Business schools are looked at as
being the ones who lay the foundation for executives in the biggest and most
powerful organizations worldwide. With this power comes great responsibility to
look after shareholders, employees, consumers, and the general public. Until a
series of ethical dilemmas arose in the business world, all with respectable
organizations and executives, business schools were only concerned with the
technical aspects of the business world and how they were perceived by the
outside world. Now, as the business schools are being blamed for the financial
meltdown half a decade ago, they have no choice but to be putting more emphasis
on ethics, sound decision-making, and corporate responsibility in their programs.
In my opinion, tailoring business
programs to not only capture ethics training but to also educate these future
leaders on how to make effective decisions that benefit everyone involved in
the organization. MBA programs typically consist of courses that revolve around
finance, management, accounting, marketing, and even human resource management
with little to no emphasis on ethical leadership practices. Schools are currently
warming up to the idea of doing this, and some have even revised programs to accommodate
this need. For example, Columbia Business School has revised required courses
to highlight business ethics, and the school has even created a new course
about the future of financial services, along with adding a course study that
educates students on GM’s route to bankruptcy (Business Schools, 2013). It may
not be enough just to educate students on what to do and when to do it. Perhaps
implementing required internships with organizations where students are
required to engage in important and ethical decisions would be helpful. This would
allow the students to know the feeling of being in that role and equip them
with real-world experience before they start their careers.
The financial meltdown, along
with other ethical dilemmas, cannot be blamed solely on the educational foundation
of its employees. The organization is just as responsible for mentoring and
molding young employees and executives as are our educational institutions.
Engaging in ethical decision-making should be commonplace for every
organization, a way of life for every employee to practice.
References:
Business schools use financial
meltdown to teach ethics (2013, Sep.). Retrieved from http://www.metromba.com/2013/09/business-schools-use-financial-meltdown-teach-ethics/
