There are so many examples
that business schools can use on why ethics is so very important in the
business world and why it needs to be taught and not just skimmed over. Think Enron, Phillip Morris, and Exxon just
for starters because they seem to dance in the headlines at any given moment for
their unethical behavior. Maybe they didn’t start off planning on being
unethical but whether it was pressure from higher ups or the allure of more
money these companies took unethical practices to a whole new level and they
are not alone.
How can this be changed? First starters professors shouldn’t be afraid
to use real world examples and guide their students to really explore why and what
caused these companies to forget about ethical practices. In the article, The Buck Stops (and Starts) at Business School, Joel Podolny
explains that academics don’t seem interested in teaching what really goes on
inside the walls of these companies and instead desire to, “develop theoretical
models that obscure rather than clarify the way organizations work. Many also
believe that a theory's relevance is enough to justify teaching it” (Podolny,
2009).
So how
can this change? First we need more
professors who have real world business experience that can bring something
that is real to the table instead of just theories about what the business
world is all about. Theories are great
but don’t really get into the root of what happens inside the
organization. There needs to be a clear
understanding of how organizations work on all levels. Ethics cannot be a gloss over or a check box
if you will it needs to be instilled in our minds. Will it stop businesses from being
unethical? Maybe, maybe not but it will make
people think more before they go down that path of bad behavior.
The article talks about
how with students reading several case studies each week they may begin to
assume that each case deals with completely different issues but they are not
learning that they have to have consistency in numerous scenarios. This is important in being able to pay
attention to detail and conceivably can be the most challenging facet of
leadership today (Podolny, 2009). This
is a very valuable point as we need to understand that as leaders our job isn’t
to sit in our office and let everyone else do the work and deal with the
various problems that are bound to come up every day. A great leader is going to be able to lead as
well as follow and if they have sound ethics and integrity they are going to be
able to instill that in their followers at all levels. Business schools need to emphasize ethics
more instead of how much money their students can make when they graduate. Money seems to play a big part in unethical
practices these days…. think of Madoff whose greed went unchecked for many decades
in the tune of over $20 BILLION!
So how can business schools step up to the challenge and make changes to include a holistic approach to
business problems and ethical dilemmas?
Podolny makes the following suggestions:
·
FOSTER GREATER INTEGRATION: Courses must
reflect a mix of academic disciplines and link analytics to values.
·
APPOINT TEACHING TEAMS: Faculty from both "hard" and
"soft" disciplines must discuss material in the same classroom.
·
ENCOURAGE QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: B schools
need to cultivate a more eclectic approach to research.
·
STOP COMPETING ON RANKINGS: Schools should stop pandering to rankings.
They need to communicate that money is not the only reason to get an MBA.
·
WITHDRAW DEGREES FOR VIOLATING CODES OF
CONDUCT: To be a true profession,
schools must not just establish but also enforce a code of conduct, as doctors
and lawyers do.
In the article, Some B-Schools Step Up Efforts to Tie Ethics
to Business Program, Korn talks about how some Business schools are trying
to make some changes to how students progress through their programs such as requiring
ethics courses for freshman as well as getting other business professors to
mesh ethics into their teachings and then having an ethics class when students
are seniors as way to reaffirm it in their minds (Korn, 2013). Of course the hope is that students already
have a clear understanding of right and wrong but by intergrading ethics into
many of the business courses it will reinforce the importance of ethics in the
real world. “Without tying ethics to a
business curriculum, "we are graduating students who are very myopic in
their decision-making," says Diane Swanson, founding chair of the Business
Ethics Education Initiative at Kansas State University” (Korn, 2013). This statement cuts straight to the point
that we don’t want to turn out narrow-minded decision makers we want people who
can make objective judgments while thinking universally not individually.
References:
Korn, M. (2013, February 6). Some
B-Schools Step Up Efforts to Tie Ethics to Business Programs - WSJ.com.
Retrieved from
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324761004578286102004694378.html
Podolny, J. M. (2009). The Buck Stops (and Starts) at
Business School. Harvard Business Review, 87(6), 62-67.
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