Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

More than Lip Service: The Development and Implementation Plan of an Ethics Decision-Making Framework for an Integrated Undergraduate Business Curriculum

  • Published:
Journal of Academic Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In the face of the business community’s widening concern about corporate ethical behavior, business schools are reexamining how they ensure that students appreciate the ethical implications of managerial decision making and have the analytical tools necessary to confront ethical dilemmas. The current approaches adopted by colleges vary from mere ‘lip service’ to embedding ethics at the core of the curriculum. This paper examines the experience of several US universities that have incorporated business ethics into their curricula. In particular, the paper describes the issues facing Central Washington University as it seeks to integrate ethical decision making into its core undergraduate business curriculum. Issues addressed include the technical challenges of establishing a common element of curriculum across the various business disciplines, determining the major conceptual foundations of ‘ethical thinking’ while recognizing students’ existing value systems, and how to obtain ‘buy in’ by faculty to the initiative.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The integration method has been used to introduce international business across the curriculum.

  2. It has been suggested that when faced with an ethical dilemma our initial ‘gut response’ is to rely on our moral intuition. We then undertake a post-hoc rationalization to support our initial response. A systematic examination of the facts and issues may provide disconfirming data that enable us to challenge the intuitive response.

  3. Babson College is a small liberal arts college located on 370 acres of woods, rolling hills, and carefully landscaped grounds in Wellesley, Massachusetts. The institution has approximately 1,700 undergraduate and 1,600 graduate students. The U.S. News & World Report ranks Babson’s MBA program #1 in entrepreneurship for 13 straight years.

  4. Pareto-optimal solutions involve all parties benefiting or at least no one losses once losses are deducted from benefits.

  5. Aristotle suggested that we should cultivate the habits of honesty, bravery, justice and generosity (Livingston et al. 2007, p. 5)

  6. Chartered in 1895, Northern Illinois University is a comprehensive teaching and research institution with a student enrollment of more than 25,000. It is located in one of the most dynamic regions of the country, DeKalb is 65 miles west of downtown Chicago and 45 min southeast of Rockford.

  7. The Markkula Center was established in 1986, the Center has grown into one of the most active university-based applied ethics centers in the United States. Seed funding and initial endowment were provided by Linda and Mike Markkula Jr. Santa Clara University, which is California’s oldest higher education institution, is home of the Ethics Center. This comprehensive Catholic (Jesuit) university is located in California’s Silicon Valley.

  8. DePaul University was founded in 1898, by the Congregation of the Mission (or Vincentian) religious community, which follows the teachings of 17th century French priest St. Vincent de Paul. DePaul University is the nation’s largest Catholic institution of higher education with over 23,000 students and is the ninth largest private, not-for-profit university in the nation. It’s primary mission is teaching and service.

  9. Cornell University was founded in 1865 and has approximately 11,500 students. It is the federal land-grant institution of New York State, a private endowed university, a member of the Ivy League/Ancient Eight, and a partner of the State University of New York. It has been described as the first truly American university because of its founders’ revolutionarily egalitarian and practical vision of higher education, and is dedicated to its land-grant mission of outreach and public service.

References

  • AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International). (2004). Ethics education in business schools: Report of the ethics education task force to AACSB international’s board of directors. St. Louis: AACSB.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ajzen, I. (1985). From intentions to action: a theory of planned behavior. In J. Kuhl & J. Beckmenn (Eds.), Action control: From cognition to behavior (pp. 11–39). New York: Springer Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ajzen, I. (1989). Attitude structure and behavior. In S. J. Breckler & A. G. Greenwald (Eds.), Attitude structure and function (pp. 241–274). Hillsdale: Springer Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alsop, R. (2006). Business ethics education in business schools: a commentary. Journal of Management Education, 30(1), 11–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anonymous. (2006). 5Ps: A framework for ethical decision-making. Ithaca: SC Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, T. N. (2008). Using creative writing techniques to enhance the case study method in research integrity and ethics courses. Journal of Academic Ethics, 6(1), 33–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baetz, M. C., & Sharp, D. (2004). Integrating ethics content into the core business curriculum: do core teaching materials do the job? Journal of Business Ethics, 51(1), 53–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bean, D. F., & Bernardi, R. A. (2007). Ethics education in our colleges and universities: a positive role for accounting practitioners. Journal of Academic Ethics, 5(1), 59–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beauvais, L. B., Desplaces, E. D., Melchar, E. M., & Bosco, M. B. (2007). Business faculty perceptions and actions regarding ethics education. Journal of Academic Ethics, 5(1), 121–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bishop, T. R. (1992). Integrating business ethics into an undergraduate curriculum. Journal of Business Ethics, 11(4), 291–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brass, D. J., Butterfield, K. D., & Skaggs, B. C. (1998). Relationships and unethical behavior: a social network perspective. Academy of Management Review, 23(1), 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, P. E., & Mausehund, J. (1997). Integrating managerial ethics into the business communication curriculum. Business Communication Quarterly, 60(1), 77–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Building Ethical Leaders using an Integrated Ethics Framework (BELIEF) Initiative (2006). Ethics handbook: Building ethical leaders. College of Business, Northern Illinois University).

  • Caldwell, C., Karri, R., & Matula, T. (2005). Practicing what we teach—ethical considerations for business schools. Journal of Academic Ethics, 3(1), 1–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callahan, D. (1980). Goals in teaching of ethics. In D. Callahan & S. Bok (Eds.), Ethics in higher education. New York: Plenum Press, cited in Pamental, G. L.: 1989. The course in business ethics: can it work? Journal of Business Ethics, 8, 547–551.

  • Canary, H. E., & Jennings, M. M. (2008). Principles and influence in codes of ethics: a centering resonance analysis comparing pre- and post-Sarbanes-Oxley codes of ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 80(2), 263–278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, A. B. (1979). A three-dimensional conceptual model of corporate performance. Academy of Management Review, 4(4), 497–505.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, A. B. (1991). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: toward the moral management of corporate shareholders. Business Horizons, 34(4), 39–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daft, R. L., & Marcic, D. (2006). Understanding management (5th ed.). Mason: Thompson South-Western.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, J. L., Payne, T. G., & McMahan, G. C. (2007). A few bad apples? Scandalous behavior of mutual fund managers. Journal of Business Ethics, 76(3), 319–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dean, K. L., & Beggs, J. M. (2006). University professors and teaching ethics: conceptualization and expectations. Journal of Management Education, 30(1), 15–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ethics across the Curricula Committee (Chair: P. Werhane). (2007). A common ethics language for dialogue. Chicago: DePaul University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Etzioni, A. (2004). The common good. Malden: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, J. M., Treviño, L. K., & Weaver, G. R. (2006). Who’s in the ethics driver’s seat? Factors influencing ethics in the MBA curriculum. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 5(3), 278–293.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frank, T. (2010). The gulf spill and the revolving door. Wall Street Journal—Eastern Edition, 255(110), A17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghoshal, S. (2003). Business schools share the blame for Enron, Financial Times, July 17, p. 21.

  • Gioia, D. A. (2002). Business education’s role in the crisis of corporate confidence. Academy of Management Executive, 16(3), 142–144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartman, E. M. (2000). Socratic ethics and the challenge of globalization. Business Ethics Quarterly, 10(1), 211–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, A. (2008). Don’t pass the buck, Financial Times, Jun 12, p. 18.

  • Hite, B. (2008). Employers rethink how they give feedback. Wall Street Journal, Oct 13, p. B5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horn, L., & Kennedy, M. (2008). Collaboration in business schools: a foundation for community success. Journal of Academic Ethics, 6(1), 7–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hrebiniak, L. G. (2005). Making strategy work: Leading effective execution and change. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, K. T. (2006). Breaking down the barriers: bringing initiatives and reality into business ethics education. Journal of Management Education, 30(1), 65–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, M. J., & Horn, L. C. (2007). Thoughts on ethics education in the business school environment: an interview with Dr. Jerry Trapnell, AACSB. Journal of Academic Ethics, 5(1), 77–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kulik, B. W. (2005). Agency theory, reasoning and culture at Enron: in search of a solution. Journal of Business Ethics, 59(4), 347–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kulik, B. W., Salimath, M. S., & O’Fallon, M. J. (2009). Do competitive environments lead to the rise and spread of unethical behavior? Parallels from enron. Journal of Business Ethics, 82(4), 703–723.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lichtblau, E., & Vlasic, B. (2010). As Toyota’s recall expands, safety agency is in cross hairs, New York Times, February 10, p. 1.

  • Livingston, J. L., Bliss, R., Fleischmann, F., Greenberg, D., Hoopes, J., Mandel, R., et al. (2007). The Babson framework for ethical decision making. Babson Park: Babson College.

    Google Scholar 

  • Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (2007). A framework for thinking ethically, available at: www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/framework.

  • McDonald, G. (2004). A case example: integrating ethics into academic business curriculum. Journal of Business Ethics, 54(4), 371–384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mill, J. S., & Warnock, M. (2003). Utilitarianism and on liberty: Including ‘Essay on Bentham’ and selections from the writings of Jeremy Bentham and John Austin. Malden: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mills, D. Q. (2003). Wheel, deal, and steal: Deceptive accounting, deceitful CEOs, and ineffective reforms. Upper Saddle River: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mintz, S. (1990). Ethics in the management accounting curriculum, Management Accounting, 51–54, June.

  • Moberg, D. J. (2006). Best intentions, worst results: grounding ethics students in the realities of organizational context. Academy of Management Executive, 5(3), 307–316.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nash, L. L. (1981). Ethics without the Sermon. Harvard Business Review, 59(6), 79–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nutt, P. C. (2002). Why decisions fail: Avoiding the blunders and traps that lead to debacles. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paine, L. S. (1994). Managing for organizational integrity. Harvard Business Review, 72(2), 106–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piper, T., Gentile, M. C., & Parks, S. D. (1993). Can ethics be taught? Boston: Harvard Business School.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poff, D. C. (2007). Duties owed in serving students: the importance of teaching moral reasoning and theories of ethical leadership in educating business students. Journal of Academic Ethics, 5(1), 25–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenzweig, P. (2007). The halo effect...and the eight other business delusions that deceive managers. New York: Free.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sissell, K. (2008). Retailers respond to push for safer toys. Chemical Week, 170(6), 32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swanson, D. L., & Frederick, W. C. (2005). Denial and leadership in business ethics education. In R. A. Peterson & O. C. Ferrell (Eds.), Business ethics: the new challenge for business schools and corporate leaders (pp. 222–240). Armonk: M. E. Sharpe, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taft, S. H., & White, J. (2007). Ethics education: using inductive reasoning to develop individual, group, organizational, and global perspectives. Journal of Management Education, 31(5), 614–646.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Talley, I. (2008). Bill takes aim at energy speculators, Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition), May 3, p. A.2.

  • Treviño, L. K. (1986). Ethical decision-making in organizations: a person-situation interactionist model. Academy of Management Review, 11(3), 601–617.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Treviño, L. K., & Youngblood, S. A. (1990). Bad apples in bad barrels: a causal analysis of ethical decision-making behavior. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 75(4), 378–385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Victor, B., & Cullen, J. (1988). The organizational bases of ethical work climates. Administrative Science Quarterly, 33, 101–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wawrytko, S. A. (1982). Confucius and Kant: the ethics of respect. Philosophy East and West, 32(3), 237–257.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, J., & Gillespie, J. (1998). Differences in ethical beliefs, intentions, and behaviors: the role of beliefs and intentions in ethics research revisited. Business and Society, 37(4), 447–467.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zucchero, R. A. (2008). Can psychology ethics effectively be integrated into introductory psychology? Journal of Academic Ethics, 6(3), 245–257.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Concordia College School of Business, Moorhead, MN, USA

    Greg Cant

  2. Department of Management and Marketing, Hawaii Pacific University, Honolulu, HI, USA

    Brian W. Kulik

Authors
  1. Greg Cant
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Brian W. Kulik
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brian W. Kulik.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Cant, G., Kulik, B.W. More than Lip Service: The Development and Implementation Plan of an Ethics Decision-Making Framework for an Integrated Undergraduate Business Curriculum. J Acad Ethics 7, 231–254 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-010-9104-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-010-9104-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation