BizEd

JanFeb2013

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EthicsGame was founded by Catharyn Baird, professor emerita of business at Regis University in Denver, Colorado. Baird says she designed the suite of online exercises and simulations because she wanted to offer her students a method for ethical decision making that tapped into their own belief systems, without getting them bogged down in complex ethical theories. Baird designed the tools to advance students��� ���ethical maturity��� throughout their educations. Freshmen, for instance, can start with the ELI to identify the beliefs they acquired from their families as children and choose which beliefs they want to keep as adults. Seniors, on the other hand, can use the tools to explore how they want to apply those beliefs to their professional lives. Graduate students can see how they can integrate the value systems they���ve honed over the years into their approaches to leadership. In many ways, Baird says, the ELI and other EthicsGame learning tools complement the Giving Voice to Values curriculum developed by the Aspen Institute Business and Society Program in New York City and the Yale School of Management in New Haven, Connecticut. Directed by Mary Gentile of Babson College in Babson Park, Massachusetts, Giving Voice to Values focuses on helping students develop the courage to speak up when they see unethical behavior. (See ���Voicing Values, Finding Answers��� in the July/August 2008 issue of BizEd.) ���Mary���s work offers a foundation for teaching students how to have shared conversations about ethics,��� says Baird. ���My work offers a foundation for ethical decision making after those conversations take place.��� 30 January/February 2013 BizEd The Four Lenses Baird argues that every person views the world through one of four ethical perspectives, or ���lenses.��� The ELI gives students a way to determine which lens most represents their own outlook. It also helps professors delve into ethical principles without having to teach students complex philosophical treatises on morals and the human condition. The ELI���s framework is based on sets of core values that are in constant tension with one another: autonomy (the rights of the individual) fights with equality (the good of the community), and rationality (reason/head) fights with sensibility (intuition/heart). The four lenses, which each combine two of these values, include: n The Rights/Responsibilities lens, for those who emphasize individual 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. ��� David Freel, Ohio State University rights and rely on rational thought to make decisions. Those in this category value respect and hope their work benefits others, the deontological view of ethics shared by German philosopher Immanuel Kant. n The Results lens, for those who emphasize individual rights and rely on emotion and intuition to determine the right course of action. Those in this category value mutual respect and individual responsibility, the utilitarian view of British philosopher John Stuart Mill. n The Relationship lens, for those who emphasize the rights of the community and rely on emotion and intuition. Those who view the world through this lens value fairness and want to empower the powerless, similar to the justicebased view of American philosopher John Bordley Rawls.

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