Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/100231
Using an ethics-based self-evaluation tool and a set of simulations, students can clarify their personal ethical outlooks and see their way through ethical quandaries with 20/20 vision. by Tricia Bisoux Davi d Ryle /G etty I mag es I n his 17 years as executive director of the Ohio Ethics Commission, David Freel found that ethical lapses in business most often arise not from malice, but from inappropriate self-interest. Whether it���s because their leaders model bad behavior or their organizations offer illadvised incentives, even good people with good intentions can falter if they lack a solid framework for making ethical decisions. Freel refers to the example of the sex abuse scandal at Penn State, where several janitors didn���t report what they saw because they feared losing their jobs. ���We must get students to realize that they could make the same mistake,��� he says. ���They need to have a way to see the ethical alternatives available to them, so they can make better decisions.��� Unfortunately, the business curriculum traditionally views ethical behavior as an emotional response, not a decision-making strategy, says Freel, now a lecturer in management and human resources at The Ohio State University���s Fisher College of Business in Columbus. ���We teach students decision-making frameworks for human resources, law, and finance, but when it comes to ethics, there���s this notion that we should rely on our gut instincts,��� he says. That���s why educators like Freel have turned to two classroom tools provided by EthicsGame, a company based in Denver, Colorado. These tools present the study of ethics to students in terms of strategy, not just conscience. The first, the Ethical Lens Inventory (ELI), is an online self-evaluation exercise that helps users identify their personal values and understand how those values affect the decisions they make. The second is a set of interactive simulations that ask students to analyze and make decisions in a variety of ethical situations. BizEd January/February 2013 29