Workplace ethical dilemmas happen everyday. It makes me wonder what schools and companies are doing in order to prepare us to make the right decision when the time comes. Does the corporate social responsibility classes required in business schools actually have a positive affect on the students later on in life? What about the ethical training that takes place in the business? Will these steps make the decision easier? Or have no effect at all?
As a senior in college at the University of Colorado-Leeds School of Business I know that the program reiterates corporate social responsibility in a few of the required classes. I hope that I will always make the right decision even if the wrong one is majorly beneficial to me while legal at the same time. It also makes me wonder if people are already the way they are. Is the way that a person was raised the main factor in allowing that person to make the right decision? Or selfishly make the wrong one? Or make the wrong one thinking it was right? Or does a person create his or her own values to live by through maturity? I really don’t think anyone knows the exact answer. Michael Halloran stated, “if ethos is manifested in rhetorical action, schooling him in proper rhetorical habits, is a means of forming his character”. This supports the statement that schooling does have a major impact on the decisions people make later in life especially involving ethics.
On the other hand, many people believe that education on corporate social responsibility is necessary and the right preventative action to take. But they also believe that even though it is an important part of education, it may have no impact whatsoever. A Journal of Business Ethics states that “the paradox evident in the widely expressed view that it is absolutely essential to teach ethics courses to business students and executives even though those courses will probably have no effect on business behaviors” (Delaney & Sockell). This is something I have to also agree with. It seems that no matter how much education is put into ethics in the business industry, there are always going to be those few people who make the selfish decision, which negatively impacts the business, people involved, or even the entire economy.
Ethical training is vital to the business industry. Even though it may seem like it is having no effect on people, it could just be that it’s obviously not going to affect everyone. Just making the younger generation aware of this crucial issue will help and serve as a stepping, stone in preventing these types of actions from happening in the future. There are many good people out there in the business industry but unfortunately a few bad ones too. It is sad to see the bad ones having the power to destroy businesses, families, and peoples’ entire saving, etc. but hopefully with more education and more policies, these actions can begin to decrease.
Sources:
Delaney, John T., and Donna Sockell. "Do Company Ethics Training Programs Make a Difference? An Empirical Analysis." Journal of Business Ethics 11.9 (1992): 719-20. Kluwer Academic Publishers. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
Halloran, Michael. Aristotle's Concept of Ethos, or If Not His, Somebody Else's. 1st ed. Vol. 1. N.p.: Taylor & Francis, 1982. Print. 15 Nov. 2014.
As a senior in college at the University of Colorado-Leeds School of Business I know that the program reiterates corporate social responsibility in a few of the required classes. I hope that I will always make the right decision even if the wrong one is majorly beneficial to me while legal at the same time. It also makes me wonder if people are already the way they are. Is the way that a person was raised the main factor in allowing that person to make the right decision? Or selfishly make the wrong one? Or make the wrong one thinking it was right? Or does a person create his or her own values to live by through maturity? I really don’t think anyone knows the exact answer. Michael Halloran stated, “if ethos is manifested in rhetorical action, schooling him in proper rhetorical habits, is a means of forming his character”. This supports the statement that schooling does have a major impact on the decisions people make later in life especially involving ethics.
On the other hand, many people believe that education on corporate social responsibility is necessary and the right preventative action to take. But they also believe that even though it is an important part of education, it may have no impact whatsoever. A Journal of Business Ethics states that “the paradox evident in the widely expressed view that it is absolutely essential to teach ethics courses to business students and executives even though those courses will probably have no effect on business behaviors” (Delaney & Sockell). This is something I have to also agree with. It seems that no matter how much education is put into ethics in the business industry, there are always going to be those few people who make the selfish decision, which negatively impacts the business, people involved, or even the entire economy.
Ethical training is vital to the business industry. Even though it may seem like it is having no effect on people, it could just be that it’s obviously not going to affect everyone. Just making the younger generation aware of this crucial issue will help and serve as a stepping, stone in preventing these types of actions from happening in the future. There are many good people out there in the business industry but unfortunately a few bad ones too. It is sad to see the bad ones having the power to destroy businesses, families, and peoples’ entire saving, etc. but hopefully with more education and more policies, these actions can begin to decrease.
Sources:
Delaney, John T., and Donna Sockell. "Do Company Ethics Training Programs Make a Difference? An Empirical Analysis." Journal of Business Ethics 11.9 (1992): 719-20. Kluwer Academic Publishers. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
Halloran, Michael. Aristotle's Concept of Ethos, or If Not His, Somebody Else's. 1st ed. Vol. 1. N.p.: Taylor & Francis, 1982. Print. 15 Nov. 2014.