A Qualitative Study of Business Schools Integrating Ethics.

摘要

Scandals revealing unethical business practices fill news reports all too often. In response, society demands more ethical behaviors in the business world. This can be seen in the development of concepts such as business sustainability and corporate responsibility. If we acknowledge business schools' contributions to leadership, values, and trends in business, we also must acknowledge their role in shaping ethical (or non-ethical) behaviors in the business world. Some business schools have responded by integrating business ethics in curricular and extra-curricular programming.;Many business schools recognize a need to integrate business ethics but struggle to do so effectively. This is particularly true for smaller colleges in which limited resources and lack of expertise challenge efforts to strengthen business ethics in programming. This study looks at how business schools of all sizes can integrate business ethics successfully. Specific focus is to identify key practices for integrating ethics among recognized business schools.;The study comes from a desire to help the College of St. Scholastica's (CSS) School of Business and Technology (SB&T). Building a stronger business ethics program enables the SB&T to carry out its mission of developing "leaders who embody the values of the School of Business & Technology and demonstrate consistently the highest levels of ethical decision-making, social responsibility, global awareness, and professional excellence" (CSS SB&T, 2009). A strong business ethics program also fosters a deep following of Benedictine values core to the college's work: community, hospitality, respect, stewardship, and love of learning and reveal the college's commitment to serve and transform the world (CSS, 2009). A goal of this study is to assist the CSS SB&T and other business schools in their efforts to increase the integration of ethics into their business education.