This proposal (attached as supplementary material) has just been accepted for presentation at the annual Business Professors Teaching Summit to be held in May at the LeBow Business School, Drexel University. What do you think about my suggestion to completely reverse the present emphasis of the "Business Ethics" course that has become a Business School staple? I argue that teaching Philosophical Ethics (moral education of the individual) would lead to better results in terms of raising the moral tone within corporations than the present emphasis on teaching Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); i.e., organizational ethics. Of course, this might also be viewed as teaching "ethical theory" rather than "applied ethics". Assuming that is the case, am I justified in wanting to teach ethical theory in a Business School rather than in the university's Philosophy Department?
Conference Paper Teaching Ethics in the Business School Milieu: Beyond Corpor...
Dear Gwen,
I fully endorse your view. Unfortunately, business has viewed ethics as alien and even opposed to it since being ethical and making profit at somebody's cost have not been held compatible. However, CSR grew out of the qualms of business community since profiteering enterprises were generally dubbed immoral and unethical. CSR helps them pose ethical and concerned about community, in the process assuaging the revolts of conscience if any that may exist. A young MBA (even seasoned ones, I guess) generally looks to CSR as a business tool to enhance the company's image. It is not about how consistently they do some things; it is about how consistent will be the public opinion and therefore lying in the 'unethical' domain of business interest than actual ethical considerations for the community.
From Peale to Robin Sharma, today we have a crop of gurus who are coaching the business leaders to look inward. Randy Pausch's 'The Last Lecture' again is a classical example. Being genuine, true and actually committed to the colleagues/subordinates and the larger community is being seen as mark of exceptional business leadership than mere acumen to mint money. Some time back, one of India's leading periodicals used a title - GOD IS BACK - to talk about resurgence in faith movements. Similarly, I feel that ETHICS IS BACK would be not merely appropriate but essential to building business models that would benefit both the profit and society interests.
All this talk that we have about global warming and climate change has direct relations to ethics in practice with business leadership. True CSR will be when conscientious business leaders will accept a little less profit for the longevity of the planet and its resources. I would like to request you not just to teach ethical theory (instead of applied ethics) but to ingrain such components into your syllabi which will make at least some of your students to become 'change leaders' from mere business leaders.
with best regards.
Hi, Gwendolyn, I am a former board member of the International Intelligence Ethics Association and a lecturer in ethics within the School of Business at California State University Monterey Bay, and I wholeheartedly agree that ethics should be taught in the business school as its own course. When I taught ethics at CSUMB, the ethics was woven into the school's mandatory business writing and critical thinking core course.
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