Business Ethics & Business Schools
During the past several years, there has been a major push to include more business ethics courses in business schools. Because of a number of scandals, including the accounting fraud of Enron and Worldcom, the mortgage and housing crisis and the various Ponzi schemes that have come to light, the business community has seen increased pressure to promote ethical behavior.
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Business Ethics Debate
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According to a report issued by the Institute of Corporate Ethics, there are two general schools of thought on the issue of business ethics courses. Some scholars, including Professor Thomas Piper of Harvard Business School, believe that students should take courses specifically dedicated to ethics. Another side, including Professor Joshua Margolis, who is also from Harvard, argue that ethics should be woven into the fabric of every class with example guidelines given for every subject.
Methods for Teaching Ethics
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Dean Krehmeyer, chairman of the well-respected Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics and an MBA from the University of Virginia, issued an influential report that stressed the principals of course, curriculum and community to build an ethical approach to business. In particular, the report emphasized an up-to-date, nimble approach to ethics training. Ethics also should be incorporated with as much weight as other subjects and be taught by highly esteemed faculty. Finally, the entire community must be involved with the university funding research, sponsoring lectures and highlighting acts of good ethics.
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Curriculum Standards
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In response to some business failures such as the Enron and Worldcom accounting scandals in 2002, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) recommended that business schools incorporate ethics courses into their curriculum as of 2003. However, it did not require stand-alone courses be included in the curriculum because of the objections of a subgroup called the Society of Business Ethics, whose believe that ethics should be incorporated into every course and not be its own standalone subject. According to a survey by the "Financial Times" in 2007, among the top 50 business schools 25 percent offered stand-alone business ethics courses, which was up from 5 percent in 1988.
Ethics Courses not a Panacea
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There are vast incentives for those that commit fraud, and there always will be some who break the rules. Bernie Madoff, whose massive Ponzi fund collapsed, was the former chairman of the NASDAQ and sat on the Board of Directors of the Securities Industry Association. He surely understood the full ethical and legal implications of his scheme, yet still engaged in deplorable activities.
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