
VENTURE CAPITALISM/IDEA PLAGERISM—
FRIENDSHIP/BETRAYAL: Is Zuckerberg a prophet, genius,
billionaire, or a traitor? What are other examples of plagiarism/
copyright infringement in workplace?
ACCOUNTING FRAUD/SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002: Enron’s
financial condition was sustained by systematic and creatively-planned
accounting fraud. How does Sarbanes-Oxley help to change such
conditions?
FINANCE/ECONOMICS: How did repeal of Glass-Steagall act lead to
the creation of mega-banks that combined traditional lending with risky
investment banking and a high-risk gambling mentality?
WORKPLACE GENDER ISSUES: Moral, social, and legal aspects of a
woman’s right to equal pay for equal work. Many occasions arose when
top management could have taken some positive action to stop the
abuse, but did not. Why not?
(Continued on next page)
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J. NELSON ET AL.
APPENDIX D: A Sampling of Movies, TV Interviews, Streaming Videos, and YouTube Clips (Continued)
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Title and synopsis
(2005) Thank You For Smoking. Fictional dark-comedy about tobacco
industry lobbyist Nick Naylor whose job is to promote cigarette
smoking in a time when health hazards are all too apparent. Nick,
however, loves his job, and uses twisted logic to place his clients (the
tobacco industry) in the positions of either being altruistic do-gooders or
victims. (DVD—Amazon.com—$2.99). “Nick Naylor doesn’t hide the
truth. . .he filters it.”
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBELC vxqhI
(1999) The Insider. Docudrama about Jeffrey Wigand, a real-life Brown &
Williamson tobacco executive, who decides to appear on the CBS-TV
News show “60 Minutes” to acknowledge the tobacco industry, has been
both aware that cigarettes are addictive. The big tobacco corporations
try to silence Wigand, threatening his life and his family. (DVD—
$6.41—Buy.com). “What got broken here doesn’t go back together
again.”
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wwJp8VDGzE
Framework/ethical questions
ADVERTISING/LOBBYIST—TOBACCO, ALCOHOL AND
FIREARMS: What ethical dilemmas does lobbying present for
products that are lethal? How does an advertising person manage
conflict between a need to protect human lives, and a great bottom line?
WHISTLEBLOWER/HEALTH/LEGAL ISSUES:
How can it be made possible for insiders who know about unethical
situations in corporations be able to come forward without punitive
damages?
Why self-sacrificing oneself at the expense of the safety of one’s family?