Developing Ethical Leadership in the Post-Enron World: The Current State of Business Ethics Education in National Liberal Arts Colleges in the United States
by James Welch
Key Words:ethics, business ethics, national liberal arts colleges, business education
Abstract:
As evidenced by the recent revitalization of guidelines for general learning objectives for business ethics education by the two primary undergraduate business accrediting agencies, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools in Business (AACSB) and the Accrediting Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), undergraduate business ethics education is of significance importance today. However, the specific ways in which business schools implement business ethics education remains quite diverse. This study was designed to survey and compare current undergraduate business ethics education curricular strategies in national liberal arts colleges in the United States. The results indicate significant differences in terms of the curricular strategies currently being used in the national liberal arts colleges to teach business ethics at the undergraduate level with a clear minority of institutions implementing standalone business ethics courses.
Aguinda v. Texaco: Oil, Pollution, Illness, and the Quest for Justice
By Lucas Loafman
Key Words: Aguinda, Texaco, Ecuador, Chevron, oil, pollution, Environmental Management Act, transnational litigation, transnational dispute resolution, global enforcement of judgments, fraud
Abstract:
The almost twenty five year old case of “Aguinda v. Texaco” has been called “the most important environmental case of the 21st century.”1 The study of this particular ongoing dispute is a unique educational opportunity to illustrate and discuss the complexities of international investment and transnational dispute resolution. This article includes a detailed summary of the story to date, as well as study applications that can be used in variety of business courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Incorporating Sport into the Business Ethics Segment of the Course
By Adam Epstein
Key Words: teaching, pedagogy, business law, ethics, Enron, whistleblowers, code of ethics, sport, sportsmanship, coaching contracts, Jim Harbaugh, morals clause, loyalty clause, termination clause, contract-based approach, social media, fraud, tanking, academic dishonesty, student code of conduct
Abstract:
The purpose of this article is to demonstrate a way to teach ethics by incorporating sport into the ethics segment of a business law, introduction to business or other law-related course. Utilizing sport is one way to engage students when teaching law, especially at the undergraduate level. At the conclusion, I emphasize how ethics directly applies to them as students by showing them excerpts from the student code of conduct. More specifically, my learning objectives in this lesson are as follows: 1) To introduce the role and importance of ethics and codes of ethics within an organization; 2) To offer that ethics can be utilized via a contract-based approach to allow an employer to terminate the employment relationship if necessary or appropriate; 3) To provide examples of real-world contract clauses which demonstrate how ethics can be memorialized in the employment contract; 4) To increase an awareness and understanding from an historical perspective of the failure of ethics in business; and 5) To identify specific examples from a student bulletin and student code of conduct that demonstrate ethics permeates the university-student relationship.
USING ETHOS, PATHOS & LOGOS IN TEACHING BUSINESS, ETHICS, AND NEGOTIATION
By Melanie Stallings Williams
Key Words: ethics, ethos, pathos, logos, Aristotle, pedagogy, business, negotiation, teaching, corporate responsibility
Abstract:
While using Aristotle’s approaches to rhetoric – ethos, pathos, and logos – is common in teaching philosophy and rhetoric, incorporating an analysis of these principles into business education is relatively rare and constitutes a missed opportunity. A discussion of Aristotle’s analysis of rhetorical approaches and their application to persuasive communications in the marketplace gives students an engaging and lively opportunity to become more observant, analytic, and effective. Discussions that include an analysis of ethos, pathos and logos are particularly effective when teaching ethics, negotiation, and other business topics where it is important to understand the effect of perception on decision-making. The paper examines the pedagogical value of studying rhetoric as applied to business education, provides lively examples of advertisements and other persuasive messages to help students analyze the type of appeal being made, and includes a class exercise and teaching note.
Bring on the Tissues, Here Come the Issues: Issues of Legal Consequence, Issues of Fact, and Issues of Law
By Nancy J. White
Key Words: legal issues, factual issues, teaching about issues, social constructs, value issues
Abstract:
Undergraduate students should know the difference between laws, facts, issues of law and issues of fact in order to understand how the legal system works and how it resolves disputes. Legal issues and factual issues, and the role they play are often confusing to a student but the amount of time that can be spent on this topic is limited. This paper includes the author’s classroom exercises, developed over more than fifteen years of actual classroom use and feedback from students. The exercises are designed to streamline understanding of these concepts for undergraduate students. This paper introduces the concept of what the author calls “value/overall/legal consequences issue” to aid students in understanding the difference between factual and legal issues and the role they play in the court system. In addition, the concept of “social construct” is introduced because juries do not just decide the facts but also some social constructs such as unreasonable behavior.