Business ethics: A classroom priority?

Abstract

“Schools of business are being blamed for much of the unethical behavior in business today” (Harcourt, 1990: p. 17); “Ethics can and should be integrated into coursework throughout students' college careers” (Spencer and Lehman, 1990: p. 7); “... business schools have been charged with inadequate attention to ethics” (Bishop, 1992: p. 291); “The American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) encourages schools of business to incorporate business ethics throughout the curricula” (Davidet al., 1990: p. 26). These quotations indicate the concern for providing ethics education in today's business curriculums. In 1976, the AACSB urged business educators to include ethics in their course curricula, however, over 15 years later there is still concern as to whether the coverage of this topic in the business curriculum is adequate. A review of the literature indicates that professors are beginning to integrate this topic into its curriculum. But what are the techniques that work? And is the topic of ethics truly being integrated into the entire business curricula? This research assesses the integration of ethics into the business curricula today. Graduating seniors in the college of business of several universities were questioned to determine: (1) the courses in which the issue of ethics was addressed; (2) how much time was devoted to the issue by the professors; and (3) the methods employed to address the issue, and students' perceptions of their effectiveness.